jyl

So I'm almost to the end of a two week "ultra low carb" diet. I've never tried this before but at the suggestion of a friend, did so. 1,600 calories/day and less than 20 grams of carbohydrates/day.

Well, it sure takes off the weight, or has for 11 days anyway. I've felt kind of weak on my commute rides. No big deal. But I am going for a 50 mile ride tomorrow (Sat) and another 50 miler the next day (Sun). Don't want to drag or bonk.

I've considered ignoring the diet briefly and eating carbs on the rides, because I figure they will get burned up right away, and because I can't see stuffing a bunch of chicken breasts in my jersey pockets.

Then I thought - someone here must have tried low-carb, and can advise me. Here is the question: when you are on a low-carb diet, do you forget about the diet during long rides and eat energy bars, gel, and the other high carb, high sugar stuff that cyclists eat?

Zinger

Never dieted myself but I'll bet you'd better take something along in case your tummy starts grinding. I wouldn't make that chicken deep fried myself.
I haven't much tolerance for grease while riding. I bake with a little garlic/lemon sauteed margerine.

david58

I have done the low carb diet. On rides I would do what I needed to stay strong - if that meant high carb snacks, so be it. I found that by doing what it took to maintain on the rides and adhering to the diet otherwise, I did pretty well.

JanisXenith

Firstly, Congratulations! I believe low carbs is the optimal diet to which we are optimally adapted. (But not our desires, as there was no need to fear overabundance.) However, I think vegetables and very small amount of light meat like fish or chicken, not deep fried, is better. The results: POWER and STAMINA.
For rides you need carbs; I advise avoiding SUGAR except in small amounts, so that you don't cause ripples in your insulin levels.

Zinger

I tend to agree.

I've been experimenting with Allen Lim's stuff and really like these Rice Cakes.

Don't know how they break down inside you with just a touch of soy sauce though.....They're tastier that way. I use Canadian bacon in them. They don't leak olive oil all over the place like his potatoes. They are easy on this old man's acid reflux as a side benefit for me.

Ranger Dan

I've done the low carb diet before and experienced difficulty riding unless I took in some additional carbs. If I didn't have some carbs before a ride I felt that I had little strength or energy. Even when I was pushing myself hard, with my legs burning, I was slower than usual and I couldn't get my heart rate up.

I found that just having a piece of toast (18 g carbohydrate) about 1/2 hour before the start would get me through a 35 mile ride. After that I'd need additional carbs or I would bonk. I don't think you need sugary foods, but if you're going to do 50 miles I'm betting you'll need some complex carbohydrates to make it through the ride.

donheff

I ate low carb for 6 months until I reached my ideal weight and have since added moderate amounts of carbs back in without gaining. I didn't have problems with rides even in ketosis (low, low carb) but my rides were generally in the 30 mile range. From readings, I take it you can perform in a very low carb status, but it takes some getting used to and thought. It might be better to simply eat some carb snacks prior to and during the ride. Lots of LCHF diets allow days off and most of us are not so carb sensitive that one day of higher carbs will kick off cravings. Keep in mind, in the long term you want to end up at a sustainable, eating lifestyle, not some forced diet. Depending on your constitution that might mean very low carb permanently or, like me (dropped from 195 to 163 and stayed going on 15 months), that could mean sandwiches with whole grain bread at lunch and a moderate amount of rice and potatoes with dinner.

Metric Man

The only DNF I've ever had on a century ride is when I tried to maintain ultra low carb standards on the ride, bonked about 68 miles in. I now take some Mothers cookies in the foil packs to keep me fueled. On centuries I will use Gatorade?Powerade etc. but if I'm less than 75 miles I stick to water and Salt Stick caps. You'll burn off all the carbs as you go and get back on the low carb bus easily. I've been Paleo/Atkins for several years now.

Bikey Mikey

Don't do low carbs for a long ride.

Retro Grouch 

It's been several years but it didn't work for me. I lost weight and I felt fine for ordinary activity but I definitely felt the bonk set in sooner on bike rides.

digibud

proteins and fats take hours to digest. Lim's rice cakes include a little bit of bacon or something just to help with long term energy but unless you are doing a century or something, no fats or proteins you eat during a ride will be providing any energy for you at all. If you ride much over an hour or so, the only foods that make any sense are carbs. Even on a low-carb diet you'll still be doing yourself a favor by exercising hard and eating -carbs- to provide energy for that exercise. The more carbs you eat to provide energy for the harder you ride the more fit you will be. Low/no carbs are fine if you want to play with that diet but assuming the overall point is health and weight loss, hard exercise with carbs trumps less exercise with fewer carbs every time.

Artkansas 

I've done it, and I did feel weak. I didn't do it for weight loss, but rather to change the way my body reacts to carbs. So loading up on carbs to ride the bike is out. Instead, I curtail the energetic cycling and just go along at a rate that my body is more comfortable with rather than cheat on the diet.

lenA

I've been in ketosis for 15 months. 30 grams of carbs, usually in the form of non starchy veggies a day

Since I've lost so much weight, it's hard for me to gauge my before and after performance as related to my eating habits.

A typical longer ride for me (66 years old 5'10" 188 lbs) is a hilly 40-50 miles, 12 to 16 mph depending on conditions, with one snack stop. Yesterday I ate two eggs and some bacon an hour before I started ... my snack included a 20 oz diet coke handful of cashews, and 6 oz of cheese.

When I got home I ate 2 chicken thighs and some cottage cheese and collard greens swimming in butter.

I've been on this way of eating for so long now that it seems perfectly normal... and I don't bonk because that indicates a change over from carb depletion to ketosis which never happens to me.

I can get mighty hungry on a long ride just most folks....no doubt about that. But I know what true bonking is from my distance running days

YMMV...as they used to say on the interweb

jppe

I've done the "lower" carb thing for several months and it has really helped me get rid of some of those extra pounds. I do a number of 60 -100 milers and it's important to eat foods along the way to maintain your energy needs. I'd suggest eating anything that agrees with your stomach/digestion while you are riding. I even eat some carbs the night before and the morning of the event. Some simple snacks for riding that work for me and things that are pretty easy to get your hands on are bananas, peanut butter crackers, fig newtons and gu packs.

jyl

So that was a disaster.

Did 47 miles at avg 16.74 mph. The first third we were riding 20 mph, I started out weak and faded as we went, wheelsucking shamelessly. We stopped for food and my buddy had forgotten his, so we shared mine. I had half a PBJ and half a banana, and we went on. Doing 18-19 mph, now I was slowing us down, and then I started a bonk. Had my emergency gel which helped for a few miles and then I was deep into bonkville and struggling to ride 17 mph. Flat ride but on the little rises and overpasses, that you'd normally ride over without noticing, I had to stand and fight. Rode the whole way in the drops because just that little aero help was desperately needed. At 43 miles my buddy and I parted ways, he to complete a round 50 miles without towing a panting slug, me headed for VeloCult. It was just another 4 miles but I was losing bike control and gritting my teeth to ride 15 mph, then 14, then 13. On one of the last blocks, a little girl on the sidewalk, riding a pink bike with tassels and 16" wheels, almost beat me. I made a supreme effort and pipped her at the line. Her training wheels hurt her but I think she was on 'roids. I could see a little Adam's apple thing going, and she had no chest.

Supposedly burned 2,670 calories, and my body started out with just a pre-ride chicken breast for fuel. Ended at the bike shop where there was a pint of IPA and a small bag of potato chips. The guys there recommended a book: "Paleo Diet For Athletes". Anyone know it?

Chaco

Paleo Diet for Athletes is one of a number of books like this. Most of them say that you need a while to acclimatize your body to utilize your fat stores -- up to 3 weeks. I certainly found that to be true when I was on a super low carb diet. Once I was in ketosis, it took about 3 weeks, and I was able to do 75 to 80 mile rides without too much of a problem.

These rides didn't have any sprints or long periods above 75% of max HR. Now most of my rides involve significant amounts of time in Zone 4, so I use energy bars made by Nice, which aren't too sugary, but have around 22 carb grams per bar.

I guess my question is, do you have a reason for trying to limit carbs to such a degree? I did it because of blood sugar problems, but if you don't have that problem, you might be able to achieve what you want simply by eliminating "junk" carbs, e.g. from bread, crackers, sweets, etc.

stapfam

Got a hilly 50 miler tomorrow that is going to hurt. Just packed the snacks and it will be flapjack- a banana- couple of gels and a big slice of Fruit Cake. Just had the evening meal and a Chinese takeaway and plenty of rice and noodles along with ribs. No idea what Breakfast will be but I reckon on a big bowl of porridge.

I may watch my diet to keep my weight loss since the beginning of the year but Bike rides need energy and I just hope I will have enough tomorrow.

Daspydyr 

Low carb dieting helped my weight loss but left me weak. I think that is what you experienced today. Congrats on riding and bonking. Tis better to bonk that not ride!

I personally like an ice cream sandwich mid-ride from a convenience store. Probably too much sugar, but it keeps me going.

TromboneAl

I've been doing very low carb for three years. I used to think I needed some extra carbs during a ride, but I found that I do not. On my weekly hilly, 62 mile rides I typically eat 2-3 Quest protein bars that have 4 grams each of net carbs on that ride.

It apparently takes a while for your body to become an efficient fat burner.

I admit I ate carbs at the rest stops on a recent supported century, but I'm sure I didn't need them.

There's a very strong psychological component to this stuff. If one gets hungry during a long ride, it's easy to interpret it as "needing carbs." My hunger is as satisfied with a Quest bar as with a Power bar, and I get the same feeling of "now I have more energy" as I did with the sugary bars that I used to eat.

I amazed by the change attitude with cyclists. A few years ago, this thread would filled with derisive posts.

Zinger

You know, this thread reminded me that I didn't eat anything on my 1st couple of centuries. I think I bonked more from running out of water on my 2nd. I sure didn't set any records in those but some of the guys that finished in just over 4 hours only ate bananas or other light stuff I was told.

On the other hand, when I was trying to make time in a later century I certainly did bonk from lack of food and a glazed donut from a sag wagon driver recovered me quite nicely for the last leg.

So I think there's something in what you're saying.....Late for my ride, gotta go.

NealH

Remember the pancreas of an exercising individual doesn't produce much, if any insulin during the intake of carbs/sugars. The glucose is absorbed and goes into the bloodstream then to the muscles to spare their glycogen. So you're not going to compromise your diet by taking in some carbs while riding. It takes insulin to turn carbs into fat.

Eat carbs for your rides, diet later.

sreten

Hi,

I tried a low carb diet from Christmas, and generally still eat much less carbs,
but found IMO too much carbs is a problem, but no problem in a good diet.

Avoiding carbs won't really help below not eating too much of them,
and that is basically as complicated as it gets, for a long term diet.

rgds, sreten.

Jacob1953

Try reading The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Performance by Jeff Volek (He is one of the authors of the New Atkins Diet book). It is geared to helping athletes compete while maintaining a low carb diet.

You might also try a new supplement called "SuperStarch" https://www.generationucan.com/super.html. It is designed to provide a stable low carb energy source for endurance sports.

As an earlier post noted, attitudes are really changing.

Best of luck.

JB

etw

One book that I found helpful was

https://www.amazon.com/Ride-Your-Way-.../dp/1605294063

jppe

Congrats on completing the ride. You just developed a large degree a large bank of toughness that will provide huge dividends in the future. We've all been there an share and can relate to that pain. Good for you for pushing past what feels normal and working through it. There will be other times in future rides you'll be suffering but probably not to this extent so for what it's worth you did yourself some good. Continue to experiment to find out what works best for you. I'd suggest eating more carbs before and during the ride---at least for now. You were riding at a pretty good clip as well so it could be just riding at that hard a pace had as much an effect as the carbohydrate deal. It will be get better and when it does you'll be letting us know about an unexpected improvement in performance.