Spam16v

Started working out some time after getting out of the army, moved, fell off the wagon, gained weight, got back on the wagon and have been on a semi-low/moderate carb diet and dropped ~60lbs with lifting 4-6x a week, minimal cardio, and improved diet. past year have been doing spin class, sold my mtn bike and got my Ridley. I've been doing well road riding, but I know my diet isn't correct. I try to limit carbs after lunch (not much pasta or potatoes ect), I eat subway a ton for lunch, split into thirds to spread out to up my metabolism. I lift for strength right now, and do 1-3 spin classes a week. After a 30-40 mile hill ride, I'm absolutely worthless and can feel how drained. My friend who rides gave me a couble power bar gummy snacks the other day, and I could feel a near instant boost in energy mid ride.

What FAQ's or recommendations can you make for dietary changes? There's gotta a thread discussing a similar topic, but I've yet to find it. I realize I need to coordinate carb intake before and after rides. I used to race Mtn bikes, but I was younger, could eat ANYTHING and being 30 now, that's not the case. I'm at 214, down from 270+ at 6' tall and I carried the weight well so I wasn't a fat blob, just a sorry ass individual. Once I crack the "Clydesdale" territory, I'll be in pretty good shape.

ericm979

Less protein, more carbs. You need carbs to fuel longer rides. Complex carbs for regular meals, simple carbs while on the bike.

Most people need calories on rides 2 or more hours long, even after a good pre-ride meal.

Subway is probably not the healthiest option depending on what it is you're eating from there.

oban_kobi

^ What that guy said. Complex carbs are your best friends.

Chaco

I weigh 10 pounds more than you, and at 63, I'm probably quite a bit older than you. I get 90% of my carbs from fruits and vegetables, and around 10% from grains - almost always whole grains. I eat very little easily digestible carbs, i.e. white bread, sugar, juices with HFCS, polished rice, etc.

I'm not on a low carb diet for fun; the typical low fat / high carb diet that's been promoted for the past 30 years damn near gave me Type 2 diabetes, just like it has for millions of other people.

If your ride is less than 90 minutes, you really don't need to worry about carbs. Your liver should store enough glycogen to last that long. If you're having trouble on rides less than 90 minutes, the problem is much more likely to be electrolytes or dehydration or lack of conditioning or all 3. If you're not putting electrolyte [non-sugar] pills in your water, try that and see if it helps. You should be drinking around 20 ozs of water per hour on a hard ride.

If you're going longer than 90 minutes, then yes, you do need some easily digestible carbs, because your body can't create new glycogen quickly enough to fuel your muscles once it's run out of reserves. But there's no need to go overboard. Around 200 to 300 calories per hour should be plenty.

If you have a hard ride lasting longer than 90 minutes, try to drink a smoothie within 30 minutes. Ingredients: ice, 2C frozen fruit, 20 ozs. whey protein, milk or juice, and a pinch of salt. That will keep your body from using your lean muscle as a fuel replacement.

And unless you're planning on being a pro racer, keep up the resistance training.

You probably lost weight because you cut way back on your carbs. The typical low fat/high carb diet may work for some people, but it has been a miserable failure for most.

Spam16v

Thanks for the advice everyone, as far as what I get at Subway, either wheat or flatbread, roast chicken, and PILE on the vegetables, spinnach, tomatoes, cucumbers, banana peppers, olives, and so forth, splash of southwest sauce and call it good. By my best estimate probably around 1k calories, no paperbag, and no drive-through so I'm better off than some and worse off than others. I drink breakfast after I lift in the morning OMW to work @ ~200-300 calories depending how much fruit I pitch in the blender w/30g protein/isolate blend, and eat a real clean dinner with lean meat and veggies. I usually do ~10oz milk, few strawberries and 30g protein before bed too. I wake up so much easier no matter how tired I am if I give my body food before bed.

I "cut back" on carbs, but in reality, I'm down to eating about what i should from way too freakin' many. No where near even considering ketosis. Chaco, thanks for the specifics, I'm pretty sure I can make those "tweaks" to help out. I plan on maintaining or just slightly taking my resistance training down a notch and put in some more saddle time. Maybe up some time, and combine some splits instead of just isolation days of Chest, Back, Arms, ect. Do a back chest day and work partial arms on a chest/tri day or a back/bicep day. I do abs most days training and don't typically do a full leg day. I'll just work in hams and gleuts in with lower back and so forth. I turn into too much of a squat junkie anyways, and my quads & calves are really developed as it is.