Flordia ride

Recently figured out that my BMR is about 1900 calories a day. I ride my bike four days a week and always wear a HRM that also displays calories. My rides are 30-40 miles and I`m burning 1500-2000 calories per ride. I`m not looking to gain or lose weight. I`m 55yrs. old 5`11, 175-180lbs. My question is on the days I Ride should I be consuming an additional 1500-2000 calories to keep my weight the same. Seems like a lot of additional food or am I missing something.

Machka 

First of all, to me, 1900 calories as a BMR seems high.

Secondly, how long does 30-40 miles take you? If you estimate 500 calories per hour, you'll be much closer to the correct calories burned. So if 30 miles takes you 2 hours, chances are you will have burned 1000 calories.

Thirdly, on a 2+ hour ride, you will probably want to eat something while riding anyway. A recommendation is approx. half of the 500 calories you're burning per hour ... so in other words, on rides over 2 hours, eat approx. 250 calories per hour.

Fourthly, try riding the amount you do, and eating whatever you normally eat (plus a bit extra while you ride) for about 3 weeks. If you are losing weight, add a few more calories. If your weight remains the same, you've got it about right.

chasm54

Your HRM is probably overstating the number of calories burned, most of them do. I weigh about 15lbs more than you and generally work on an estimate of 30 calories per mile.

gregf83 

Most HR-based estimates of caloric expenditure are on the high side, often up to 100% over. I weigh about 165 and my cals/mile range from 35 to 45 Cals/mile based on powermeter estimates which are generally more accurate than HR. If you're relatively new to cycling you'd probably be on the lower end of that range.

The short answer is yes you need to eat additional food equivalent to what you are burning to maintain your weight. The issue is determining how much you are burning while riding. If you don't want to change your weight I would just eat when you're hungry and monitor your weight over time and adjust you eating as required.

Flordia ride

A little more information. My BMR is 1715. I then multiply that by 1.2 (little to no exercise) as per instructions and come up with 2058. It takes me about 1:45 to go 30 miles. I am only going by what the HRM tells me. Have only been riding four months and is still new to all this. Seems the HRM estimates are to high. Will go on the assumption of 500 cal. per hour.

Looigi

Definitely agree with estimating 500-600 calories/hr for spirited riding. I'm 60, ~170lb, ride about 8 hrs/wk, avg 75% of measured max HR, and eat 2500 cal/day. I am slowly losing 2-3 lb/mo.

mr_pedro

If you do 30 miles in 1:45 then you will have burned something like 1000 Cal. And yes, you do want to eat that much extra that day. For rides under 2 hours you don't really have to eat during the ride if you can handle it. But If you don't want to loose weight you need to get those extra calories in.

jzbob81

Depends on how much calories you burn every ride. If your BMR really is 1900 calories a day (try this BMR calculator) you can easily add more calories to your daily intake.
Four days a week times 1500 calories equals 6000 extra calories you can eat trough the week. That's 6000/7 days = 857 extra calories you can eat every day. So that's roughly 1900+857=2757 calories per day and you would maintain your weight.
But you know - every organism is different, so maybe for you 3000 calories per day would still work. Or 2500 calories per day would still work. You have to try it out yourself.
And keep in mind that BMR is not the total daily calorie expenditure. You should add at least 15% to that number if you are not active trough the day. You still walk around the flat / neighbourhood every day, right?

DBA

I use an estimate of 35 Kcals/mile.....so a 30 miler would be about 1050 Calories.
There are numerous BMR calculators on line.....some are decent. I'm 5' 9" and 170 lbs, I have a BMR about 1750 Kcals/day.
Depending on your size and muscularity, 1900 Kcals/day may be reasonable.

bmontgomery87

Yes you should eat them back if your goal is maintaining weight. As already stated, your calculations may or may not be a little high.

I eat most of mine back before/during the ride if it's a social type ride. If it's a spirited 30 mile ride and I'm trying to ride quickly I'll do gatorade and maybe a PB&J sandwich. Then just eat a good meal after riding.

Carbonfiberboy 

Ignore the calories displayed by the HRM. You also don't need to bother calculating how many calories you burn. However, do not ignore the numbers on your scale. It's really very simple. Eat to maintain, gain, or lose weight as you choose. As I say, this part is extremely simple. Now that's out of the way, we can discuss for decades exactly what it is you should eat to achieve your goals.

bmontgomery87

in for no carbs fight.
followed by saturated fats/heart disease argument.
something something paleo
then can we discuss rather beer is a good recovery food?