Cyclists hear plenty about the science behind how much to eat and how to balance the ratio of carbohydrate and proteins. But sometimes people just want to know, "what should I eat?" Being able to visualize a suggested eating plan for the day will help you to decide what to consume before, during and after a ride.
Below are two example days, one for a long endurance ride and one for a shorter training ride. The illustration of calorie burn versus calorie intake doesn't get too scientific about nutrition requirements, energy systems and biological functions, which can sometimes be confusing. These examples are meant to help you get a baseline for what and how much you should be eating based on your level of activity.
More: Maintain Your Lean, Mean Racing Machine
The following is based on assumptions about your personal data (To measure what you need accurately, you should work out your own data):
- Basic calorie requirement before exercise: 1,600 calories. You should estimate your own here. Please also note, this calculation is used for a sedentary and relatively inactive person-add exercise calories separately.
- Calorie burn on a long endurance ride including some short breaks = 400/hour.
- Calorie burn on a shorter, higher intensity training ride = 550/hour. You can estimate your own using a heart rate monitor, or better still get a very accurate picture using a power meter if you're lucky enough to own one. If you don't have either of these I find this website to be pretty accurate.
- The basic calorie requirement is split between the hours of 6am and 8am for the purpose of the illustration.
More: Determine Your Century Nutrition Plan
Endurance Ride
Breakfast - 6 A.M.
- Banana: 100 calories
- Coffee and almond milk: 75 calories
- Oatmeal with milk, honey and apples: 450 calories
- Grapes: 100 calories
- Orange juice: 75 calories
7-Hour Ride - 7 A.M. to 2 P.M.
- Sports bars and gels (1 per hour): 800 calories
- 2 bananas: 200 calories
- 6 bottles of fluid: 900 calories
More: Fueling Up for the Ride
Post-Ride
- Bagel with salmon: 500 calories
- Afternoon snack, cereal: 200 calories
- Early evening meal, steamed spinach with lemon olive oil, mushrooms, baked sweet potato and fruit salad with almonds: 800 calories
- Wine or dessert: 200 calories
Key principles to remember for a long endurance ride:
- Eat a good breakfast.
- Start eating and drinking as soon as you're on the bike.
- Find out what works for you. This is just an illustration. Everyone is different. Persevere until you find what fuel works best for you.
- You don't have to follow these food suggestions exactly. Use it as a guide to replace grains and bread with whatever carbohydrate you like to eat. Use any lean meat, fish or vegetarian protein to satisfy those needs.
- Try to have something already prepared to eat for after your ride. Making a good meal after a long ride is probably something you won't feel like doing.
- Keep drinking! It's a great way to get in easy calories, and if you don't use a sports drink, replace those calories with something else.
More: Meals on Wheels
Shorter Training Ride
More: Carbohydrates: Fuel Your Cycling
Breakfast - 6 A.M.
- Banana: 100 calories
- Coffee and fruit juice: 75 calories
- Granola with fruit and yogurt: 325 calories
- Large glass of water: 0 calories
3-Hour Ride 8 A.M. to 11 A.M.
- 2 energy gels: 200 calories
- 3 bottles of fluid: 450 calories
Post-Ride
- Soup, bread and one piece of fruit: 500 calories
- Lunch, rice with lean mean and vegetables, fruit: 500 calories
- Afternoon snack, cereal: 200 calories
- Evening meal, quinoa and vegetables, lean meat, grated carrot salad with walnut oil, mixed greens: 700 calories
- Dessert: 300 calories
Some key principles to remember for a shorter training ride are:
- Don't miss out on breakfast. Give yourself time to eat and digest before the ride.
- It can be harder to remember to eat and drink on a faster training ride, particularly if the pace is dictated by a group. Use liquid nutrition and easily consumed energy foods if you can't eat solid food during the ride.
- Learning to eat and drink during a harder ride is an important part of your training too. Dedicate some time and thought to this. If you can consume 300 calories an hour during training, great! Try for at least 200 an hour and eat a good breakfast and a decent post ride meal.
As with the example above, you don't have to follow these foods exactly. Use this as a general guide and figure out what works for you. If you're not into cooking, fill your kitchen with easy to prepare foods such as ready cooked meats, quick cook or precooked grains, frozen fruit and vegetables and healthy sauces.
More: Dropping Weight, Not Performance
