Food and fasting for cyclists

(Running from stupidity) #1

(Creating new topic for another member to split it out of the initial thread)

Hi,

Fueling ( fat - adapted )
What are your recommendations for food and fasting ?
For this scenario , 45-60 minute moderate cycle ride.

I enjoy exercising or working out during an IF fast :smile:
Just like many others
It works for me

How do you educate your clients?
Eat before or eat after?
What time eating window if so?
Protein or carbohydrates?

Or Fastā€¦:smile:
^^^
I mention all this bcuz it goes against conventional WOE and guidelines and Iā€™m guessing your NASM training course as well
Iā€™m sure you can share many examples or stories :rofl:

Thank You

Ask Coach Allan
(Troy) #2

Thanks for the re posting merge @juice
:smile::smile:
Awesome

(Allan Misner) #3

Yes, my NASM fitness nutrition specialty was all "My Plateā€ based and not high on keto.

Our bodies carry about 90 - 120 minutes of fuel (glycogen) in our muscles and liver. Thatā€™s why marathon runners that are sugar burners will bonk at mile 18 or so if they havenā€™t fueled. A keto adapted runner theoretically should be able to go past that without bonking.

If youā€™re going for less than an hour at a moderate pace, I canā€™t see a reason to fuel for the session. Eat when youā€™re hungry. Eat to satiety. Train fasted if you feel good doing it.

If youā€™re training regularly and not insulin resistant, you probably have a higher carbohydrate tolerance. You can experiment with this if you have any concerns about energy or bonking, but otherwise, train fasted if is working for you.

(Nathan Toben) #4

My lifestyle is different than the OP inquiry but I believe it does help elucidate a helpful answer.

I am a bike courier for work, riding 5-9hrs each day, 5 days a week. I did keto for a few months and am now following carnivore.

I have had to become acutely aware of ā€œcompounding fatigueā€ as I can be steamrolled all of a sudden by lack of testosterone, adrenaline etc. if I am not careful.

I think that fasting while riding is fine to do maybe up to 40% of the time if you are fully fat adapted. However if you make a habit of it, it will definitely increase cortisol over time. The minor benefits of ā€œautophagyā€ or HGH are eclipsed in a blink by unhelpful stress levels.

What works for me is eating fat and protein before most shifts (sausage, eggs, ground beef, chicken) and then 1-2 days a week, especially if I had a bigger dinner the night before, I might just nurse a few cups of coffee until 2pm, even as I am being active for 4-5 hours straight.

But bottom line, I think that the benefits of exercise-while-fasted is a bit inflated if you take the longview.

(Derek Henderson) #5

Hi Allen - just a question regarding the Fat Adapted bit. I switched to LCHF in January this year and saw amazing benefits in how I fuelled for endurance cycling events. I was doing 5 or 6 hour events without needing to eat, having had a coffee with cream before starting and only electrolytes with water during. Over the past few months I have been less strict about me carb intake but still pretty much follow a LCHF. I still donā€™t eat before rides and take some peanuts just in case. My question is: is it because of having been Fat Adapted, my body will automatically go back there once it has depleted available Glycogen and hence - I donā€™t bonk like my mates do?