Carbo Loading

Tomorrow, I’m planning to bike my first metric century of the year. I’ve only managed to do a couple of these since my right knee started bothering me on the Princeton Event in August 2004 (but that’s another story). Most of my rides of late have been 50 miles or less.

OK, you’re probably wondering why I’m starting off a “weight loss and maintenance” post by talking about biking?

Because today, I’ve been preparing for it . . . by eating.

Sometimes I’m slow, but I generally manage to figure things out, eventually. Some time last year (while biking half of the Civil War Century, in fact), I came to the realization that I tend to bike a heckuva lot better if I’m well-fed.

In the past two years or so, I’ve had two pretty bad rides -- ones where I ran out of gas. Dragged my butt to the finish line, feeling puny. In looking back at my food logs, I realized that I had not eaten nearly enough the day before. So, I started experimenting with deliberately eating more before a big event, both the day before and the day of.

And -- it's made a pretty big difference. What I usually do is eat maybe 500 extra calories the day prior; sometimes a bit more. I focus on getting more carbs: pasta, bread, whatever. And the morning of the event, I have a fairly substantial breakfast. It makes the difference between doing the drag-ass thing, and finishing feeling stronger than when I started.

Yeah, I know, competitive athletes know this . . . and I also knew it, at least in theory. But while I learned pretty quickly to eat well the day of an event (especially afterward), I hadn’t really focused on applying the same theory to preparation, the way I would have if I were competing in a race.

But really, when you think about it, a long bike ride, even one done purely for fun, is just as much as an endurance event as a race. And it requires equal attention to good nutrition.

Another thing that tends to get in the way: if you've had a weight problem all your life, you tend to think in terms of caloric restriction . . . not deliberate overeating, even if for a good reason. Even with all I've learned through Weight Watchers -- about "flexible restraint," about eating well, but not forbidding myself anything -- it has taken me several years to actually realize that there are times when I NEED to eat more, deliberately. And that it's not going to hurt me. It's one thing to know something intellectually, and another to actually be able to recognize that it's applicable to your life and your activities.

So, today I did something I’ve not done before: I formally set my calorie ration for the day to a higher level: up to 3,000 calories. (I did a 24-mile ride today, and part of that total was to cover what I burned on that, as well.)

I never thought I would ever say this, but I found it a little difficult to take in that much . . . in a way that did not include a lot of junk. (We all know how easy it is to rack up the calories eating greasy food, right?)

So, what did I have? Well, I don’t know that I went about this perfectly, but the result was not too bad. I had a cherry scone and a skim mocha for breakfast. After my ride, I grabbed a wheat beer, had a piece of naan with lowfat cheese melted on it, and some cashews. For snacks, I had a Panera bagel with lowfat cream cheese, and some Edy’s Slow Churn reduced fat ice cream (oh, boy, is that good stuff!).

And for dinner I had turkey meatloaf, some stir-fried (in olive oil) whole grain pasta, two sliced tomatoes, and mixed veggies.

I’m contemplating a glass of wine, in just a few minutes. And maybe a banana or some berries. That’ll pretty much round out my day. Believe me when I say that I have not been hungry one nanosecond today, since I put on the feed bag.

I think it’s a testament to the mindset I’ve learned through my Weight Watchers experience, that I did not think of this as “free” or “whole hog” day. I tried hard to eat simple carbs for energy during my ride (and glycogen replacement immediately after), and more complex carbs for good health. I stayed away, for the most part, from saturated fats. I loaded on the olive oil and healthy fats from nuts.

This is just the way I eat now. It’s what I prefer.

I’m going to have fun tomorrow.

Comments

[Ellen]

I'll second the carbs for biking. I was on a diet once where you could have no carbs (other than veggies) for dinner. I ride my bike to work (28 mi round trip), so not having those carbs in the evening SEVERELY impacted my riding--I call it the Lead Legs Syndrome. Diet got ditched. Doing WW now, MUCH better!

[Debbie]

Ellen, glad to hear it!

I actually finished the ride strong, but it was HOT and we had fierce headwinds. You can read the report at www.carbonfork.net (it's the current entry). Imagine how much worse it could have been if I'd not eaten enough . . . yikes!

[Greta]

I just wanted to say that I found your site today and enjoyed reading a few of your posts on your 3 blogs. I am looking forward to visiting again.
Greta

[Christine King]

Debbie, your journey is an inspiration to all who are on the weight loss quest. So many people that I meet on a daily basis think they can't lose the weight. You are a shining example that it can be done!

I also love the practicality of your attitude towards food. You may also find some extremely useful information on my blog at www.LifeOnlyBetter.typepad.com.

Also, "Drop the fork, as God is my witness, I will never be 'matronly' again" is brilliant and I'm sure resonates with many, many women!

I look forward to your future posts.

[Tracy]

I just had to write you...this is exactly the type of post I need! I'm leaving this Wednesday to ride my bike across Washington State. We leave Redmond, WA on 7/18/07 at 8:30 am and arrive in Spokane, WA on Sunday the 22nd...while the ride is spread out over 5 days with mileage ranging from 40 to 63 to 82 to the optional century, this is still going to be an endurance event. Total mileage (not counting the century is 300). While I have been riding for4 years now, have done several centuries, the infamous Seattle to Portland ride (208 miles /2 days) as well as Tour de Blast (up Mt. St. Helens & back 84.4 miles and 6,400 feet elevation). I have been quite concerned about what to eat, how much to eat, when to eat, etc. I have been a WW Lifetime Member for 9 months now and it's still a struggle for me from time to time. Our breakfasts and dinners are catered so there is a great unknown as to what will be served....and if I don't eat properly all day ... the urge to overeat will hit. Any addditional advice is appreciated. Thanks!

[Debbie]

You are welcome! And remember, when you are doing that many miles, it's rather unlikely that you will overeat. Switching your focus to "fueling" from "weight management" helps.

Hope your ride was splendid! You have me beat; I still am having trouble with longer rides, post-knee surgery. Healing is slow, but things are going well.