Ask a Dietitian

The good weather is here and cyclists have hit the road.  If you are one of them be sure you have a good hydration and fuel plan? The intensity and duration of your ride as well as the outdoor temperature will determine what you consume.   If you are heading out on a ride for just an hour or less you can rely on your water bottle alone, but if you plan to go for more than 90 minutes you need to plan ahead, especially if you are riding with a group and you want to keep up.

Before you Go.

Have a good breakfast at least 90 minutes before you ride and 2 cups of water.  Breakfast should be primarily carbohydrates with some protein for staying power.  Try one of these:

Oatmeal, milk, blueberries and walnuts

Bagel with peanut butter and banana

Fruit salad, Greek yogurt and granola

Activity of 1 hour or Less.

All you really need is water.  However a recent study found that athletes doing a 40km time trial in under 1 hour performed better when consuming carbohydrates both before and during the trial.  Performance was also improved even by swirling a sports drink in their mouth by activating the carbohydrate sensors in the mouth.  Perhaps it is that the brain is being tricked by the promise of carboydates…

During activity of 90 minutes or more.

Hydrate with 60-125ml water every 10 minutes.  More if in the heat.  Aim for 30-60g of carbohydrates per hour.  Start consuming carbs before you are depleted, around 45 minutes in.  It can be in the form of a beverage such as a sports drink, a gel or food.  Sports drinks not only hydrate but they also have the added benefit that they taste good so consumption is improved, they provide a source of carbs and they have electrolytes.  Try one of the following:

Each provides ~60 g of carbohydrate

• 1 litre sports drink

• 600 ml cola drink

• 1.5 sports bars

• 3 cereal bars

• 2 sports gels

• 3 small or 2 large bananas

• 95 g jelly babies or jelly beans

• 1 jam sandwich – thick sliced bread and 2 tablespoon jam

• Liquid meal supplement

During Ultra events >4hrs

Stay hydrated and try to match your fluid losses.  More solid foods may be required to deal with hunger and reduce flavour fatigue.  Try switching to savory, changing the texture and even the temperature of the food if possible.  Requirements for carbohydrates may increase to 50-90g/hr during cycling tours and iron man events. Replacing salt and protein will also be necessary.

Recovery.

After the event the priority is fluid and then refueling and replacing electrolytes.  Typically this can be your next meal or snack.  Have food with you and be sure to refuel within an hour if you have another event later that day or the next day.  Try to replace 125-150% of your weight lost with water.  Ex if you lose 1 kg replace it with 1250-1500ml water over the next 2-4 hours.  Try some of the following recovery snacks.:

Examples of post-exercise snacks

Carbohydrate-focused:

• Sports drinks

• Fruit juice or soft drink

• Banana sandwich

• Fresh fruit, canned fruit

• Muffins, bagel

• Breakfast bar, muesli bar

• Sports bar

Carbohydrate + protein focused:

• Fruit smoothie (low-fat milk, banana, berries, yoghurt)

• Liquid meal supplement (Boost, Vega)

• Breakfast cereal + milk and fruit

• Sandwich or wrap including meat/cheese/chicken in filling

• Baked potato + baked beans + grated cheese