Nutrition Tips for Cyclists

Eating a nutritionally balanced diet is important for everyone — especially for cyclists and other active people.

Start With a Balanced Diet
A diet that includes a mix of carbohydrate, protein, and fat is the best way to prepare your body for any physical activity, including cycling. This will provide the energy you need to fuel your body, and will help you maintain and rebuild muscles.

A balanced diet also provides the nutrients you need to repair your body after exercise. Make sure you eat a variety of foods, especially fruits and vegetables. Most people don't need vitamin or mineral supplements if they have a balanced diet.

Water is considered part of a balanced diet. Make sure you are drinking enough water each day to prevent dehydration and replace the water you lose when sweating.

People who are very active and those who participate in endurance exercise, such as cycling, may have special nutritional needs. If you are in this category, you may want to talk with a registered dietitian and put together a diet plan to make sure you're getting what your body needs.

Eating Before a Ride
Eating a large meal before a ride is not necessary, but increasing the amount of carbohydrates will provide the energy you need.

Patricia King, a nutritionist at Group Health's Eastside Hospital in Redmond, says good choices for a pre-ride breakfast include cereal, fruit, bagels, peanut butter, hard-boiled eggs, or oatmeal.

Eating During a Ride
It is important to eat while "on the go." Eating during exercise replaces the energy lost while being active, which can help you ride longer and improves your performance.

If you plan to ride for 90 minutes or longer, eat a small amount of high carbohydrate food every 30 to 60 minutes, suggests Elizabeth Quinn, a member of Team Group Health and an exercise physiologist. "A few bites of an energy bar, banana, fig bar, or bagel every half hour can help you feel good throughout the ride."

Quinn and Pamela Wyngate, a Group Health writer and editor, both rode in the 2004 Group Health Seattle to Portland Bicycle Classic (STP). During the ride, they ate a variety of high-carbohydrate foods to maintain their energy levels.

Quinn's ride foods included plums, grapes, watermelon, oranges, and energy bars. Wyngate, who was riding the Group Health STP for the first time, chose fruit and bagels. "I've never eaten so many bananas in my life, and they never tasted so good," says Wyngate.

Don't Wait Too Long — or Eat Too Much
Waiting too long to eat can compromise your performance and cause you to "bonk" — a cycling term used to describe the feelings of tiredness, irritability, dizziness, nausea, and confusion due to hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar. If you begin to bonk, you should stop and eat or drink something rich in carbohydrates.

Look for foods that are easily digested and that you like, says Quinn. Experiment on shorter rides to determine what you like and what works best for you. If the food you take along on the ride isn't appealing, you are less likely to eat enough. However, avoid foods that are high in fat because they are harder to digest and may lead to stomach cramps.

During an organized event, be careful not to overeat at the well-stocked rest stops along the route. A large meal in the middle of your ride is tough to digest and will divert blood from your muscles to your stomach, which can cause cramps and nausea, as well as decrease your performance. Quinn suggests eating a small snack at the rest stop and taking some food to go.

Stick With Familiar Foods
Finally, stick with the tried and true. A long ride is a bad time to experiment with new foods because you don't know how your body will handle it. It's best to eat things you are accustomed to and have had success with in the past.

Eating After a Ride
In order to replenish your energy stores and rebuild muscle tissues after cycling, consider eating a post-exercise meal or snack within two hours of your ride.

The best food combination includes a 4:1 ratio of carbohydrate to protein. Nutritionist King also suggests eating small amounts of protein every two to four hours to help rebuild muscles.

By Erin Gunn
Group Health staff writer

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