Cycling and Losing Weight, Race Weight, Focusing on Fat Loss, Not Carbs & Water Weight! W/KG

Full post: https://www.evoq.bike/blog/cycling-nutrition-guide

Do you want to be fast or thin? Change your eating habits over time. Do this slowly and create new habits!

If you shed 5lbs asap but don’t change a thing, you have a good chance of putting it back on.

Two Cat 4 Questions came in:

Weight Loss - If your main weakness is the number on the scale instead of your PMC, should you consider a weight loss block (what would that look like?) or try to pair caloric deficit-days over a longer period to training? Of the former - what does that look like? If the latter - how would that be structured with the 5-blocks to Racing to make sure you are adequately adapting for each subsequent workout or block?

Historically I haven't fueled my workouts well - gotten into a bad cycle of doing my morning training fasted (even races often) and then eating like a bird the rest of the day, and then being starving at dinner and eating the entire house. It's the kind of thing that when I step back and look at it then it's clearly so bad - but in the moment, when I get off the bike, there's a bit of fear about eating too much, gaining weight, and "undoing" the weight loss I just earned on the bike.

Check out this video for the answer.

Some notes:

You should never be "losing weight" after a ride. The purpose of rides is to stress the body, break you down, and then you recover (eating is key to this), your body says "that was kinda hard, i better grow and get stronger" and you rebound a stronger human; this is VERY simplified but should get the point across.

Cut some some calories at the end of a long ride AFTER you've already WELL FUELED AND RECOVERED. NOT RIGHT AFTER RIDE.

A little hunger at night is okay, but going to bed starving is a recipe for poor sleep and not recovering.Focus on fat loss, not body weight; you will retain water with carbs etc; if you chase just that # it will drive you nuts. Get a scale with fat % and watch that only for now.Don’t count calories but count carbs on the bike

1. NO BS: goodbye soda (even diet ones), candy, cakes, sweets, garbage. BYE FELICIA. Eliminating these will fast track this is a healthy way.

2. Focus on fat loss; don't get obsessed with small fluctuations on the scale, it could be water weight. Think long term and stick to your plan, NO cheating!

3. 300-500 calorie deficit a day. FUEL workouts. Eat like a king at breakfast, a prince at lunch, and a pauper at dinner (low cal but nutrient dense!)

4. Don't reduce carbs, reduce overall calories. People who cut carbs see a quicker decline in "weight", but that's water weight. Athletes who eat carbs are more fueled for intense sessions and recover faster (they aren't sure exactly why, but carb loading actually helps recovery too...my theory, you just are never totally depleted and dead!)

5. SLEEP. when you're tired, you're more likely to eat a twinkie and have less resolve. Sleep deprivation also inhibits fat loss.

6. No recovery shakes, eat food. If you can, finish a ride and have one of your meals right after!

7. Snacks are veggies only. If you feel a little hunger, that's okay. That's your body telling you, "Hey, i might need food IN A WHILE, start foraging or go hunt something." Not: go eat the cheeze-its. Do it, they taste like cheese. MMMMM cheese. NO!

8. Don't go all day being good only to cave at the end. Long day + tired + "I've been good" is a recipe for disaster. When dinner is over, we are done fueling!

Brendan@EVOQ.BIKE

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