Feature

Mon 4 May, 5:00 pm BST

Nutrition: Eat yourself lean and mean

By Christine Bailey, Cycling Plus

No matter what kind of rider you are, it’s all too easy to suffer from an expanding midsection. Not only can this hamper your performance, it can also affect your overall health.

The key to long-term weight loss is not merely counting calories or carbs, but instead following a programme designed to reshape your body, improving its composition and maintaining power.

Fundamental to this is balancing blood sugar levels, which is critical for losing fat, promoting muscle mass and hence boosting energy and performance. Adopting the following principles and eating plan will not only produce results fast, but it will also improve your performance and overall health.

Eat little and often

It’s essential for cyclists to keep the body fuelled frequently with the right foods, which ensures a steady supply of glucose entering the bloodstream to be converted into energy. This reduces the insulin response as well, enabling the body to burn fat rather than store it, which means effective, healthy weight loss paired with constant energy levels.

Two to three hours after eating, your blood glucose levels drop, so you should aim to eat around every three hours even if you’re not training. In practical terms, this means eating breakfast, a healthy mid-morning snack, lunch, another healthy snack in the afternoon and an evening meal.

During training sessions, or all-day rides, you may want to add an additional snack or two. Choose these with care – treat them like mini-meals and make them count nutritionally. You can pick various foods to suit different times, such as when you need to hydrate, aid recovery or provide your body with additional nutrients. Here are some examples:

  • Pots of natural low-fat yoghurt, cottage cheese or fromage frais and fruit
  • Pots of hummus, guacamole or fish pate with a handful of carrot, pepper, cucumber and celery sticks
  • Nut and seed bars (no added sugar)
  • Piece of fruit with 30g of hard cheese
  • Plain popcorn, crackers or pretzels – combine with some protein
  • Oat cakes or pumpernickel bread
  • Hard-boiled egg and vegetable sticks
  • Flavoured low-fat milkshakes
  • Miso soup and lean ham/chicken
  • Homemade trail mix – combine a variety of nuts, dried fruit and mini plain shredded wheat to snack on

Include protein

Many weight loss diets fail to work and also result in a loss of muscle mass, leading to a slower metabolism, less fat loss and even weight gain. This is where including sufficient protein in your diet can help. After all, your muscles are mostly made up of protein.

Including protein has other important benefits, too – it slows down the rate of digestion and the speed at which sugars are released into the bloodstream, helping you to feel fuller for longer and thus reducing appetite. Because your blood sugar doesn’t vary so dramatically, you’re also less likely to suffer from cravings and, as a result, overeating.

Not all proteins are as beneficial for your health as others, though: red meat and dairy foods contain a high proportion of saturated fats. While it’s fine to have the odd steak, try to include more lean poultry, eggs, vegetarian protein foods and fish (particularly oily fish: a good source of anti-inflammatory omega 3 fats).

Quick tip: A portion is roughly 75g to 100g in weight, which is about the size of the palm of your hand. This is equal to two eggs or three egg whites plus an egg yolk. For beans and pulses, it’s 125g/half a cup (cooked).

Fill just over a third of your plate (30 to 40 per cent) with protein and combine this with a range of colourful veggies, which contain vitamins, minerals and fibre that help counter the acidity of protein-based foods.

Cut out the junk

Sugar comes in many disguises, whether it’s sucrose, glucose, sorbitol, corn sugar, malt, molasses, golden, rice or maple syrup. All of these can contribute to unstable sugar levels, insulin resistance and weight gain.

Focus more on wholegrains (oats, barley, quinoa, rye) – the fibre helps to control cravings and maintain even energy levels when on your bike.

Fast sugar-releasing fruits and juice are fine pre, post and during rides, but eat or drink them too often and it can send your sugar levels soaring. Mix them with slower releasing, antioxidant-rich berries, citrus fruits, apples and pears.

Eat essential fats

Forget low-fat, calorie-counting diets; eating the right type of fat is crucial for losing weight. The essential fats are those the body cannot make itself and so must be obtained from food.

Known as omega 3, 6 and essential fatty acids, they help your body to make hormone-like substances (called prostaglandins) that control your metabolism and reduce inflammation. This means that such fats are used by your body to help you burn off excess fat and improve the levels of both cholesterol and triglycerides in your blood.

The omega 3 fats found in oily fish such as salmon, trout, mackerel, sardines and herring, and some nuts and seeds, including flaxseed, hemp and walnuts, are typically lacking in the diet. Aim to eat oily fish at least twice a week and try to include a range of nuts, seeds and omega oils in your diet daily. Monounsaturated fat is also beneficial, so you can snack on avocados drizzled with olive oil.

Get supplementary help

To keep your blood sugar levels stable, it may be useful to supplement your diet. Start with a high strength multivitamin and mineral formula containing between 20 to 50mg of each of the key B vitamins (B1, B2, B3, B6) needed for energy production, at least 1g of vitamin C and an essential omega supplement.

You may wish to add other nutrients known to help stabilise blood sugar and burn fat – top choices for this include chromium, magnesium, alpha lipoic acid, conjugated linolenic acid (CLA) and protein supplements or powders. Getting the quantities right can be difficult, so it’s worth seeking support from a nutritionist in order to tailor a programme to suit your needs.

Typical menu

  • Breakfast: Protein boosting porridge made with porridge oats, milk or water and a half scoop of protein powder or ground seeds. Top with yoghurt and half a cup of berries or fruit.
  • Mid-morning snack: One bit of fruit plus some nuts and seeds.
  • Lunch: Mixed bean or chicken salad using half a can of mixed beans and at least five different vegetables, sprouted seeds and dressed using an omega-blend oil. One slice of rye or pumpernickel bread spread with pumpkin seed butter or tahini.
  • Mid-afternoon snack: One protein shake 
  • Dinner: Seared salmon with steamed veg and half a cup of cooked buckwheat noodles. Use a palm-sized piece of fish and wide selection of veg.

User Comments

There are 35 comments on this post

Showing 1 - 30 of 35 comments

  • Is there much protein in 10 pints of lager and a kebab?

  • i hope so.

  • Interesting to see the protein shake featuring in the diet, one area that could help is to have a protein shake pre bed with a slower digesting product like casein to help you have some fuel to repair whilst you sleep, this is very popular with people who weight train/ body build.

  • at least 5 different types of veg! How do you get that easy to make for a lunch? And protein shakes? Home made?

  • My student loan won't stretch that far :(

    why is it so exensive to eat healthy and so cheap to eat junk?

    you'd think the government would realise, subsidise healthy foods = healthier people = less strain on NHS + more productive workforce!

    instead of an overweight lazy car obsessed nation of fatties?

    too harsh lol??

  • It's simple. Health foods a grown in the dirt, naturally, by farmers and market gardeners. They put a lot of time and effort inc. chemicals and fertilizers that keep them to keep them alive and rich in all the essential good stuff (ignoring Organic..What a marketing success Organic has been, what a joke!) All there time, fertilizers, chemicals, pesticides, farmable land and transport etc. cost allot more than 1 scientist in a back shed creating a packet of chips with the cheapest chemicals and salt and preservatives injected into it, so in the end it has a shelf life longer than the life of the consumer that buys them…you know who I mean.

    Real food cost money.

  • Since altering my diet (dropping my carb intake by about half) I no longer need to eat every two hours as I did previosuly. I no longer exeprience severe blood sugar lows and can now go 5-6 hours without eating. On the road bike I also do not need any fuel till about 40 miles when I usually eat a Torq or Cliff bar or some dried dates or figs. I don't eat anything at track sesisons (2 hours long) and I don't need/use carb drinks any more either. All they ever did was give me stomach problems which I n longer get with the lower carb and bread-free diet.

    Regarding Omega 3 and 6 fats; nuts and seed fats are in practically every processed food product (including bread). The overuse of rapeseed and sunflower seed oils in processed food as well as in cooking mean most people get enough of these fats. In fact, the imbalance between the proportion of Omega 6 fats and the Omega 3 fat found in oily fish is too large for most of the population and this has some health risks. Ideally, they should be in balance in the body, at a ratio of 2:1 for Omega 6 to Omega 3. But the average in the UK is around 10 : 1. Oil-rich fish are the only nutritionally significant source of long-chain omega 3 and most people don't get enough oily fish, but get far more nut/seed oil so they should be eating more oily fish, not eating more nuts and seeds as this will make the imbalace worse.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/factual/foodprogramme_20090329.shtml

  • Never heard of half that stuff, dont think ASDA would even have it. Will probably stick to ham sandwiches and egg chips and Beanz. You'd have to be a nutrition geek to get organized for all that.

  • eat this eat that yeah yeah heard it all before i'm 37/38 weigh 20 stones have a 46" waist 53" chest and love going out on my bike and do 20+ miles and the only problem i have is getting proper cycle clothing , you eat what you want we are all diferent it's down to your metabalisum so you can shove ya nuts up yer bum i'll keep cycling my way.

  • MOUSER......... WTF

    IN THE FACE OF A TON OF INFO ITS AMAZING THAT YOU CAN THINK THAT WAY.

    IT IS GREAT TO HEAR THAT YOU LOVE RIDING THOUGH AND I'D GUESS THAT 20 STONE FOR 20 MILES WITH NO CYCLING SHORTS WOULD BE ALL MOST OF US COULD DO!

  • Mouser - I weighed 20 St at your age too. Now I weigh a lot less and am all the better for it -- though given the number of calories they contain, I'd still be tempted to follow your advice about nuts!

    There is no way to get the daily requirement of Omega 3 from nuts. I forget the details but I believe a typical portion of salmon contains about 10 times the amount of Omega 3 as an equivalent portion of nuts. On the other hand, if you eat all fish all the time you start to run into mercury issues -- at least over here in the US. One way round that is to take fish oil - preferably in capsules. Any of you old enough to remember cod liver oil by the teaspoon will know why!

  • Blonde - where did you get your low card diet info? Would be interested in taking a look.

  • I don't have a "low carb diet" as such. I eat plenty of vegetables which are a source of carbohydrate. I eat longer chain complex carbs on the bike in the form of Torq bars and for breakfast I have porridge. I don't howver eat bread, pasta, cous cous or rice in large quanities as I used to. I used to ahvea plate ful of opasta toppedw ith a tiny amount of other food. now it;s teh other way round! If at all, I'd have perhaps two or three desert spoonfuls of complex carbs with a meal. The rest being vegetables and protein. Keeping blood sugar stable is the key for me. I do eat cakes and sweet treats such as crumble with custard ocasionally, particularly whilst out cycling, but usually as part of a lower GI meal and not on their own, so I don't get sugar spinkes and troughs. My clothing size is down two sizes, and average speed is improved. I can only say it works for me. I no longer get the stomach problems I used to get, or the pre mentrual bloating/water retention which had me 7-10 pounds heavier every month and with severe abdominal discomfort.

    http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=2129154

  • Found a shorter abstract here:

    http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt;=3522019#

    There are actually other studies too, but the links are massive - you'll have to Google.

  • Im really struggling to find time to find and/or prep these exotic things. I have lost 2 stone sinse new year through the simple rule of more excersise less calories. Burn more than you consume and you will lose weight. The only way not to lose it as muscle mass (so i'm led to believe) is to keep protein intake high, fat grams low and keep on training. Im no sports nutritionist but 14st 2lbs with a spare tyre to 12st 3lbs and looking & feeling better than ever cant be wrong?

  • Scanning this article with a fine tooth comb to try and justify that whole pack of hobnobs that I ate last night. Well they did contain a lot of oats...

  • Organic food is no joke, neither is it a marketing ploy. It was the way nearly all food was grown until the mid 20th century. Unfortunately healthy food (including organic) does cost more to make and is less convenient than junk, but you need less of it. Buy a bag of apples, some bananas and orange juice - there's 3 of your 5 fruits already. Add some greens or grow sprouting seeds (dead easy) for variety.

    If food is important to you then you need to pay more for it than what the supermarkets have helped us get used to. Too many would rather spend money on other things they want and skimp on food. I've never known a student who couldn't find money for beer (I was the same, but it was only 68p a pint).

    I pay a mortgage and support a family on a single low wage but we don't go without real food. I pay £7 for 5kg of organic oats which lasts ages and makes great porridge, muesli, flapjacks and topping for bakes. The convenience store in my estate sells local free range eggs for less than the supermarkets. Aldi and Lidl are great for so many things - cereals, dried foods etc. - but ignore the tempting sweet stuff. Look for own-brand multipack versions of tinned food etc. Large packs of pasta, dried fruit and nuts cut the cost and keep an eye open for 2-for-1 offers, but exercise a bit of discipline and stick to 'real' food and ignore the fizzy pop, meat and treats they want you to buy. Processed white bread is just padding, spend a bit more and get freshly baked wholemeal.

    It's not difficult to eat well on a budget, it requires extra time and thought. As Blonde has said, changing your attitude to what's on your plate can pay dividends.

  • It should be remembered that before the 20th C many people didn’t have a healthy diet. Food was organic, but often scarce and vitamin deficiencies were common. The halcyon days before „synthetic farming“ were not all they are cracked up to be. We are generally living longer now than then, even „pumped full“ of „chemicals“. I think some studies have shown fractionally more vitamins or anti-oxidants, etc. in some organic food, but we are asked to respect our bodies by eating organic food; supplemented with massive dosed of synthetic vitamins and protein powder, hmmm.

    Organic food is a lifestyle choice, if you can afford it and it makes you feel good, great. A large proportion of the world would be happy with any food, and organic production just aint going to fulfil the global need.

  • "we are asked to respect our bodies by eating organic food; supplemented with massive dosed of synthetic vitamins and protein powder"

    Not where I come from. Advertising might do that but not those promoting healthy eating.

    "organic production just aint going to fulfil the global need."

    Term1tem are you particularly knowledgeable in this area? I am not particularly, but I work with people who know more than most. I would caution against making claims about various food production methods unless you know something about them. Are you suggesting we return to 18th Century agronomy and live off potatoes? Developments in plant breeding, soil science and other areas in the second half of the last century has transformed the growing of cereals, roots and many other crops and is ongoing. Breeders are aware of the potential challenges ahead and not focussing solely on yield.

    Why would the EU (a body not known for picking fights with industry) ban or restrict a range of pesticides and fertilisers if they were harmless? Organic/low input agriculture is rather more sustainable and can feed more people than those with vested interests in the agrochemical / business trade would have us believe. When oil becomes more expensive, as it surely will, we will be forced to rethink our dependence on it for so many things, including farm inputs. Water is also a precious resource and not distributed evenly. This discrepancy is likely to increase with predicted changes in climate. Wars will be fought over both.

    If the (often overweight) people in rich countries ate less meat and dairy there would be a hell of a lot more fodder to share - livestock are notoriously inefficient calorie converters. Increased food production doesn't result in the elimination of starving people., Populations go hungry in countries like Zimbabwe that are capable of growing enough to feed them and still have surplus to export.

    Buying organic food is a choice but no more of a 'lifestyle' choice than many other things. I don't wish to make any claims about vitamins etc, but it's obvious to me that fruit & veg grown without the chemicals routinely used elsewhere and processed without the numerous additives, bulking agents, preservatives and wotnot that you find in much of our food today is going to be better for me. Whether I live longer as a result doesn't matter. I prefer cycling over car commuting for the same reason - I am making positive choices for my health (mental and physical) and that of my family.

  • It's all fine and well pointing out the way which we should be eating to lose weight, improve our riding but the reality is that most people can't or won't be able to manage this - through one reason or another - to some it's impractical, to others a breeze.

    I find the easiest way is to cut back on the crap and focus on eating healthily and going for what you can do or afford.

    As long as you're exercising and eating OK and not throwing deep fried mars bars or kebabs down your gullet every day, you should be fine. If you need to lose a little more, step up the cadence and distance - BUT DON'T FORGET TO TAKE EXTRA FUEL!!!!!

  • Cover story in this week's Farmers Guardian:

    "NEW research published by Defra has revealed the extent to which even low level exposure to organophosphate (OP) sheep dip appears to have caused health problems in farmers.

    An extensive study involving 132 farm workers with a history of using OPs before 1991 found they are suffering today from a range of physical, mental and emotional problems."

    http://www.farmersguardian.com/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode;=26181

    Still think it's a good idea?

  • I currently do weight training as well as cycling and this article is pretty much spot on.

    The best diet for an active person is balanced towards more protein and if needed then complex carbs. Simple carbs like bread just shoot through your system and throw everything out of whack. I've lost 20kg in 2 months along with dropping my body fat percentage by 9% and raising my vo2max by 14 points so I know that this diet does work. The best part is it's actually pretty easy to maintain.

    My Diet:

    Breakfast - Protein shake 53g protein to 15g carbs or a 2 egg omelette with some ham or bacon.

    10AM - Whey Protein Shake.

    Lunch - normally a wrap made with shaved chicken and some salad stuffs.

    2PM - Whey Protein Shake.

    Dinner - steak or chicken or fish with steamed vegetables and no starch.

    Before Bed - Whey Protein Shake and a green apple.

  • Hey this is a great article. Blood sugar control is so important. Grains are what we feed animals to make them fat. Its the same for us if we eat bread and pasta all the time.

    I lost 11lbs of body fat in 5 days and have loads of energy for riding by taking high quality supplements and eating foods that don't spike my blood sugar. Weights 3 times a week and now I'm lean and feeling better at 43 than I did at 23.

  • Pot Noodles seem to tick all the boxes ........

  • For me the big NO-NO is bread.

    This seems to dramatically slow my digestive system and flour can contain most anything the manufacturers wish. Some bread stays fresh for a week - you just know it's full of sh"te!

    If you want sustained energy it's pasta and the likes of potatoes, (I prefer sweet potatoes myself) rice and such like; complex carbs which provide a slow release of energy and have a low GI meaning a steady level of blood sugar.

    If you read the likes of Sir Ranulf Feinnes you'll note that his diet on "dry land" is based around complex carbs and he's serious about his adventure racing; in between adventures.

    I think each of us has different methods, but being say 20 stone does suggest whatever's going on there is fundamentally wrong, likewise dropping 11 lbs in 5 days (you don't say what your weight and BMI were at the start) is the body in crisis, consuming itself - and it's consumed more muscle than fat in this case.

    If I want to consume more calories I don’t mix carbs and proteins in the same meal, but you do feel hungry quicker this way so good for putting on muscle mass for example but not ideal for 2+hrs in the saddle.

    I also find alcohol to be an appetite suppressant, and it’s “empty” calories, so booze gets the chop when I’m training.

    No real idea about all these nuts and seeds I’m now being told to eat.

    Dry roasted peanuts anyone?

  • i've raced on and off road for the past ten years, nothing too serious just try to beat the person infront of me. i put a lot of time and effort into getting quality miles in but have never really looked into my diet, i just eat a traditionally healthy diet. i have seen protein shakes and powders, can anyone recommend a product and some literature?

  • Im new to cycling and have just started to get into the ('habbit' is the wrong word) regime of going to the gym on a regular basis. I am 23 and unlike most, if not all of the posts above, I am not trying to 'lose' weight but 'gain' weight. I am 10 stone, of average height and I would say that with being rather active I have an athletic physique.

    What can I do that will increase my weight gain, that will not affect my performance on my bike, and keep me healthy? I have read soo much over the past week that its all becoming a jumbled mess of good and bad reviews. Can any one help?

  • mattrix:

    To gain muscle you need to do two basic things (I've made an assumption that you are fairly new to weight training):-

    1. Lift - heavy things for a modest number of repetitions - 8-12 will be fine.

    2. Eat more - aim to increase your calorie intake by 15-20% - much of this in protein - you could probably do this with 2 X protein shakes a day.

    N.B you should find a decent weight training programme and use that. Make sure that you pay attention to core strength (abdominals, back etc.) and good form (i.e. make sure that you can lift those weights in control, rather than aiming for the heaviest you can just about get up - otherwise injury is on it's way.

    There are loads of programmes around - but bear in mind that this is also what you pay the gym for, they should be able to give you a sensible programme without selling you personal training etc.

  • I've started a wieght loss plan by just adjusting what I eat and when I eat it. I am 27 and weigh 14.5 stone and well have a belly from all the bad eating ... mostly from working away a lot and living out of a hotel ... week in and week out.

    So I've also purchased this eBook for £7.50 ... it's real, truthful and has everything I needed, explained in lamens terms to change my lifestyle!

    http://www.neilmct.com/neilmct-diet-plan.php?

  • Some worthwhile advice for many, but why do you continue to push people to eat more fish?

    The world's fish stocks are in such a shockingly bad state, and in many areas are already beyond total collapse. Industrial trawling and huge demand has devastated the ecosystem down there. We are eating our way down the food chain of the seas, and many parts of the oceans now support little more than jellyfish. Eating more fish at a time like this is criminal.

    Of course it's essential to get the right balance of fatty acids, but this can all be done by an entirely fish-free diet. (and meat free). Chose the appropriate raw organic nuts and seeds, and combine cold pressed oils from flax, hemp, olive, safflower, sunflower, etc. Read up on it, (for instance Udo, "Fats that heal and fats that kill" is a definitive text). Don't take so much notice of all this fish stuff. It's soon fairly easy to work out what works for you and how your body responds. Fish is very definitely not essential, - please stop pushing it.

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