Nutrition 101: Carbohydrates, Fats and Proteins
Consider How You Eat
Nutritional Periodization
Carbs - 4 Calories per Gram
Fats - 9 Calories per Gram
Proteins - 4 Calories per Gram
Carbs - 4 Calories per Gram
Fats - 9 Calories per Gram
Proteins - 4 Calories per Gram
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512-947-2949
512-947-2949
At this point in the season, many of us are assessing the season we
just completed and setting goals for next season. Most if not all of
us want to go into next season a little lighter. To be successful in
this, you must combine dietary strategies with your training
strategies. In addition to considering the types of nutrients you
consume, you must also begin to adjust the quantity as well.
You have probably heard how pro cyclists and other pro athletes
precisely measure their food, but have you ever really thought about
why? A concept that has been gaining momentum in the health and
weight loss world is now pushing down the ranks of sports and
particularly cycling. This concept is called the “energy balance” or in
the sports well it is referred to as nutritional periodization. This
concept hinges on the idea that your energy in (consumed) should
match your energy expended on a daily basis. If you want to lose
weight, your energy in should be less than energy out. If you want
to maintain your weight, they should be equivalent, and if you are
trying to gain weight, you can take in more than you burn.
You decide the degree to which you want to pursue this. It could be
as easy as reducing your portion sizes on non-training days or
reducing your daily caloric intake during the off season and early
base phases of your training season. Whatever you decide is right
for you, as you start planning your dietary strategy for the next
training year and race season, I want to give you the basics on
Carbs, Fats, and Proteins (The Macronutrients) and how they play
into fueling you on the bike.
Carbohydrates (Carbs) - These guys are your friends. They are
the fuel of choice when the going gets tough. The closer your
exercise intensity gets to your LT, the higher the percentage of
carbs you are burning. Above LT your body burns almost
exclusively carbohydrate. The more carbs you can STORE, the
better. Notice the emphasis on "STORE". This is an important
concept. You cannot train your body to store more carbohydrates
simply by eating more. If you simply eat more carbohydrates, they
are converted to fat and stored as fat. You do not want this. To
store additional energy as carbohydrates, you have to exhaust your
carbohydrate stores significantly enough to stimulate your body to
store more. You do this during your hard rides (Pace/ H-Trail, Hills,
and Intervals) and when you ride back to back days. You do not
have to run completely out of carbs for this change to happen. You
simply have to dip into your stores deep enough and often enough
for your body to realize you need to store more carbs in your
muscles and liver.
For each gram of carbohydrate you eat, you get 4 calories. Almost
all of these calories are used for free energy. You want about 60 -
70% of your total calories per day to come from carbohydrates.
Carbs are quick energy, but they are exhaustible. The more you
can train your body to store the longer it takes to exhaust them.
Fats - Believe it or not, fats are also your friend when it comes to
energy on the bike. They are the fuel of choice at lower intensities.
The thing with fats though is that even the leanest of us have
enough fat to fuel us almost indefinitely. You do not have to eat a
set amount of fats. Your body is very efficient at making fats from
other energy sources. You convert other forms of food energy
(primarily carbs) to fat for storage if not used for exercise or stored
elsewhere in the body.
You need carbohydrates to access energy from fat. This is a very
important point in light of the popular diets right now. It is said that
fats burn in the flame of carbohydrates. In other words,
carbohydrates run the system to extract energy from fats. So when
you run out of carbs (bonk) or you do not adequately replace carbs,
you will have issues effectively using energy stored as fat. So, you
will feel okay when you are going easy, like Zone 2 or below, but you
will feel like hell when your intensity approaches LT.
Fats provide 9 calories per gram. You should try to limit fats in your
diet to 15 - 20 % of your total calories each day at most.
Proteins - Proteins are popular right now, but guess how much free
(usable) energy comes from proteins. Less than 1% of your total
daily energy expenditure! The free energy elicited from a gram of
protein is negligible; less than one calorie. So the Atkins Diet (or
any like it) has no place in cycling!
The reason low carb, high protein diets work for weight loss is
because proteins use so much of the energy they contain (4 calories
per gram) in digestion, that there is practically no energy left for any
activities and especially not for storage as fat. They also digest very
slowly, so you get a feeling of fullness longer.
Proteins are not your friend on the bike. When you find yourself
using protein as energy on the bike, you can bet it is going to be a
long day. Your body has ways to try to make it work, but your
performance will be nowhere near normal.
Although protein is not a good energy source, they do serve many
important functions in the body. Most important to an athlete is the
fact that proteins are the building blocks for cell repair. This is why
you will see significant amounts of protein in recovery drinks (often
labeled as "After" for marketing purposes). There is also research
that shows that protein helps speed carbohydrate absorption after a
hard bout of exercise. You should try to get about .5 grams of
protein per pound of body weight per day. This will cover the needs
of almost every athlete.
just completed and setting goals for next season. Most if not all of
us want to go into next season a little lighter. To be successful in
this, you must combine dietary strategies with your training
strategies. In addition to considering the types of nutrients you
consume, you must also begin to adjust the quantity as well.
You have probably heard how pro cyclists and other pro athletes
precisely measure their food, but have you ever really thought about
why? A concept that has been gaining momentum in the health and
weight loss world is now pushing down the ranks of sports and
particularly cycling. This concept is called the “energy balance” or in
the sports well it is referred to as nutritional periodization. This
concept hinges on the idea that your energy in (consumed) should
match your energy expended on a daily basis. If you want to lose
weight, your energy in should be less than energy out. If you want
to maintain your weight, they should be equivalent, and if you are
trying to gain weight, you can take in more than you burn.
You decide the degree to which you want to pursue this. It could be
as easy as reducing your portion sizes on non-training days or
reducing your daily caloric intake during the off season and early
base phases of your training season. Whatever you decide is right
for you, as you start planning your dietary strategy for the next
training year and race season, I want to give you the basics on
Carbs, Fats, and Proteins (The Macronutrients) and how they play
into fueling you on the bike.
Carbohydrates (Carbs) - These guys are your friends. They are
the fuel of choice when the going gets tough. The closer your
exercise intensity gets to your LT, the higher the percentage of
carbs you are burning. Above LT your body burns almost
exclusively carbohydrate. The more carbs you can STORE, the
better. Notice the emphasis on "STORE". This is an important
concept. You cannot train your body to store more carbohydrates
simply by eating more. If you simply eat more carbohydrates, they
are converted to fat and stored as fat. You do not want this. To
store additional energy as carbohydrates, you have to exhaust your
carbohydrate stores significantly enough to stimulate your body to
store more. You do this during your hard rides (Pace/ H-Trail, Hills,
and Intervals) and when you ride back to back days. You do not
have to run completely out of carbs for this change to happen. You
simply have to dip into your stores deep enough and often enough
for your body to realize you need to store more carbs in your
muscles and liver.
For each gram of carbohydrate you eat, you get 4 calories. Almost
all of these calories are used for free energy. You want about 60 -
70% of your total calories per day to come from carbohydrates.
Carbs are quick energy, but they are exhaustible. The more you
can train your body to store the longer it takes to exhaust them.
Fats - Believe it or not, fats are also your friend when it comes to
energy on the bike. They are the fuel of choice at lower intensities.
The thing with fats though is that even the leanest of us have
enough fat to fuel us almost indefinitely. You do not have to eat a
set amount of fats. Your body is very efficient at making fats from
other energy sources. You convert other forms of food energy
(primarily carbs) to fat for storage if not used for exercise or stored
elsewhere in the body.
You need carbohydrates to access energy from fat. This is a very
important point in light of the popular diets right now. It is said that
fats burn in the flame of carbohydrates. In other words,
carbohydrates run the system to extract energy from fats. So when
you run out of carbs (bonk) or you do not adequately replace carbs,
you will have issues effectively using energy stored as fat. So, you
will feel okay when you are going easy, like Zone 2 or below, but you
will feel like hell when your intensity approaches LT.
Fats provide 9 calories per gram. You should try to limit fats in your
diet to 15 - 20 % of your total calories each day at most.
Proteins - Proteins are popular right now, but guess how much free
(usable) energy comes from proteins. Less than 1% of your total
daily energy expenditure! The free energy elicited from a gram of
protein is negligible; less than one calorie. So the Atkins Diet (or
any like it) has no place in cycling!
The reason low carb, high protein diets work for weight loss is
because proteins use so much of the energy they contain (4 calories
per gram) in digestion, that there is practically no energy left for any
activities and especially not for storage as fat. They also digest very
slowly, so you get a feeling of fullness longer.
Proteins are not your friend on the bike. When you find yourself
using protein as energy on the bike, you can bet it is going to be a
long day. Your body has ways to try to make it work, but your
performance will be nowhere near normal.
Although protein is not a good energy source, they do serve many
important functions in the body. Most important to an athlete is the
fact that proteins are the building blocks for cell repair. This is why
you will see significant amounts of protein in recovery drinks (often
labeled as "After" for marketing purposes). There is also research
that shows that protein helps speed carbohydrate absorption after a
hard bout of exercise. You should try to get about .5 grams of
protein per pound of body weight per day. This will cover the needs
of almost every athlete.
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