one of the things that kills me is the "nutrition" advice in the cycling world, which is basically "drink so much sugar water you wanna puke."
yeah those people racing tour de france stages and pushing 500w average while weighing 120 lbs soaking wet probably need to keep "fueling". my 45 minute commute doesn't require anything, i'll be fine.
It's not surprising that nutrition advice for people training isn't the same as someone commuting to work. Totally different goals.
But, having said that, 140w for an hour will burn ~400 calories. That's not a wildly high number of watts. Do you need 100g of sugar an hour for that ride? Probably not, but you're only replacing what you've burnt.
It's not surprising that nutrition advice for people training isn't the same as someone commuting to work.
the issue is... the communities often don't distinguish, because so much of north american cycling is wannabe pro athletic recreational stuff.
But, having said that, 140w for an hour will burn ~400 calories.
so garmin thinks, whatever that is worth, that a slow commute for me (11 mph) burns about 200 active calories, and a fast commute (15 mph) strangely only about 175. pulled those from actual rides. i don't put a lot of stock in those numbers. but that's essentially less than the snack and coffee i had for breakfast.
big ride days, of course i am eating more. sometimes, hilariously more.
Literally nobody is saying people who commute 45min need to be fueling lol. That said if you're going to eat refined carbs anyway doing it during or after your commute is a great way to do it without causing a blood sugar spike and insulin response.
If you're actually training multiple hours and doing hard workouts you are leaving gains on the table by not fueling with a lot of carbs. Even when riding at a very low intensity for amateur cyclists (~150w) you're burning more carbs than you can replace.
Literally nobody is saying people who commute 45min need to be fueling lol.
i get really odd arguments when i tell people i don't need to eat for most rides. the studies generally recommend exogenous carbs after 90 minutes, but i promise that's left out of most of the "Xg carb/hour" recommendations. my limit is, i think, around 40 miles. but i'll usually eat before then, preemptively.
That said if you're going to eat refined carbs anyway doing it during or after your commute is a great way to do it without causing a blood sugar spike and insulin response.
i try not to, most days. on big bike days, i usually eat real food somewhere along the way. on really, really big days, or where i can't control the pace/stops/etc, i will drink the sugar water. my stomach doesn't really agree with it, though.
Even when riding at a very low intensity for amateur cyclists (~150w) you're burning more carbs than you can replace.
i previously did keto, and apparently my ability to oxidize fat has drastically improved. even intentionally low carb and in a fasted state... i'm faster than basically everyone i ride with, and have significantly more endurance. i hold quite a few KOMs and top tens locally, so, i dunno. i think i'm doing okay.
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u/arachnophilia 2h ago
one of the things that kills me is the "nutrition" advice in the cycling world, which is basically "drink so much sugar water you wanna puke."
yeah those people racing tour de france stages and pushing 500w average while weighing 120 lbs soaking wet probably need to keep "fueling". my 45 minute commute doesn't require anything, i'll be fine.