mslyfield wrote:iv been lead to believe that a big pasta dinner the night before will help too? Or is this untrue?
Yes. The pro's certainly eat that sort of thing before race day. Helps to build up the glycogen levels in the muscles and liver.
mslyfield wrote:iv been lead to believe that a big pasta dinner the night before will help too? Or is this untrue?
Gearoidmuar wrote:JohnW wrote:Don't eat bacon, sausage, meat etc or anything fried - even if you have that for breakfast, it's just about processed and ready as blood sugar by the time you get home. Easy to digest grub, and little and often !!! Plenty to drink, and I don't recommend beer on a ride - get home, get your bath, and off to meet the lads at the local.
This is not so, John. If you eat protein with your carbohydrate it slows down the absorbtion of the carbohydrate making it last longer and evening out sugar spikes. I used to subscribe to the little and often, of carbohydrate, and it does work, but found that moderate amounts with protein, much less often work just as well, and are more satisfying.
When I'm bike touring, or doing a 100 miler I have a bigger than normal breakfast with fish, or if in a hotel/B&B etc., some of the full English/Irish/Ulster/Yorkshire/Whatever they call it breakfast. I don't eat fried eggs but I'll have rashers, sausages and black pudding. I then don't have to eat anything till lunchtime.
JohnW wrote:[
I don't know about the slowing down of carbo absorption - if you need the calories you need them; quite frankly I learned not to prejudice my stomach's ability to process food into blood sugar at a very early stage - and I'm sorry, but I really can't go along with any suggestion that fat is ok.
Gearoidmuar wrote:I am actually a retired doctor and understand all the physiology of this area.................If you take a big whack of carbohydrates alone, what happens is that your blood sugar shoots up quite high, your body as a response injects a large wallop of insulin into the blood to force it into cells, and then you get a dip in blood sugar, making you hungry or giving you the bonk..........You can of course counteract that by nibbling all day, but if you use jellytots, that's not good for your teeth etc.
On the other hand, if you ingest a good wallop of carbohydrate with some protein (fish, meat, cheese, eggs), the protein causes the carbohydrate to be absorbed more gradually, you don't get a big insulin spike and you don't get the bonk and you can go much longer without eating.
Alan D wrote:Hello, I would like to know if it is a good, or bad, idea to have a big pasta meal the night before?
If I eat too late in the evening, I go to bed feeling bloated and don't feel comfortable.
I would also know what views there are on what is the optimum time before the start of the event for having breakfast? Assume that I will have a full breakfast to ensure that the 'batteries' are fully charged. I'm planning to do 75 miles on Sunday in the Oxford Bike Ride and this distance is going into unknown territory for me.
Thanks,
Alan
Gearoidmuar wrote:I am actually a retired doctor and understand all the physiology of this area, but anyone who read the right stuff would understand it without problem. Why slowing down the absorbtion of carbohydrates is desirable can be explained by the following facts.
If you take a big whack of carbohydrates alone, what happens is that your blood sugar shoots up quite high, your body as a response injects a large wallop of insulin into the blood to force it into cells, and then you get a dip in blood sugar, making you hungry or giving you the bonk. (A kind of Chinese meal syndrome) You can of course counteract that by nibbling all day, but if you use jellytots, that's not good for your teeth etc.
On the other hand, if you ingest a good wallop of carbohydrate with some protein (fish, meat, cheese, eggs), the protein causes the carbohydrate to be absorbed more gradually, you don't get a big insulin spike and you don't get the bonk and you can go much longer without eating.
I'm not a retired doctor, but I agree entirely.Gearoidmuar wrote:I am actually a retired doctor and understand all the physiology of this area, but anyone who read the right stuff would understand it without problem. Why slowing down the absorbtion of carbohydrates is desirable can be explained by the following facts.
If you take a big whack of carbohydrates alone, what happens is that your blood sugar shoots up quite high, your body as a response injects a large wallop of insulin into the blood to force it into cells, and then you get a dip in blood sugar, making you hungry or giving you the bonk. (A kind of Chinese meal syndrome) You can of course counteract that by nibbling all day, but if you use jellytots, that's not good for your teeth etc.
On the other hand, if you ingest a good wallop of carbohydrate with some protein (fish, meat, cheese, eggs), the protein causes the carbohydrate to be absorbed more gradually, you don't get a big insulin spike and you don't get the bonk and you can go much longer without eating.
paulcuthbert wrote:Recent 100 mile ride:
Breakfast - 4 rice cakes with Nutella
Lunch - Banana sandwich on white bread + 2 pieces of fruit. Pomegranate juice
Mid-ride - Regular water in bottles + 2 bananas
Post-ride - Homemade recovery drink containing small tin of pineapple, 1 banana, 200ml fat free yoghurt, 200ml skimmed milk, pinch of salt, pinch of sugar