Veteran - LVRC

The Feeding Station
Are you getting enough CHO?
UP UNTIL THE 1980S cyclists were so
ignorant about nutrition that rare steak
was the standard pre-race meal for all
road-racing cyclists. Silly, really,because
the vital importance of carbohydrate
(CHO) had been demonstrated back in
1939. Cyclists fed a low CHO diet took
60 minutes to ride to exhaustion on an
exercise bike; those on a normal mixed
diet took 1 hr 44min; those on high
CHO took 2hr 50min. Carbohydrate is
the one sure, legal, performanceenhancing
aid that really works.
Carbohydrate is stored as glycogen in
the liver and muscles, along with three
times its own weight in water; but your
body is able to store very little – perhaps
2000 kCal. However you exercise, you
will use a certain amount of glycogen,
and the amount in your muscles will
dictate how long and hard you can
exercise.
You should therefore begin any
exercise with high glycogen stores. You’ll
use it up according to the intensity and
duration of the exercise. The higher the
intensity, and/or the longer the duration,
the more you’ll use. Clearly, if you’re
taking part in a strenuous, lengthy
Fruit & Nut
Porridge
50 gm (2 oz) porridge oats
400 ml skimmed milk
25 gm (1 oz) raisins or mixed dried fruit
1 medium banana, chopped
15 gm chopped mixed nuts
Sprinkle of cinnamon
Preparation time: 5 minutes
exercise like road racing (or hard
training), you will have to refuel. The
higher your CHO intake, the faster you
can replenish your glycogen stores. This
is particularly important if you train daily,
or are riding a stage race. If your food is
low in CHO you will take much longer to
replenish your glycogen than if it is high
in CHO. Unless you replace what you
used, the next day you will fatigue earlier
and achieve smaller training gains.
Sometimes you will need a rest day in
order to achieve this. However, a trained
athlete is able to store more glycogen
than an untrained one.
You should therefore base all your
meals on foods high in CHO. Choose
the CHO (bread, pasta, potatoes, rice)
first, and then decide what to have with
it.
Immediately following strenuous
exercise the body is particularly ready to
take on CHO. In this period muscle
glycogen manufacture increases from a
normal 5% to 8%. So you should start
refuelling immediately after exercise.
Don’t wait. You should aim at eating at
least 1 gm CHO per kilo bodyweight. If
you weigh 70 kg, that’s 70 gms. Start
Cooking time: 5 minutes
1.Mix the oats and milk and cook in a microwave (about 3 minutes,
stirring twice during cooking time) or in a saucepan (about 5–6
minutes, stirring continuously).
2. When oats are cooked, add raisins, bananas and nuts and stir.
3. Add extra milk or water as desired and warm slightly if necessary.
4. Turn into serving dish and sprinkle with cinnamon.
Serve with low-fat natural yoghurt or fromage frais
Nutrition per serving 315 kCal; 12 gm protein, 8 gm fat, 53 gm
carbohydrate.Ideal breakfast before training, a snack after training,
or a dessert. Moderate source of calcium.
with a whole bottle of your favourite
carbo fuel, 50 gm dissolved in water, plus
a banana sandwich. Then you need to
eat at least 50 gm of CHO per two hours
– more if possible. Don’t leave long gaps
– it will slow down the rate of recovery.
Grazing, eating little and often, is a much
more efficient way of feeding than is
eating one or two large meals.
Many people think that eating sugary
foods before exercise will trigger a surge
of insulin and low blood sugar. This is
not the case. Eating a banana (or even
two) immediately before a race will
improve your endurance.
Taking on CHO during exercise of an
hour or more is also beneficial, even in a
25-mile time-trial. What’s more, it’s been
shown that you recover quicker.
You should choose your CHO according
to your specific needs. For instance,
simple sugars (like glucose) will provide a
rapid rise in blood sugar which may be
vital in a race; but they contain no other
nutrients. Your everyday diet should be
high in CHO but should consist of foods
rich in complex carbohydrates (starches)
like bread grains, cereals, starchy
vegetables and pulses (beans); and
simple carbohydrates like fruit and milk.
These foods contain vitamins, minerals
and trace elements which are necessary
for your general health. A chocolate bar
and a baked potato may both be worth
155 kCals, but the potato contains
thiamin and Vitamin C, both absent in
the chocolate – and 33% more carbohydrate
Foods based on simple sugars which
are rapidly absorbed are said to have a
high glycaemic index. Glucose is top,
pasta is moderate, and apricots are low.
Cyclists will often have a problem with
the sheer bulk of a diet high in CHO.
Complex carbohydrates, particularly
high-fibre foods, can be very filling. In
order to get 3000 kCal per day, you’d
need to eat the equivalent of 32 shredded
wheat, or 11 tins of baked beans to
make up your recommended 450 gm of
CHO.
So you have to look at other ways of
getting your CHO without the bulk.
White bread and dried fruit are less
filling, so eat a mix of wholemeal and
white cereals, fresh and dried fruit. Boost
your CHO intake with biscuits and
carbo drinks – but use them to top up,
not as the basis. V
Veteran Leaguer: Winter 2002 Page 9