An ode to the endurance athlete...

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lukeosb
lukeosb Posts: 10
in Introduce Yourself
Hello everyone

Just wanted to post something for the minority on this site that are here in order to maintain or even gain weight due to their activity levels ie. all you endurance athletes out there

In my case im a cyclist, one that takes his sport quite seriously. Between racing and club social runs i average around 250 miles a week. Im 19 and 6'5 to begin with so i already need 4000 calories a day just to maintain my weight (i can feel the jealousy of those struggling to cut calories i know). I used to be 16 stone but through excessive study of nutrition and the aforementioned cycling and a bit of kickboxing for good measure has me down to 13 stone or ~185 pounds in around 18 months. Thing is, with that kind of mileage under my belt it becomes nigh on impossible to make up calories lost. At my size and usual pace a rough equation is just under 1000 calories burnt an hour, winter training consists of long endurance sessions lasting up to six hours...you see my problem

Now i can hear you say 'why dont you just eat a stack of pizzas, drizzled with olive oil and garnished with lard shavings', well the only thing more important to me than my cycling is my health and i like my heart without a stick of butter in it. i stick to a very strict clean diet that focuses on low GI carbs with plenty of good fats and as much protein as i can afford.

In conclusion, for those people that are trying to lose that Christmas bulge, i can recommend 2 things that shed 3 stone from me: long, low intensity workouts in the fat burning zone (for a rough guide to your fat burning zone 180- your age) this can even be just a brisk walk every morning, a good time to listen to some books on your new smartphone. No gimmicks, no super interval mega HIIT training or magical X factor *cough* sixpackshortcuts *cough* just exercise at a conversational pace. Secondly low GI carbohydrate, to cut a long story short, carbohydrates like brown rice, brown pasta, pearl barley, egg noodles, quinoa, bulger wheat to name a few are digested slowly by your body which prevents sugar spikes in your bloodstream, leading to insulin release and fat storage.

For anyone trying to maintain or gain weight, does anyone have any tips for good, clean, high calorie foods?

Replies

  • Springfield1970
    Springfield1970 Posts: 1,945 Member
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    Hello everyone

    Just wanted to post something for the minority on this site that are here in order to maintain or even gain weight due to their activity levels ie. all you endurance athletes out there

    In my case im a cyclist, one that takes his sport quite seriously. Between racing and club social runs i average around 250 miles a week. Im 19 and 6'5 to begin with so i already need 4000 calories a day just to maintain my weight (i can feel the jealousy of those struggling to cut calories i know). I used to be 16 stone but through excessive study of nutrition and the aforementioned cycling and a bit of kickboxing for good measure has me down to 13 stone or ~185 pounds in around 18 months. Thing is, with that kind of mileage under my belt it becomes nigh on impossible to make up calories lost. At my size and usual pace a rough equation is just under 1000 calories burnt an hour, winter training consists of long endurance sessions lasting up to six hours...you see my problem

    Now i can hear you say 'why dont you just eat a stack of pizzas, drizzled with olive oil and garnished with lard shavings', well the only thing more important to me than my cycling is my health and i like my heart without a stick of butter in it. i stick to a very strict clean diet that focuses on low GI carbs with plenty of good fats and as much protein as i can afford.

    In conclusion, for those people that are trying to lose that Christmas bulge, i can recommend 2 things that shed 3 stone from me: long, low intensity workouts in the fat burning zone (for a rough guide to your fat burning zone 180- your age) this can even be just a brisk walk every morning, a good time to listen to some books on your new smartphone. No gimmicks, no super interval mega HIIT training or magical X factor *cough* sixpackshortcuts *cough* just exercise at a conversational pace. Secondly low GI carbohydrate, to cut a long story short, carbohydrates like brown rice, brown pasta, pearl barley, egg noodles, quinoa, bulger wheat to name a few are digested slowly by your body which prevents sugar spikes in your bloodstream, leading to insulin release and fat storage.

    For anyone trying to maintain or gain weight, does anyone have any tips for good, clean, high calorie foods?

    How do you go about fuelling that racing speed after your glycogen has run out? Surely gels etc are your best friends at that point? High GI carbs are used all the time by the worlds best athletes pre, post and during long workouts. They will heighten your performance. I wouldn't rule them out. Low GI are brilliant for endurance to a point as well.

    It's a very interesting subject that is close to my heart.

    Ps if I ate all that fibre and say for example...ran...well ...need I say more!?
  • Springfield1970
    Springfield1970 Posts: 1,945 Member
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    Also, lots of normal peeps lose weight without any exercise - fat burning zone or not. They just create a magical thing called a deficit.
  • lporter229
    lporter229 Posts: 4,907 Member
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    One of my favorite snacks (or meals for me) is to chop up avocado, hard boiled eggs and grape tomatoes. Add a dash of vinegar to help break down the avocado and a pinch of salt. You could even add some olive oil for extra calories. It's quite delicious. I also love greek yogurt (Greek Gods is my favorite) with walnuts and honey. Deli roast beef with cheese and avocado. Almonds and raisins. I could probably go on forever, but I am not sure what you categorize as "healthy"...
  • lukeosb
    lukeosb Posts: 10
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    oh absolutely, the low GI is purely for off the bike, while exercising if your not eating high GI gels youll bonk for sure, personal favorite are the energy cubes made by Blok, much easier on your stomach.
  • lukeosb
    lukeosb Posts: 10
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    Hey im just saying, if your dreading your next meal because of the calorie cut and want to add a bit off exercise so that you don't have to cut quite so much, then don't get caught up with all the gimmicky, expensive fads out there at the minute that prey on well meaning new years resolutions.
  • lukeosb
    lukeosb Posts: 10
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    Thanks for the recipes! Ive wanted to get into avocado but i was never really sure what to do with it, ill try that
  • distanthorizons
    distanthorizons Posts: 16 Member
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    Don't worry about the weight unless you are anorexic. Concentrate on the performance and look for signs of over training like a high resting heart rate, lack of motivation, chronic dehydration etc. You are working out to be healthy so if you see signs of over training and it is not in your plan for an event decrease training get more sleep be attentive to eating healthy such as lots of fresh vegetables. Simplify for the long haul...

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