newbie question

kerank

I am fairly new to cycling, and very new to this forum. My long term goal is to stay fit with cycling as my main method of training. I would like to eventually do a century, and maybe even be competetive. Although, my age (38) probably means that competitive cycling has passed me by.

My short term goal is to get back into shape, and lose weight. This brings me to my question: I've read, from several sources, that you need to replinish the body within 60 minutes after a ride. Usually, the suggestions are high carb/high calorie. If my goal is to lose weight, can I safely ignore this advice? Is there a better alternative? I'm not on an "official diet", I just started to watch what I eat, eating less, and trying to stay away from simple carbs and sugars (I'm still learning the foods that this excludes!).

Thanks!

2LAP

Sounds like your in the right direction.

The advice to eat within 60 mins (or within 20 minutes) is to take advantage in changes in metabolism caused by the exercise with the specific purpose of replacing glycogen (hence carbohydrate). There is no need to eat 'high calorie' something like a bagel is ideal.

For you the best suggestion might be to eat one of your meals or a part of one of your meals straight after cycling. That way avoiding additional intake.

If your rides are less than 1 hour or not particularly intense, then you would be able to ignore this advice (as your glycogen depletion levels would not be drastic).

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