Lunch yesterday with the parents.
Mum’s soup lunch cos “she’s dieting!”
Come on people do you really think that a cup of processed powder is going to be better for you in the long run…….?!
We asked 100 people:
“What is the ideal ratio of Omega 6 to Omega 3 essential fatty acids?”
Don’t worry, 98 of them didn’t know either 😉
Whilst planning next year and working out how many ways you can improve on your 2012 results think about how much reading you do; websites like this, Twitter, Facebook, magazines, books. We suspect you know a lot more about bike kit than you do about nutrition yet the latter will make you infinitely fitter than shaving 50 grams off your brake calipers!
Our tip for today is “spend 10 minutes a day this winter Googling food and you’ll not only become a better rider but you’ll also be able to answer our Omega puzzle!!
The answer?
Oh yes, 1:1 or 2:1
Ride Slower And Leave The Carbs At Home To Ride Faster And Lose Weight Quicker
Ok so, let’s try to keep this simple.
When you train hard your main source of energy comes from the food/carb drinks/gels that you have recently eaten/drunk/stuffed down your gob. Once those carbs hit your bloodstream they are known as glycogen.
When you train easy your body’s primary source of fuel is fat.
If you train easy you’ll still no doubt go up the odd hill or get chased by a dog or try to get in the slipstream of a bus and this big effort may well draw some energy from glycogen not fat.
If you train easy with water only then there will be a lot less glycogen in your body so you’ll use more fat.
So you lose weight (and the right weight i.e. fat not muscle).
Simples.
And and and when you then race or push yourself on the road with carb drinks/gels you’ll feel like you’re getting a mega energy fix as you haven’t used any in training!
And and and if you’re in a race or pushing yourself on the road and you drop/forget/can’t reach/run out of carb drinks / gels your body won’t let you down as it will be used to drawing energy from fat.
Happy Days
BUT but but train hard without glycogen and you’ve probably got a little less than an hour in you so get topped up with those carbs within 20 minutes of that workout/race/bus chasing session 😉
Fancy a glass of vino with your dinner tonight?
If the answer’s yes you might have “accidentally” opened the bottle before you’ve finished cooking (more likely before you’ve even started cooking!).
Whereas food has to pass through miles and miles of digestive tubes before it is broken down and reaches the bloodstream, alcohol is absorbed straight from the stomach. This means that the body has to divert its energy to dealing with that alcohol (transporting it around the body, trying to draw goodness from it) before processing your dinner. Basically the alcohol stops your body absorbing lovely nutrients from healthy food.
So why not eat your dinner and half an hour later enjoy a glass of wine. Even though you might eat the same food and drink the same amount of food, by changing the order you’ll get more nutrients down you and you might not get so drunk either! What’s more you’ll feel bloated after fewer drinks so less useless calories too. Everyone’s a winner (except the off licence)!
You know when you’ve just had diahhorea you can buy a powder in a sachet which you mix with water to replace the electrolytes (we thought that’d get your attention!) ? Well, when you sweat you lose electrolytes too but what are they?? If these sports drinks come with electrolytes in or if you can get a tablet which dissolves in water isn’t that enough?
No
Electrolytes are essential for bodily functions and if you’re name’s not Bradley Wiggins then you spend a lot more time off the bike than you do on the bike so surely you’d be better off having them when you’re not riding too.
You could pop those tablets all day but that’s a lot of money, a lot of artificial additives and how do you avoid an overdose anyway?!
Here’s a crazy idea – eat some food! We lose lots of different electrolytes when we sweat. Four are more important than others, here they are:
Magnesium
Helps with: Muscle Contraction, Energy Production.
Deficiency can lead to: Dizziness, Fatigue.
Where can I get it?: Pine Nuts, Brown Rice, Dark Chocolate (oh no should we really be telling you that?!)
Calcium
Helps with: Muscle Contraction and Relaxation, Nerve Conduction
Deficiency can lead to: Stiffness, Cramping.
Where can I get it?: Dairy
By the way vitamin-D helps your body to absorb calcium so oily fish or eggs will help and so will the sunshine one day every year in England!
Potassium
Helps with: Nerve Conduction, Energy Generation.
Deficiency can lead to: Nausea, Muscle Fatigue, Weakness.
Where can I get it?: Sweet Potatoes, Tuna, Bananas, Leafy Green Veg, Yoghurt.
Sodium (Salt)
Helps with: Making your chips tasty with vinegar lol! AND Muscle and Nerve Function, Maintaining Fluid Levels.
Deficiency can lead to: Weakness, Nausea, Muscle Fatigue and Cramping, it can Hinder Rehydration
Where can I get it?: Salt (although table salt is more processed and often contains additives, compared to sea salt but this is more expensive), Salty Foods.
Before You Go
There are other foods with electrolytes in but this’ll get you started and who knows, if you switch to these foods you might drop a few pounds too (no not the chocolate!). There are plenty of other electrolytes too and the healthier, more varied and balanced your diet is the more chance you’ll have of getting them.
How many electrolytes do I need??
Bit complicated this one especially as the risks of too much salt is just as bad as losing too much.
Weighing yourself before and after exercise can give you an idea and you can be tested to see if you’re a ‘salty sweater’ (ooerr missus) at http://www.myh2pro.com/sweat-testing but you know it’s all a bit hit and miss. Start eating all the above foods in moderation and you’ll be 90% of the way there 🙂
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