Anyone lost TOO MUCH weight? Time to build it back up a bit.

[The Guy in Pink]

You may want to read up on what hypoglycaemia is.

Hint, if your blood sugar drops below a certain point you die.

This is because your brain REQUIRES glucose or lactate as it's primary fuel source.

But our bodies are much cleverer than we are. If you are not a Type 1 diabetic , the liver will make any glucose required - 25 grams a day is  enough, from fat or protein.

The Brain  works just great on Ketones (as many will attest it works much better on Ketones)

The Inuit lived for centuries  in the artic where no plant based foods were available to provide carbohydrates.

Today many thousands of us are living on diets which have less than 50grams of Carbohydrate a day. As an endurance athlete being fat adapted is the best thing since sliced bread

[Ascension]

Adjust your food intake with training intensity. On a rest day or light training day cut down on carbs and the size of meals. I generally only eat a big carby meal the night before a big training/race day, usually Fridays and Saturdays.

[The Guy in Pink]

Yes you can !,but you will be SLOW ! on fat and protein only 

Fat adapted athletes are setting world records in endurance events, like . 100mile running and even the Tour de France.

In diverse sports such as Figure Skating and cricket the extra endurance, brain clarity and concentration achieved during training is producing winning performances . ( Cricket =Australian team)

In sprint races like 100m swimming the athletes are training fat adapted and may take some carbs just before competition.

[Chris_]

Adjust your food intake with training intensity. On a rest day or light training day cut down on carbs and the size of meals. I generally only eat a big carby meal the night before a big training/race day, usually Fridays and Saturdays.

 

I find the opposite works. Chow like a pig on the rest days to restore some sort of levels and max out on any recovery opportunity/growth there is. 

[Bonus]

So good points so far!

 

I can see a degree of trial and error is involved here.

 

No problem - this is a shift of lifestyle rather than a quick fix. 

[s14phoenix]

I am 178cm or 5'10" tall also and have over the last 4-5 odd years gone from my heaviest ever - 88kg to a now almost my 25yo self again @ 66kg...yoh   just realized I lost 25% of myself since started cycling - I do wish I could add 2-4kg of lean muscle to the legish area and trying my best to do so but being a "hard gainer" this has always been problematic and the 88kg I was before was a lot of fat from bad eating habits and lots of junk.

 

Now I focus on high protein and low carb unless I am refuelling after a hard day out on the bike then I tend to increase the carb ratios a bit as the body craves it - (especially choc milk and Coca-Cola - my guilty pleasures)

[Ascension]

I find the opposite works. Chow like a pig on the rest days to restore some sort of levels and max out on any recovery opportunity/growth there is. 

 

I think your strategy will cause weight gain because the energy in > energy out on light training/rest days. On race days a good/big meal close to the race is more beneficial than a good/big meal a few back on a recovery day. I try to keep the energy in and out curves close to each other. I`m no expert but this is what makes more sense to me.

[GaryvdM]

Tristand, on 09 Nov 2018 - 3:14 PM, said:

 

You may want to read up on what hypoglycaemia is.

Hint, if your blood sugar drops below a certain point you die.

This is because your brain REQUIRES glucose or lactate as it's primary fuel source.

You are right - we do require glucose - well more correctly glycogen. But, our body can produce glucose and then glycogen from fats and proteins.

 

See wikipedia.org/wiki/Gluconeogenesis

[GaryvdM]

I wrote a post some time back about cutting down on sugar intake.

 

Got lots of feedback & support from fellow hubbers and eventually I did achieve what I was aiming for - my sugar intake is now a fraction of what it was :-)

 

My reason for cutting down was "general health" rather than weight loss, but naturally once the sugar intake decreased, so did my weight. Happy days.

 

I'm 5'10" tall (178cm) and at my heaviest I was 89.99kg (too many big meals out when living in SA!). I now find my self hovering around 78kg. I think this weight is about right for me. It "feels" right, my clothes fit nicely and certainly I'm climbing these Pyrenean mountains better on the bike now that I'm 12 kg lighter.

 

Next step is to take a look at my food intake and start doing some specific exercises with a view building up some muscle mass. I want to be lean, not thin . . . .

 

If anyone on here, who's "middle aged", has been through the same thing I'd be interested to hear what you did and how it went. . . .

 

Cheers.

 

Are you doing some weight lifting?

[Chris_]

I think your strategy will cause weight gain because the energy in > energy out on light training/rest days. On race days a good/big meal close to the race is more beneficial than a good/big meal a few back on a recovery day. I try to keep the energy in and out curves close to each other. I`m no expert but this is what makes more sense to me.

 

You would think so right? All aboard the hard-gainer train. Always eat clean, its never been about trying to lose weight, its rather about putting on the right kind of weight. The mirror never lies, scales however.. do. 

 

But thats the cool thing about diets and our bodies. No one is the same. Its all up to experimenting and fine-tuning what works for you.

[Martin Chitura]

I had to lose a bit of weight for health reasons. I was told to cut out alcohol, all sugar, fruit, carbs and starch. I increase water intake and went in a keto based eating style. I lost 12kg in 3 months. Although I feel great I am struggling to fuel my ride and am having to build up strength etc. it is frustrating as I now have to relearn and build up cycling strength. Fueling the ride is biggest challenge

[Cav']

Ask Mayhem, he mastered the art.

[PhilipV]

, brain clarity and concentration achieved during training is producing winning performances . ( Cricket =Australian team)

In.

Didn't work, they still got busted out for cheating.

[EmptyB]

I wrote a post some time back about cutting down on sugar intake.

 

Got lots of feedback & support from fellow hubbers and eventually I did achieve what I was aiming for - my sugar intake is now a fraction of what it was :-)

 

My reason for cutting down was "general health" rather than weight loss, but naturally once the sugar intake decreased, so did my weight. Happy days.

 

I'm 5'10" tall (178cm) and at my heaviest I was 89.99kg (too many big meals out when living in SA!). I now find my self hovering around 78kg. I think this weight is about right for me. It "feels" right, my clothes fit nicely and certainly I'm climbing these Pyrenean mountains better on the bike now that I'm 12 kg lighter.

 

Next step is to take a look at my food intake and start doing some specific exercises with a view building up some muscle mass. I want to be lean, not thin . . . .

 

If anyone on here, who's "middle aged", has been through the same thing I'd be interested to hear what you did and how it went. . . .

 

Cheers.

Went down from 84kg to 62kg over 12 months. I'm 173cm. Stuck to a balanced diet of carbs, fat, protein sugar etc just ate better and smaller portions.

 

Hovered around 62 or 63kg for quite a while but felt I'd lost some power even though I was obviously climbing much faster.

 

Purposely went back up to about 65kg and some strength training (not too much) and definitely feel like I'm riding better even at 2 or 3kgs heavier.

[Odinson]

Ask Mayhem, he mastered the art.

Ooooooh!

[fanievb]

Works for me