Off the bike supplements/vitamins etc.

[dave303e]

13 minutes ago, The Ouzo said:

only way to get stress levels down is to change jobs. I've been trying to do that for a long time.

Diet, yeah, I know it needs work.

Also don't be too weary of the diet thing, seeing a dietitian is a lot easier to implement than any fad diet book. Honestly I work within a framework and it was not a huge change. Don't see it like a big fad diet with strict conditions and a fight to have meals prepared and restricting what you eat and how much you eat.

For me it was a lot of tweaking the ratios of food and a lot of timing the food. I was not getting enough protein, breakfast was not enough and not enough carbs, during and post ride/run was too high in protein and not enough carbs. I have some strategic snacks added and then just portion control in general. But it made a huge difference to me in how I feel and how I recover. What we eat in the house has not changed and it is not like I eat separate to the family. I just dish a bit more cleverly and have the right snacks on hand. Then around training I have a lot of focus on what goes in. It is really not a huge lifestyle change, a lot was also understanding the nutrients in what you eat. If it is too strict it is not sustainable.

[finallygotabike]

Been using Bio77 Trace elements - add drops to your daily water intake (taste takes some getting used to). 

[DieselnDust]

1 hour ago, finallygotabike said:

Been using Bio77 Trace elements - add drops to your daily water intake (taste takes some getting used to). 

Why would you do this to yourself? Food is much more palatable 

[Jewbacca]

A lot of this is Power Band stuff....... 😜

 

[ChrisF]

4 hours ago, The Ouzo said:

only way to get stress levels down is to change jobs. I've been trying to do that for a long time.

Diet, yeah, I know it needs work.

 

A good dietitian is one of the best investments you can ever make.

 

I did not want to go for the whole "carb counting" approach.  She then took a different approach, basically a moderate plate size with portions of the plate for different basic food types.  Actually easy to get the day to day food sorted.

 

The next step with the dietitian is to work on the pre-ride, ride and post ride foods.  As well as the electrolyte intake during the ride.  (in my case she opted for a standard liquid to do both food and electrolytes)  The post ride food made a hude difference to my recovery and how I feel on multi-day rides.

[Frosty]

Given the choice between diet and sleep, and being forced to change only one, I would prioritize sleep first. Recovery happens when sleeping, even work-related stress can benefit from.

Having a good pre-sleep routine can make a big difference, for little investment, unless the mattress is a major contributor.

Food is important, but good sleep is a long-term investment.

[ChrisF]

40 minutes ago, Frosty said:

Given the choice between diet and sleep, and being forced to change only one, I would prioritize sleep first. Recovery happens when sleeping, even work-related stress can benefit from.

Having a good pre-sleep routine can make a big difference, for little investment, unless the mattress is a major contributor.

Food is important, but good sleep is a long-term investment.

 

Would appreciate more information on such a routine.

[reteid]

I had a look at the recovery protocols of some of the great Norwegian runners and triathletes. It stood out to me when they said that supplements, ice baths, compression recovery boots etc. make up less than 5 percent of their recovery and that 95% of the recovery comes from sleep and proper food. For me the sleep changed a lot towards how I feel overall. According to my garmin I get on ave between 9 and 10 hours of sleep per night.

[Frosty]

6 hours ago, ChrisF said:

Would appreciate more information on such a routine.

Will share tomorrow.

[Frosty]

There are 3 types of people:

• Morning Larks
• Somewhere in between
• Night Owls

Circadian rhythms are physical, mental, and behavioral changes that follow a 24-hour cycle. You could be a night owl, but expected to be at work early, and then be expected to perform from the go. You might find that you perform better/efficiently from about 09:00 to 20:00, but work hours are 07:00 to 16:00. Can you change it? Yes and no. But this response was more about a routine, so here goes. 

Sleep routine/hygiene

The number of hours before bed:

• 10 - no more caffeine;
• 3 - no more food and/or alcohol;
• 2 - no more work (anything that you need to attend to tomorrow, make notes to get it done);
• 1 - no more screen time (also don't watch TV in bed);
• 0.5 - work on your breathing to bring down your heart rate and breathing (8-12 cycles per minutes. One cycle is about 3-4s in and 3-4s out).
• 0 - no snooze button, get up when you wake up.

Environment

• Black out curtains/blinds to make the room as dark as possible;
• No lights, eg. LEDs from a TV, phone, alarm clock (do people still use these);
• Reduce noise levels (internally and externally, where possible);
• The optimal temperature is 18.5 degrees Celsius.

Dos and Don'ts

• Make your bed the place where you sleep, not to watch TV, read a book, browse mobile device. When you climb into bed, your mind will know it's bed time. 
• Many people should fall asleep within 8-10 minutes of getting into bed. If you don't, get up and do something relaxing, eg. yoga/meditation, breathing exercises, or similar that you would do 15-30 minutes before going to bed. Lying in bed hoping to fall asleep and thinking of whatever is on the mind doesn't help.
• Prep the night before, be it clothing (work and/or riding), bags for school/work, things to get done on a priority basis.

As with any exercise, this takes time and practice to "master".  There's a lot more to dive into, eg. sleep cycles are about 90 minutes long, and we have a number of these cycles through the night.

[ChrisF]

8 minutes ago, Frosty said:

The number of hours before bed:

• 1 - no more screen time (also don't watch TV in bed);
• 0.5 - work on your breathing to bring down your heart rate and breathing (8-12 cycles per minutes. One cycle is about 3-4s in and 3-4s out).

Environment

• Black out curtains/blinds to make the room as dark as possible;

 

Thank you so much.

 

snipped the sorted items.

 

I have been toying with the idea of black out blinds for some time.  Downside of street lights .... 

 

Screen time ... I need to put down the phone down earlier.

 

Also screen time .... will be a new experience to switch the tv off earlier ...   I normally turn down the volume and just relax, then switch off and go to bed.

[lechatnoir]

31 minutes ago, Frosty said:

There are 3 types of people:

• Morning Larks
• Somewhere in between
• Night Owls

Circadian rhythms are physical, mental, and behavioral changes that follow a 24-hour cycle. You could be a night owl, but expected to be at work early, and then be expected to perform from the go. You might find that you perform better/efficiently from about 09:00 to 20:00, but work hours are 07:00 to 16:00. Can you change it? Yes and no. But this response was more about a routine, so here goes. 

Sleep routine/hygiene

The number of hours before bed:

• 10 - no more caffeine;
• 3 - no more food and/or alcohol;
• 2 - no more work (anything that you need to attend to tomorrow, make notes to get it done);
• 1 - no more screen time (also don't watch TV in bed);
• 0.5 - work on your breathing to bring down your heart rate and breathing (8-12 cycles per minutes. One cycle is about 3-4s in and 3-4s out).
• 0 - no snooze button, get up when you wake up.

Environment

• Black out curtains/blinds to make the room as dark as possible;
• No lights, eg. LEDs from a TV, phone, alarm clock (do people still use these);
• Reduce noise levels (internally and externally, where possible);
• The optimal temperature is 18.5 degrees Celsius.

Dos and Don'ts

• Make your bed the place where you sleep, not to watch TV, read a book, browse mobile device. When you climb into bed, your mind will know it's bed time. 
• Many people should fall asleep within 8-10 minutes of getting into bed. If you don't, get up and do something relaxing, eg. yoga/meditation, breathing exercises, or similar that you would do 15-30 minutes before going to bed. Lying in bed hoping to fall asleep and thinking of whatever is on the mind doesn't help.
• Prep the night before, be it clothing (work and/or riding), bags for school/work, things to get done on a priority basis.

As with any exercise, this takes time and practice to "master".  There's a lot more to dive into, eg. sleep cycles are about 90 minutes long, and we have a number of these cycles through the night.

thanks for this. makes a nice addition to this -Toolkit for Sleep - Huberman Lab

I often take sleep for granted, until I don't get what I need from it, then it's a disaster. Later, I've been sleeping well, but picked up some weird virus last week, and it's all gone haywire and now I'm petrified of it getting dark later and knowing I will need to sleep.

[edgarblount]

13 minutes ago, lechatnoir said:

thanks for this. makes a nice addition to this -Toolkit for Sleep - Huberman Lab

I often take sleep for granted, until I don't get what I need from it, then it's a disaster. Later, I've been sleeping well, but picked up some weird virus last week, and it's all gone haywire and now I'm petrified of it getting dark later and knowing I will need to sleep.

While we are on the subject of Andrew Huberman maybe have a look\listen to his podcast on alcohol consumption and the one on deliberate cold exposure. Some in the sciences calls his podcasts 'bro science' but I still find them interesting. 

[lechatnoir]

47 minutes ago, edgarblount said:

While we are on the subject of Andrew Huberman maybe have a look\listen to his podcast on alcohol consumption and the one on deliberate cold exposure. Some in the sciences calls his podcasts 'bro science' but I still find them interesting. 

he puts out good info and he does it really well.

On the topic of alcohol, the more I try to dissect what it does to my body, the more I'm considering being sober-curious...

[dave303e]

2 minutes ago, lechatnoir said:

he puts out good info and he does it really well.

On the topic of alcohol, the more I try to dissect what it does to my body, the more I'm considering being sober-curious...

If you think that alcohol is a big one. Have you tried dropping caffeine? I have been on mostly no caffeine for 5 months now. It is quite a big shift and has a lot of really interesting effects. I realized how bad the reliance on it was in the first 2 weeks.

Coffee is a big thing for me, switching to decaf has been fine, I still drink a lot of it and still enjoy it. The process of coffee from making to consuming. Nothing changed there- Just without caffeine.

I do sleep better without it, the reflux symptoms are a lot less. I do feel a lot more level during the day in terms of energy and focus. I do tend to be better hydrated as well which has a bunch of benefits.

I do add the odd coca cola on a ride or real coffee on tough days(we have a teething baby in the house) and I can feel the caffeine kick a lot better now. I do use it as a tool a lot more effectively for racing and training. It will be interesting at ARWC in October when I start dropping 100mg caffeine tablets to get through the night...

[HdB]

In terms of cycling nutrition, these videos are also quite informative: