Supplements to complement hardwork!

[quikanth]

hi im just wondering what supplements people take aid their weight loss or toning goals with cycling.

I'm 26, and work behind a desk, been feeling the disadvantage recently (along with some profound words from work colleagues!).

I bought the bike with the ultimate goal of slimming down a little, nothing too drastic.

Like i said i'm 26, 5ft 10" and weight approx 13st which is just outside the normal average BMI, however i want to lower this and live a more healthly life style!

I've changed my diet so that im eating correctly, i.e. carbs morning and mid day, followed by protein only for tea, no carbs after 3, and cut down on the alcohol.

Cycling roughly 20miles on alternate days. I'm looking for a supplement either protein based or carb based to give me a boost of power for the bike and aid me in toning up and trimming down.

HELP! oh and i heard myprotein.com is the best place to buy it from!

Thanks

 

[srw]

What you need is food, and patience. "Supplements" are not food, they're a way for the nutrition industry to make profits out of gullible amateurs who think that if a pro uses something it must be good. Eat enough of the right things, but not too much, and enjoy yourself every once in a while, and you'll do fine in due course.

 

[Ian 74]

I use gels on longer rides with sweet and bananas, the only supplement that I use is whey protein powder after a hard sesh, bike or run. Truly it aids recovery helping rebuild damaged muscle fibers, meaning that the next day you can go again without achy legs. Some schools of thought say the most effective time to have protein and simple carbs is within 20 mins to 2 hours. This won't help with weight loss. I am a believer in eating properly and have found the best way to maintain a target weight is to exercise regarly, long rides of 2 hours plus will burn thousands of calories, meaning that you should still eat well but loose a little weight... Good luck

 

[jowwy]

After a hard training session i drink 400ml of chocolate milkshake - seems to work for me as i dont get the acheyness in the muscles the next day and gives me an instant intake of carbs thats required. Then about an hour later i will have a high carb based meal of normally pasta or rice, with fish and salad....

this has helped me lose 4stone over the past 5 months of cycling. I don't drink and have cut out all the rubbish from my diet - except for a saturday when i eat what the hell i like.

 

[Rob3rt]

hi im just wondering what supplements people take aid their weight loss or toning goals with cycling.

I'm 26, and work behind a desk, been feeling the disadvantage recently (along with some profound words from work colleagues!).

I bought the bike with the ultimate goal of slimming down a little, nothing too drastic.

Like i said i'm 26, 5ft 10" and weight approx 13st which is just outside the normal average BMI, however i want to lower this and live a more healthly life style!

I've changed my diet so that im eating correctly, i.e. carbs morning and mid day, followed by protein only for tea, no carbs after 3, and cut down on the alcohol.

Cycling roughly 20miles on alternate days. I'm looking for a supplement either protein based or carb based to give me a boost of power for the bike and aid me in toning up and trimming down.

HELP! oh and i heard myprotein.com is the best place to buy it from!

Thanks

You cycle 20 miles on alternative days (at what intensity?) and sit down all day, you dont need supplements. You need to correct your diet and man the **** up.

 

[Becs]

Drinking semi-skimmed milk after a ride will do a similar job to whey protein in terms of aiding muscle recovery (it's all about the amino acid leucine, and a couple of others to a lesser extent). Although I agree supplements aren't really necessary for the level of riding that you're doing at the moment (unless it's 20 miles over the pennines or similar!).

 

[quikanth]

thanks for the advice, i think ill stick with the healthy eating plan and throw a few extra carbs in on a night time for good measure.

I can ride 20 mile in 1hour 40 which is around 12mph. Thats a smoker of 6 years and 3 weeks training! Plus i tackled a huge hill climb in that! I average around 13/14mph on flatter rides.

 

[lulubel]

thanks for the advice, i think ill stick with the healthy eating plan and throw a few extra carbs in on a night time for good measure.

Sounds like a good plan. The advice to not eat carbs in the evening is dodgy advice at best. If you're cycling the next morning, the carbs you've eaten the evening before will help fuel your ride. (That's why distance runners carb-load, and many eat a huge bowl of pasta the night before a race.)

If you haven't been particularly active up to now, your muscles are probably telling you about the extra work you're giving them, but that will settle down as you keep using them, and supplements wouldn't make a great deal of difference. I started supplementing my diet with 30g of protein a day when I started cycling again in the hope it would make a difference to my aching legs - it didn't! It's taken a few months, but I realised today when I read your post that my legs haven't ached for a while, so it is just about giving it time.

 

[Zoiders]

There is no magic to it, just eat the balanced diet like they taught you to in the achingly boring lessons at school.

You mention smoking - unless you are caning 20 a day it's probably not what's keeping you average speed down, it's all the other stuff you have been doing such as having a desk job and poor diet.

I am not saying you should smoke but don't stress about quitting straight away - it's not the magic fix people think it is in relation to performance.

 

[VamP]

There is no magic to it, just eat the balanced diet like they taught you to in the achingly boring lessons at school.

You mention smoking - unless you are caning 20 a day it's probably not what's keeping you average speed down, it's all the other stuff you have been doing such as having a desk job and poor diet.

I am not saying you should smoke but don't stress about quitting straight away - it's not the magic fix people think it is in relation to performance.

+1

Smoking has become a bogeyman, but in terms of cycling fitness, sedentary lifestyle, poor diet and excessive alcohol consumption are far, far more damaging.

To echo others, you don't need supplements. Just build up gradually (speed and distance) and stick with it.