Cycling – Health Benefits & Nutrition Tips for Cyclists

New diets are launched every day: lose weight quickly without effort! We know the reality is different; losing weight requires a lot of discipline, efforts, hard work and the most important self-control. Being a cyclist, you have to be more focused and disciplined on your nutrition guide & diet plan. Here we will discuss which breakfast gives a lot of energy when you start cycling? What to eat during a long performance tour?

What to add in your Routine Diet?

When losing weight, you have to use more energy than you consume. Your energy budget determines what you have to spend per day. If you are very active, then your budget and the space to eat something extra increases. Not all diets are suitable for combining with physical exertion. You need carbohydrates as fuel. These carbohydrates are stored in the muscles. Some diets, such as the Atkins diet, are low in carbohydrates. The Atkins diet contains less than 50 grams of carbohydrates per day, so that the body is forced to break down proteins to produce glucose. This glucose is needed as fuel for the brain and muscles.

Carbohydrate supply

On average, during an endurance ride 50-60% of the energy comes from fat and the other 50-40% from carbohydrates. The proportion of carbohydrates increases with intensive exertion. This means that with a consumption of 400 kcal per hour (which equals moderately intensive effort), assuming a 50/50 distribution, you burn around 50 grams of carbohydrates and 22 grams of fat. The difference has to do with the amount of energy that carbohydrates and fats can deliver per gram. An average person has a carbohydrate supply of around 200 grams in the muscles for the entire day. So an effort of one or two hours yields a considerable assessment of that stock. That is not a problem, as long as the stock is replenished.

Your body and nutrition

Our body gets the energy it needs from carbohydrates. Carbohydrates is the collective name for all sugars and they come in all kinds of forms: from carbohydrates that consist of multiple carbohydrate groups, such as in starch, to very simple ones, which consist of only one carbohydrate group. The latter is called glucose. Our muscles only function by burning this glucose.

As soon as we eat, our bodies break down the food into small components, and through the gastrointestinal tract they are absorbed into the blood, where cells transport them throughout the body. What is needed immediately goes to the muscles, the rest is stored in the liver in the form of glycogen, or stored as fat all over our body, where it stays until we need it.

If our muscles need glucose, it is fastest with the glucose in the muscles. Unfortunately, this stock is very limited. You can get through in less than a minute, depending on your training. The glycogen supply can also be quickly converted into glucose, so that it can be burned. Your liver can contain around 100 grams of carbohydrates. If you are fully engaged in sports, such as during a climb, you will be able to get through it in an hour and a half to an hour and 45 minutes. Fats, on the other hand, are available virtually unlimited. Unfortunately, the combustion is a lot slower, and you can see that in your performance. So if you want to perform, you will need to keep sufficient carbohydrates in your liver and muscles.

Health benefits of Cycling?

Below are the 8 most common health benefits of cycling.

• Increases the ration you burn fat everyday.
• Strengthen your muscles.
• Reduces stress.
• Improves your resistance.
• Can Prevent many diseases.
• Lowers high cholesterol.
• Reduces the risk of diabetes.
• Good for your brain.

What kind of cyclist am I?

Do you mainly cycle on a recreational basis and do you enjoy taking beautiful, long bike rides? Then it is important that your bike is comfortable. Are you going to use your bike mainly to drive to and from work, to take your children to school and to do your shopping? It may also be that you want to use the bicycle primarily in a sporty way (for example during competitions?). Then focus on the details like what kind of road bike frame you want and what gadgets are required for performance tours. If you know what you are going to do with your bike, you will know faster what kind of bike you need.

Which bike for which use?

City bikes, transport bikes and mother bikes are mainly focused on robustness, durability and comfort. These are ideal bikes to use if the bike is your main means of transport. Holiday or trekking bikes are perfect bikes to ride long distances with comfort in mind. Mountain bikes and racing bikes are specifically designed to get the best out of yourself from a sporting point of view. Maximum performance in (unknown) terrain: comfort is slightly less important here than performance and pleasure. Of course there are a lot of other types of bicycles. Think of a hybrid bike , cargo bike or a folding bike.