I talk to many ultra-endurance cyclists about their nutrition and their performance goals. In my initial consult I ask a fair amount of questions about meal planning, shopping, and food preparation.
What I’m doing is building a profile of how that individual acts around food, how much time they allocate to it, if they have help, and where it currently fits within their attention economy.
After all, you spend a lot of time on the bike, you still have to show up at work, and with your family.
Most are motivated to change but it’s the above profile that is the most accurate prediction of success.
That’s why #1 nutrition tip by 100 miles is…
Endurance cyclists eat a lot, which means you have to think about what, when, and how much to eat. You have to gather, chop and cook. Clean up – yeh you do!
It’s perhaps easier to plan a great training session where you sweat and feel that you’ve achieved something. You can look at your heart rate, power output and graphs that measure and compare your performance. You get immediate feedback and reward. I bet you really like that.
Sitting down to create a weekly meal plan, making an ingredient list, and then going out to shop is all very ho-hum to the average ultra-endurance cyclist.
But it’s a game changer and It’s worth the investment of your time and attention.
But not too much of it!
All my clients will tell you that my performance nutrition plans and recipes are tasty, freeze well and require little in the kitchen skill department.
I’m an imperfect cook but I’m an organised one. I have lunches, dinners and snacks clear in my head days in advance and I shop accordingly. I also have an abundance of ‘get out of jail’ leftovers labeled and ready to go in the freezer, along with frozen training bars.
My advice – develop ‘kitchen economy’. Where do you currently waste time? Can you find 15-30 minutes a day? We can do a lot with that!
My #2 nutrition tip is…
Performance nutrition and variety have an uneasy relationship. You might want performance, taste and variety but routine is an asset in the performance kitchen so it’s best to accept a certain amount of ‘sticking with what works’ for a while.
But you know what’s not boring – performing, recovering, and adapting, leaning down, getting stronger, and sleeping like a champion.
I send a new recipe to my clients every month, because I’d rather they spend time preparing food than sourcing new recipes that fit well in an endurance cyclist’s kitchen.
My #3 nutrition tip is…
It’s common these days to use an APP to track your calories, macros and energy output among other metrics. The reward of giving yourself that big tick for meeting your daily or weekly targets is real!
Don’t get me wrong, that stuff is important but what’s just as important is to stay aware of your hunger , your cravings, and how comfortable your gut is.
Your hunger is one of your greatest tools when it comes to balancing a target calorie or macronutrient load with endurance performance but we’re trained to ignore, suppress, and deny it.
It shows up via mood changes, gut discomfort, loss of power, poor decision-making, erratic sleep, but hey, we’re not hungry!
The most successful endurance cyclists are the ones that listen to their guts and make flexible food choices according to feel, as well as data.
My #4 nutrition tip is…
We’re primed to reward big change, the all or nothing approach, and the big declaration of ‘this season, I am going to lose body fat, improve my power:weight ratio and eat healthier.’
This can work. However, as a way to create sustainable change it’s rare.
Big nutrition goals rely on multiple micro-nutrition habits repeated over time.
You know that great distances are travelled mile by mile.
It’s exactly the same with nutritional change. Small things done consistently become big things over time.
My #5 nutrition tip is…
Tupperware containers of all shapes and sizes, lunch bags, snack bags, bars strategically tucked away in glove boxes and bags are the tools and habits of successful ultra-endurance cyclists.
You’re going to be packing food wherever you go as you’ll either be pre-fuelling to go training or recovering from training.
Food has to travel with you so start making it fit.
Get organised, accept some nutritional boredom, listen to your gut, build your micro-habits and buy containers that fit your routine – this is different advice than the sport’s marketers will give you.
The only thing I’m selling is consistent, practical, common sense. No hacks here.
But trust me, get this right, and you’ll go the distance
I work with ultra-endurance cyclists from beginner to elite. I deliver off-bike nutrition plans complete with recipe suggestions, tailored fuel and recovery plans plus unlimited coaching contact as you go through nutritional change.
Book a zoom call today to see if I’m the right nutritionist for you.