Changing your diet once racing has stopped
Many endurance riders find it very challenging to manage their weight once the competition season ends. Energy expenditure has dropped off and the need for calories to support several hours of moderate to high intensity work no longer exists. This is the time when many riders start putting on extra weight. The reasons are simple to understand and the solutions are basic.
During the busiest part of the season the need for energy calories is very high. Sometimes it can be hard to meet your specific needs no matter how much you eat. As a result you develop eating habits designed to keep calorie intake on par with calorie expenditure. After several months of following these eating habits you are mentally and physically conditioned to consume a substantial amount of food each day. Once the volume and intensity of your riding falls off these extra calories, if not used for energy, are converted to fat and stored by the body for future use. This storage function is a natural process and happens everyday regardless of season or activity level. The key to managing your weight going into the off season is to not cut your calorie intake in half the first day after your last race but rather re-program your eating habits to maintain energy balance and slowly bring your diet in line with your activity level.
As part of their “Winter Training Plan” I start my riders with a 5-day meal profile so I know what and how much they are eating. Once that is done I can decide by how much their calorie intake can be adjusted based on their training without causing a negative effect on their calorie and nutritional balance. During this transition the rider can decide on a variety of foods that will meets their nutritional needs and not make them feel like they are on a diet. Diets are a horrible idea for athletes, especially endurance cyclists. They are far too restrictive and can put the athletes health at risk along with causing major setbacks in development and performance. Maintaining nutritional balance and being able to eat favorite foods is important to health as well as positive adaptation to continued training.
Once the 3-4 week transition has been made and the winter strength program has started their diet can again be adjusted to provide a few more calories and protein to support resistance training. Racing cyclist’s benefit from lifting in the off-season and resistance training has very high energy demands. If these energy needs are not met training will not be as effective. Protein, an important nutrient during this training phase, is often found in carbohydrate source foods like grains, meats and dairy products so being able to eat normally is important to a sound training program.
During all phases of training there is a need to estimate optimal daily calorie intake. I often find that riders drastically underestimate their energy needs. The appropriate method for endurance athletes is to start with the basic energy needs to support your daily activities and the body’s life support systems; this is called you “resting metabolic rate” or RMR. This is based on your age, gender, size and weight. Add to this the calories you will need to support your training activities based on the type, duration and intensity of exercise, these are called “replacement calories” and you have the estimated total caloric intake for the day. Obviously each day will be different so making the calculation each day can be a bit tedious. The simpler method is to calculate for the week and divide by 7 for the average daily calories. There will be days when you will need a little more or less than the daily average but everything will all balance out each week and you can take a little extra on the bike or have a protein shake after the gym if you think you need it. The idea is to establish a method of estimating and meeting your nutritional needs and stick to it. There are some very useful energy calculators right here on the professionalcycling.info website to help you get started.
Once you have a dependable estimate of your daily energy needs you can build your diet around a combination of foods that you enjoy and give you the nutrients you need. If you have any foods allergies you might want to talk to a registered dietitian for some advice. It is important to remember that as you make these adjustments to your daily calorie intake that you maintain a good balance of foods containing carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, minerals, water and other essential nutrients. As the off-season passes and you resume regular training on the bike just follow the same process to estimate your daily energy needs and gradually add the calories over the course of 3-4 weeks and you will stay right on track.