The Health and Nutrition Thread

[moonlite]

Something that doesn't get talked about much is the need for rest days between exercise days as we get older. Once you get north of 50 it is important whether you are on the way to being fit, or are super fit already. Rest days can be doing absolutely nothing at all days and gives the body a chance to re-charge and repair.
I do 1 day on-1 day off with the odd 2 day rest, or maybe that with a block of 3 days on then 2 days off. Depends on the weather, mood, available time etc
It can get a bit random (tbh i think random is good and it does mimic what life would have been like as a hunter gatherer) at times, but i make sure i get the rest days in.
Another thing i have been allowing myself to do is to just back right out of planned hard efforts/long rides if my brain just isn't behind it. It could be signals that i have overdone it recently, or illness is afoot, or the mind just wants to look at stuff, notice things, and pleasantly pass the time. Life can be hard enough as it is without also stretching ourselves to meet self imposed goals.

This is it pretty much in a nutshell. Most of my rides are too short to require much in the way of fuelling apart from water. Getting that hydration in is essential. And then rest.

I find my approach has evolved over the years to incorporate both 'science' and 'feel' -- heeding good nutrition, rest and stretching, but then also, per @Frankenorange above, taking it easy if things feel a bit lacklustre. The natural tendency is to push ever harder, so this is important.

 

[shepp]

Yummy!

My bigger ride feeding comprises of

Breakfast: eggs(hard boiled or fried) on multigrain or rye toast

30-45mins digestion

Pre ride: 1 large banana

4hr rides : 3 cheese and marmalade toasties(multigrain or rye) spaced evenly-ish apart, or all 3 at 2hrs. Depends on the route and whether i am out to rip my legs off, or cruise. 1 large banana in the last hour and 2 water bottles of plain water taken in regular sips.

Post ride: glass of milk, more water, and a protein heavy meal with some carbs, veg etc.

1-2hours rides:

Breakfast as above and then cheese on toast if not riding within 30-45mins following brekkie. 1 large banana pre ride and sometimes another when i am out. 1 bottle of water.

My diet is low carb as i am pre-diabetic so heavy on protein(mostly chicken, some fish, some lamb/beef mince) with lots of various veg, lots of salads, 2 eggs a day, and always some daily cheese and peanut butter.
No caffeine(found this goofs with my blood sugars), zero alcohol, the odd apple, and the odd small sweet treat, but only during/post hard exercise as exercise wakes up my insulin response and it behaves normally for a few hours.
Daily calculations to work out how much Magnesium i am eating and top up with pills to suit, Choline is taken care of with 2 eggs, and take a variety of supplements(multi, iron, Vit C, Vit B etc) depending on what real food has gone in my cakehole. Sometimes i weigh food items.
This is the most strict i have been with food, but i do not want to go full diabetic if i can help it. Knocking carbs right down to a bare minimum in daily meals has been really good for me and in ways i didn't imagine. The blood sugar spikes have gone, which is understandable, but each ride now i feel physically the same.
Before the diet it was a lottery as to how i was going to feel. Sometimes as flat as a pancake with wooden legs and sometimes full of beans yet it didn't follow a pattern of food intake.
A REALLY big surprise has been regarding my mental health. I get way less irritable, anxious, angry etc than i was getting when my blood sugars were flip flopping all over the place and am way more calm and relaxed. That has been a revelation.

like saddles it is a personal thing and depends on what you want to achieve. My drive is to stay healthy and fit because i let myself go for a good while and got incredibly unhealthy. A non-cycling, overweight, smoking, alcoholic with liver and kidney function red flags and high blood pressure. It has taken a few years now, but all that has been reversed.

Wow this is great to read. Refined sugar is technically a poison with so many hidden side affects. It decimates our gut health which is the number one feedback to our brain on how well we are!

 

[wynne]

This is an interesting thread.
I totally agree about rest, especially as I've got older. My tendency has always been to beat myself up on the bike as often as possible, but taking a break has become just as important.
One thing that has really helped over the last 6 months with fitness on and off the bike has been fasting. I use this as a sort of "exercise" on days when I can't cycle. Most days I give myself a 16 hour fast, so stopping taking in calories about 8pm and not eating until midday. I also do a 15-20 mile off road ride most mornings too. This fasted riding feels really good and weight has fallen off me, my digestion is so much better and my fitness has improved greatly when doing longer, fuelled rides.

My favourite fuel for very long rides is a bag full of small boiled potatoes with olive oil and salt. Keeps me going without spiking.

Lastly, on the feeling terrible sometimes, my experience is that stress can have a huge impact on how I feel.