Nutrition and Hydration
 

Spring is here ( well, at least in Florida ), soon summer in all it's blazing glory will be upon us. I'm starting to get back into casual cycling and I want to eventually build up to longer casual day rides. I'm prone to heat exhaustion, I was in the hospital 2 years ago due to dehydration from working outdoors at my job. I didn't realize I was dehydrated since it felt like severe stomach cramps. After a few days in the hospital hooked up to IVs I was released and eventually returned to work. Then last year I felt the onset of the same symptoms. I was aware of the what was coming. Even though I drink a ton of water at work I couldn't get hydrated fast enough. After speaking to other coworkers someone suggested coconut water and BodyArmor drinks since I'm not too fond of Gatorade or Powerade. Though I do drink Gatorade at work since it's readily available for free at my workplace.

I will have to admit the coconut water and th BodyArmor rehydrated me faster than other sports drinks, even though to me the coconut water is a bit heavier than regular water. I absolutely love the BodyArmor drinks, the regular and Lyte flavors. Not too sweet and I don't notice a difference between taste from the regular or the Lyte. Lots of good flavors to choose from and when I catch them on sale I stock up on them. Also 7-11 has their own brand sport drink that's comparable to the BodyArmor called Replenish. They have some good flavors too, I'm guess it's a base of coconut water as I don't get as dehydrated as fast drinking them. I also noticed I slept better at night when I drank a small bottle of BodyArmor or a can of Coconut water about 2-3 hours before bed.

I'm starting to look at nutrition in the morning, I normally don't eat breakfast ( never really did the majority of my life ). I'm thinking of overnight oats and lighter sources of food since I don't like to eat heavy during the summer. Now that I'm looking to take afternoon and evening rides with summer coming, it doesn't get dark until almost 8 or a little later, I realized I need to eat more frequently during the day to sustain myself since I'll be more active and wanting to gradually extend my ride time.

Anyone have some suggestions for an eating routine or menu that they seem to get benefits from with extended riding? Even if it's not food related maybe a recovery regiment that helps with sore aching muscles? Like Epsom salt baths?

The trick to avoiding dehydration is to stay ahead of it. Drinking after you become dehydrated will help but not quickly replace what's lost. Beyond that, continuing to ride after becoming dehydrated can compound the propblem.

In addition, your body looses electrolytes which must be replaced.

Start by drinking an hour before your ride and twice more before you start. Then drink frequently during your ride. Look at websites which explain how to interpret urine color relative to hydration.

Everyone has their own drink. I mix my own: equal amounts of orange juice and lemonade with a pinch of salt. Occasionally I add some honey but it's hard to keep in solution.

If you're not a breakfast person, you'll probably want to make sure you fuel yourself really well the night before. Your nutrition then is going to have a big impact on the next day. Tony's advice on getting ahead of your hydration is great; don't wait until you're thirsty to start drinking!

Fruits and vegetables contain water. They also contain many vitamins and minerals.

Skipping breakfast is a mistake, especially for somebody who plans to be physically active during the day...A big nutritious breakfast will fuel your body with important nutrients and give you energy for many hours.

Living in Texas, pre-hydration is a must during summer months. Personally, I drink 3 17oz. bottles of water starting 2 hours before my ride. My goal is 3 serious pees before I set out--want max. hydration without stopping to pee. I take an ice water filled camel-bak and use it!

Weigh yourself right before you leave and after your shower post-ride. That will give you an idea of how much water you loose even on rides under 2 hours. In the heat and relentless central Texas sun ,my rides are kept under 2 hours on purpose.

When it's hot your body circulates blood to the skin's surface to cool and your heart rate will be elevated in the heat as well. So now, you have less blood to going to your gut to pick up water to transport and re-hydrate the cells. Soooo, even if you drink plenty, that fluid may sit and not get absorbed fast at all-resulting in slow dehydration even when consuming fluids. I also take short breaks, even if not tired, hot or thirsty just so the body and relax and absorb fluids by allowing heart rate to lower and blood can circulate more fluids.

Just my method and 2 cents.

Weigh yourself before and after the ride as suggested in post #6 . There are a number of books detailing how cyclists should eat and drink for longer rides in hot weather. Start out reading this one; https://www.adventurecycling.org/blo...ydration-tips/

I understand not eating breakfast, and being physical in hot weather ...,. I commuted and worked labor jobs in Central Florida for a long while.

As others have said, drink before you are thirsty---just do a little bit steadily.

Same with food (I had a really hard time eating a big meal and riding and working and the heat made it a hundred times worse.) Just as with water, I would suggest trying eating small amounts frequently---I used Powerbars, peanut butter sandwiches, fruit, dried fruit .... experiment with what works for you.

For me., particularly as I have aged, I need to really watch peak efforts. Going into the red should be avoided ... you can build up too much heat for your body to radiate away.

Another thing which worked for me was not getting chilly at home. I wouldn't recommend running the air too cool .... get your body used to being warm all the time, so the heat of the day isn't too big a change (tough if you have a partner or family.)

The biggest thing is too take dehydration/heat stroke seriously, and always keep water and sports drinks flowing through your system, and watch your maximum efforts.

For really short rides I don't eat in the morning but if I plan on being out for over an hour or are doing some hard efforts I will certainly try and put something down. You might try a fruit smoothie with whatever fruits you like, kale, almonds and water (or coconut water). That is sometimes easier to get down in the morning. I would also make sure to drink plenty of fluids the night before and try and get some down in the morning as well (which the smoothie could take care of).

I also highly recommend using something like Nuun or Camelbak Elixir tablets in your water as water doesn't replenish all you need. The typical gatorade type stuff contains a lot of sugar which you may or may not want. Good for quick energy but not great for sustained energy. If you are good about cleaning bottles then coconut water is excellent or you can get Cocohydro which is quite delicious and good for you. Coconut water is my go to hydrator when I can.

Pretty much every ride I do aside from maybe commuting I will take some sort of power food with me typically a Isotonic energy gel (SIS) and something more solid which is sometimes just Clif, Probar or Floyd's of Leadville chews and other times is something a bit more substantial like a Clif Bar and even on some occasions I have made roasted potatoes which were absolutely delicious you just want something small and easy to put down and potatoes are great for that. Real food can sometimes be nice on a longer ride. I think in your case having something with you is important and also being mindful of having a sip of your electrolyte enhanced water frequently.

Or you can go the Michael Scott method and down a full thing of rich pasta before your ride and don't drink any water because Rabies makes you afraid of water...LOL

Plenty of valid discussion with respect to hydrating in hot weather but likely just as important to do so in the winter months both before and during rides. BTW, there is still plenty of snow on the ground here and it’s still relatively cold although I believe the worst is behind us.

If I’m out for a longer ride I will usually bring along a snack. I make my own energy bars from 5 basic ingredients. Pitted dates, toast rolled oats and pecans/almonds, creamy peanut butter/almond butter, good ole maple syrup and chocolate chips. I make a double batch and throw them in the freezer. Great thing about these is that they are no bake and you can substitute or add ingredients such as banana chips, dried fruit, etc…Last time I brought these on a group ride the bars were polished off before we even set out.

Please discuss this with your doctor.

Being prone to heat exhaustion and heat stroke because of prior occurrences is a real thing. You may be especially at risk and need to take special precautions that the posters on this forum aren't familiar with People can die from these things if they're not properly managed and this sounds a lot more serious than something that can be handled by finding the right sports drink.

I think making sure you hydrate days in advance can help for sure. I try to stay away from artificial sweeteners myself and do like the Bodyarmor, Gerolsteiner mineral water if you can find it (great mineral profile), coconut water, nuun and drip drop

Also, there is a magnesium supplement that I utilize sometimes called "Natural Calm". It has 80% the magnesium you need and tastes like raspberry, When I get sick of water leading up to a period I need to be hydrated I will drink seltzer too. Those are my fave things, but if you're prone to heatstroke I have heard it can be more likely to happen as someone mentioned so be careful. Glutamine also gets depleted during exercise and that as a supplement might not hurt. Fruit in the morning helps me too

I always say go with what works for you and what you are comfortable with. Even in the summertime I can do century rides with no nutrition just hydration. Obviously loading up on nutrients the day prior is necessary, but, the day of the century rides as long as you have good nutrition the night before and you have plenty of hydration you can do just fine. Yes it does take a little adjusting and a little conditioning but it does work just fine. I always hear people saying that you need to be careful of bonking. I think in many instances this can be avoided as long as you are well hydrated with all the electrolytes included. I am not a big fan at all of sports drinks with sugar. There are amazing and electrolyte drinks that are 0 calorie that are like a vitamin and mineral supplement and they work really well.