Originally Posted by
thehammerdog
just returned from 25 mile ride feeling good. I ate handful of peanuts, coffee glass of iced tea.
been riding early since Covid often on empty stomach.
feeling good, losing weight. by cutting back on my food I'm feeling better. but dumb founded. so what is the science here?
Seems to me like you've inadvertently discovered what the intermittent fasting crowd has been trying to tell people for a while. I.e., you might actually feel better if you eat less. I speak from experience on this and starting next week I'll be doing my quarterly 3 day food fast were I just drink green tea and/or black coffee for 3 days (
no sugar or carbs as that defeats the purpose of fasting). During those days I don't do any hard rides as to risk over-stressing my body, but that time away from food gives my body a "break from food" in which it apparently goes into a "reparative mode". (Longer fasts from food usually result in the body being able to do more repair.)
Anywho, OP, I encourage you to continue to research and experiment with calorie restriction and it's effect on your body. You'll certainly be bucking the trend of over-eating that most of society is addicted to, but your body will thank you. (This is assuming you're not diabetic.)
Note that I'm not suggesting that starving yourself is a good or healthy training plan... If you're a competitive cyclist, fasting probably isn't for you. However, if you're a normal recreational cyclist looking to improve your overall health and lose weight, calorie restriction is certainly something you should consider.