rousseau

For MAMILS like, let's be honest, 95% of the posters on this forum.

I drank the koolaid for years. I'd finish every ride off with a chocolate milk, and, I'll be honest, some kind of muffin or pastry in accompaniment. If not a banana. Or two. Or whatever. I felt virtuous about getting those carbs in during that "post-ride window," and it tasted good, and hey, I loved that line about "riding as much as I do so I can eat as much as I like."

So I rewarded myself. After every ride. And never lost any weight.

To those who are seriously training, fair enough. But for those of us sitting around in offices who ride for exercise and fun, doing two and three-hour rides that are maybe 10% strenuous and the rest varying degrees of mild to moderate effort, three, four or five days a week, there is no reason that you can't just eat your three square meals a day, and maybe nosh on a granola bar during a ride where you're breathing heavier for longer periods.

Crikey, the reason my body has never really learned to subsist on my own body fat is that I never gave it a chance to. I don't train with power or use a heart rate monitor, so I don't take that side of it very seriously, but the eating part? The "recovery" part? I sure as heck took that seriously. Once those endorphins start rushing through your body and you feel high, all restraint goes by the wayside. And really, what's nicer than a tall glass of chocolate milk and a "healthy harvest" muffin after two hours on the bike? It's a glorious feeling, right?

But it kept me fat. No more, though. From now on I'll take a granola bar with me if I expect to be out there for three or more hours, or if there are lots of hills, etc. But after the ride, I'm just coming straight home and drinking water. And then having dinner an hour or two later (I eat late). That's it. Because I'm not racing or training. I'm just doing a little bit of exercise.

It doesn't require an IV feeding tube.