Scooby Snacks (or any other form of nutrition...)
Discussion
Chris71 said:
What do people take to eat while their out riding?
I also have a general question - which 'body fuels' are bad for your endurance? Am I right in thinking that things like sugar and caffeine give you a short term boost, but will make things harder once that's worn off.
Wine gums! They're lovely, and I'm told they're good for endurance. I also have a general question - which 'body fuels' are bad for your endurance? Am I right in thinking that things like sugar and caffeine give you a short term boost, but will make things harder once that's worn off.
The Powerbar Harvest bars are lovely, and they do an ace Peanut Butter and Chocolate flavour which is ace: The harvest bar you can eat anytime without needing so much water.
My fave energy bar is Powerbars (warm and soft): Vanilla Crisp (think rice crispie cakes) or Cookies and Cream.
However, with Powerbar energy bars, they're best used with lots of fluid, but give excellent returns over a broad time range - they've helped me on the odd (hungover) occasion
My fave energy bar is Powerbars (warm and soft): Vanilla Crisp (think rice crispie cakes) or Cookies and Cream.
However, with Powerbar energy bars, they're best used with lots of fluid, but give excellent returns over a broad time range - they've helped me on the odd (hungover) occasion
In response to the general question: (this is from memory and my Powerbar Sales training)
There are two types of carbohydrate we need to consider: Long (complex) chain and short chain (simple sugars)
Short chain are things like sweets, sugar, and generally nice things that are easily broken down and ingested into the blood giving a short term boost. However this comes at a price - the body cannot modulate easily how much insulin it needs to produce as it sees the high influx of sugar as an emergency and can give you a 'sugar spike' - similar to 'hitting the wall'
Long (complex) chain carbohydrates are found in things like seeds, fruits and vegatables, and are harder for the body to break down, and therefore release more slowly into the body, giving a lower yield over a longer period. This is ideal for endurance work, where you want efficiency.
Powerbars, for example are full of long (complex) carbs, and are excellent for use during events.
Gels are full of simple sugars, mixed with salts and minerals, designed to get straight into the bloodstream, and therefore give you a 'boost' as quickly as possible; but they generally taste like crap (however sometimes you don't care)!
Harvest type bars are a great 'breakfast' type food, palatable enough to eat anytime, and give a balanced return.
Protein bars are perfect for after exercise when you need to get replacement salts, minerals and protein essential for repair of muscles after events.
All of the above obviously work even better with plenty of hydration.
Hope that helps a bit
Lots of Love,
Neil (ex Powerbar Sales chappie)
There are two types of carbohydrate we need to consider: Long (complex) chain and short chain (simple sugars)
Short chain are things like sweets, sugar, and generally nice things that are easily broken down and ingested into the blood giving a short term boost. However this comes at a price - the body cannot modulate easily how much insulin it needs to produce as it sees the high influx of sugar as an emergency and can give you a 'sugar spike' - similar to 'hitting the wall'
Long (complex) chain carbohydrates are found in things like seeds, fruits and vegatables, and are harder for the body to break down, and therefore release more slowly into the body, giving a lower yield over a longer period. This is ideal for endurance work, where you want efficiency.
Powerbars, for example are full of long (complex) carbs, and are excellent for use during events.
Gels are full of simple sugars, mixed with salts and minerals, designed to get straight into the bloodstream, and therefore give you a 'boost' as quickly as possible; but they generally taste like crap (however sometimes you don't care)!
Harvest type bars are a great 'breakfast' type food, palatable enough to eat anytime, and give a balanced return.
Protein bars are perfect for after exercise when you need to get replacement salts, minerals and protein essential for repair of muscles after events.
All of the above obviously work even better with plenty of hydration.
Hope that helps a bit
Lots of Love,
Neil (ex Powerbar Sales chappie)
pawsmcgraw said:
As above, i agree in full, although powerbars should come with a dental warning as they pull your fillings out 
Hence the (warm) tag You ever been given the "down the shorts" tip?
Works a treat, and stops others from wanting a piece
ETA: Certain flavours (which include the Vanilla and also the Cookies and Cream) are softer than the others - ISTR that Banana was the worst!
Edited by neil_bolton on Wednesday 3rd September 19:38
Neils pretty much on it, exactly the same stuff we get taught at work.
Night before ride big ride day try a big hearty meal with lots of pasta/rice/bread etc to load up.
Porridge in the morning is a good one too, dash of honey.
One thing i've learnt is to leave plenty of time between eating and riding - couple of hours at least. Stuffing your face in the car on the the way and setting off straight away I find sends me straight up a vertical wall of pain, cramp and gut rot.
On the ride, little and often. Things to chew and nibble on are great, packets of unsalted nuts, raisins, apricots etc in your top pocket are great.
Powerbars are much nicer than go bars, which are rock hard and too chewy.
Try the torq Gels - much, much more appetising than the go gels or powerbar gels.
Gels are great to fend off that feeling that you might be about to hit the wall - bit of a turbo boost effect.
Hydration is more important - you can operate on 'hungry' for a surprisingly long while - and this is the only way you'll lose wieght if thats a priority. Stuff like SIS Go will keep you hydrate, with a steady stream of a few extra carbs, but importantly replace all the salts and stuff you lose when sweating. 3 litres of SIS GO plus a Torq gel every hour or so will power me through a full intensity for a big (4hr+) ride easily.
Experiment and find what works with you, a mix of 'normal' food stuffs and 'sports nutrition' type stuff, after all, for the price of 1 Powerbar you can get 10 Snickers flapjacks in Tesco...
ETA - equally important is post ride fodder - try nesquik / mars chocolate milk. Loads of protein, and delicious to boot, its the favourite of plenty of 24hr enduro riders.
Night before ride big ride day try a big hearty meal with lots of pasta/rice/bread etc to load up.
Porridge in the morning is a good one too, dash of honey.
One thing i've learnt is to leave plenty of time between eating and riding - couple of hours at least. Stuffing your face in the car on the the way and setting off straight away I find sends me straight up a vertical wall of pain, cramp and gut rot.
On the ride, little and often. Things to chew and nibble on are great, packets of unsalted nuts, raisins, apricots etc in your top pocket are great.
Powerbars are much nicer than go bars, which are rock hard and too chewy.
Try the torq Gels - much, much more appetising than the go gels or powerbar gels.
Gels are great to fend off that feeling that you might be about to hit the wall - bit of a turbo boost effect.
Hydration is more important - you can operate on 'hungry' for a surprisingly long while - and this is the only way you'll lose wieght if thats a priority. Stuff like SIS Go will keep you hydrate, with a steady stream of a few extra carbs, but importantly replace all the salts and stuff you lose when sweating. 3 litres of SIS GO plus a Torq gel every hour or so will power me through a full intensity for a big (4hr+) ride easily.
Experiment and find what works with you, a mix of 'normal' food stuffs and 'sports nutrition' type stuff, after all, for the price of 1 Powerbar you can get 10 Snickers flapjacks in Tesco...
ETA - equally important is post ride fodder - try nesquik / mars chocolate milk. Loads of protein, and delicious to boot, its the favourite of plenty of 24hr enduro riders.
Edited by snotrag on Wednesday 3rd September 20:03
Ran out of stuff to say (you forget after a while of typing) but Snotters is bang on it too - I personally love to eat the McVities HobNob flapjacks - not only are they ace tasting, they're excellent as fuel...
The biggest thing I can advise, and Snotters explained well:
Little and Often, little and often...
ETA: Post ride nutrition in addition to Snotters list: Asda Chocolate Milk, I drank loads after every hour I did on my enduro, and it really helped plus is super cheap and tasty
Edited by neil_bolton on Wednesday 3rd September 20:09
Maybe I was just a bit too hungy at the time, but whilst I was up at Dalby the other week I tried a raspberry and something-or-other Hi-Torq bar and it tasted delicious. Genuinely nice.
Never heard of them before, but it was fantastic. Very fruity.
Hydration-wise I've always just used water. I do seem to drink a lot while I'm out and I'm actually wondering if this could be the cause of my cramp problems. I know that sounds the wrong way round, but I was reading about water toxicity the other day - is it possible I could be taking on too much water?
Never heard of them before, but it was fantastic. Very fruity.
Hydration-wise I've always just used water. I do seem to drink a lot while I'm out and I'm actually wondering if this could be the cause of my cramp problems. I know that sounds the wrong way round, but I was reading about water toxicity the other day - is it possible I could be taking on too much water?
Chris71 said:
Maybe I was just a bit too hungy at the time, but whilst I was up at Dalby the other week I tried a raspberry and something-or-other Hi-Torq bar and it tasted delicious. Genuinely nice.
Never heard of them before, but it was fantastic. Very fruity.
Hydration-wise I've always just used water. I do seem to drink a lot while I'm out and I'm actually wondering if this could be the cause of my cramp problems. I know that sounds the wrong way round, but I was reading about water toxicity the other day - is it possible I could be taking on too much water?
It could be, if you're sweating loads and replacing the water content thats fine, but you'll also be losing lots of salt which is what causes cramps.Never heard of them before, but it was fantastic. Very fruity.
Hydration-wise I've always just used water. I do seem to drink a lot while I'm out and I'm actually wondering if this could be the cause of my cramp problems. I know that sounds the wrong way round, but I was reading about water toxicity the other day - is it possible I could be taking on too much water?
I recently did Land's End to John O Groats which was 10hrs cycling a day for 9 days so nutrition and hydration was very important. One of the lads suffered from cramps whilst training but using SIS Go rather than water and making sure he ate properly seemed to cure this.
My daily ration was a good breakfast of pastry or cereal or toast, or a combo of the three and sometimes eggs or porridge. This was followed by a powerbar about 2 hours later with either a bar or gel every hour. A proper lunch with sandwich, flapjack and gatorade, then a few bars/gels to get me to the end.
The evening meal was the most important though, as much carbs / protein as i could find
Personally I like Torq bars - half a bar every half an hour or so - for endurance, with bananas, gels and Coke for a short-term shot in the arm. Torg bars are easier to eat than Powerbars and don't feel quite so artificial.
Sports drinks put my teeth on edge, although I can live with Gatorade - generally carry both weak Gatorade and plain water on the bike, but only ever water in the Camelbak - can't face the idea of cleaning it. I generally carry salt tablets when it's hot, too - they fix cramps for me pretty quickly.
A lot depends on what I'm trying to achieve, however; there's not much point in feeding yourself 90 grammes of carbs an hour if you're aiming to shed a few pounds...
Sports drinks put my teeth on edge, although I can live with Gatorade - generally carry both weak Gatorade and plain water on the bike, but only ever water in the Camelbak - can't face the idea of cleaning it. I generally carry salt tablets when it's hot, too - they fix cramps for me pretty quickly.
A lot depends on what I'm trying to achieve, however; there's not much point in feeding yourself 90 grammes of carbs an hour if you're aiming to shed a few pounds...
Another one that's really worth trying are Mule Bars. They'e relatively new and not available everywhere, but actually taste nice and are made from 'normal' ingredients, so don't affect your stomach like some others can. Definitely worth trying if you can find them.
I'm also a fan of the Torq gels and drink powder, as they work for me and don't cause stomach issues, unlike most of the others.
If I'm doing a long distance race, then coke sometimes comes in handy (probably the only time I drink it), and of course bananas which are magic.
I'm also a fan of the Torq gels and drink powder, as they work for me and don't cause stomach issues, unlike most of the others.
If I'm doing a long distance race, then coke sometimes comes in handy (probably the only time I drink it), and of course bananas which are magic.
I'm far from being an endurance rider - slightly overweight weekend warrior is possibly still a little flattering! However I guess the requirements are still the same even if they kick in a little (okay, significantly) earlier in the ride for me!
What is SIS Go? How does it taste? Cramp is the bain of my life on long rides - it stops me way before exhaustion would do and can be extremely painful.
What is SIS Go? How does it taste? Cramp is the bain of my life on long rides - it stops me way before exhaustion would do and can be extremely painful.
Chris71 said:
I'm far from being an endurance rider - slightly overweight weekend warrior is possibly still a little flattering! However I guess the requirements are still the same even if they kick in a little (okay, significantly) earlier in the ride for me!
What is SIS Go? How does it taste? Cramp is the bain of my life on long rides - it stops me way before exhaustion would do and can be extremely painful.
Chris - SIS do 3 products... PSP22 is for pure Energy - its a carb solution effectively. What is SIS Go? How does it taste? Cramp is the bain of my life on long rides - it stops me way before exhaustion would do and can be extremely painful.
Rego is the recovery one, for after the ride, it contains proteins and enrgy to help you fix.
Go, is the important one IMO. It contains a bit of energy, but importantly its full of electroyltes and other stuff I dont understand, that helps the water get into your blood stream. Definitely Try the go-powder. In the mean time a pinch of salt in your camelback will make a difference too.
It doesnt tast bad at all, its pretty weak. Lemon and Lime is the nicest.
SIS do a 'starter pack' with a bit of everythingm some bars etc, and the all important water bottle with the mixing markings on it. Well worth a punt, about a tenner IIRC.
Chris71 said:
I'm far from being an endurance rider - slightly overweight weekend warrior is possibly still a little flattering! However I guess the requirements are still the same even if they kick in a little (okay, significantly) earlier in the ride for me!
What is SIS Go? How does it taste? Cramp is the bain of my life on long rides - it stops me way before exhaustion would do and can be extremely painful.
If cramp is the issue it might be worth trying Nuun tabs, too - they're electrolytes only, no carbs.What is SIS Go? How does it taste? Cramp is the bain of my life on long rides - it stops me way before exhaustion would do and can be extremely painful.
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