newbie cycling Texan

[Mr Wizard]

Hi, My name is Paul Johnson. I am 50 years old. I have lost just under 40 pounds using the Atkins plan first and then Sugar Busters. I have created my own hodge-podge of so many of their elements I'm not sure which program I am on. I would like to lose some more weight but I'm in no hurry and I am content with this low carb life style.
Here's my dilemma. My exercise of choice is bicycling. About three times a year I will go on organized century rides which is 100 miles in a day. Now I read in the Schwarzbein Principle book that you should never eat lots of carbohydrates because even if you burn the energy the insulin rise is still occuring in the body calling for fat storage. On my latest century ride, much to my dismay, I gained 2 pounds. This is because I took the approach that with this much exertion I could eat anything and everything I wanted. WRONG!! I would like to know how to keep my body properly nourished for 6-7 hours of continuous exertion in a balanced manner. The sports nutritionists say you should consume one-half a gram of carb/hr/pound of body mass. So I should be eating/drinking 100 grams of carb every hour of my ride. They even recommend between 60 & 70 miles is the time to mega dose yourself with something like a large Snickers Bar. Every rest stop has loads of Powerade, cookies, candy, fruit etc for a continuous carbo loading frenzie. Does anyone know of a balanced food product to buy or make, for extended periods of exertion without doing a sugar blitz?

[mb99]

From what i understand there are 3 options..

1. Teach your body to burn fat for fuel. This requires not carb-loading, and forcing yourself through some difficult exercises where your body is not happy that you are frocing it to change its engines (not 100 miles though!!)... Studies have shown that fat can be a more efficient fuel for endurance exercise.

2. Run off carbs... but load on a combination of low GI and high GI foods. Incidently, I don't know if the Schwazbein Principle book is right in what it says, there is a lot of disagreement.

Also, the wieght you put on was unlikely to be real weight.. it is common to weigh more after exercise. If it was, your mistake was thinking you could eat anything and everything... there is no reason why soda for instance helps you run. Eat low GI and good high GI foods, like some fruits.

3. The third option that some have success with is Zone type eating, following a 40-40-30 plan. You can find out more about this in the Zone forum of this website. The benefit of this approach is that Zone-ish exercise bars etc are avaliable.