My thoughts: I’m a hefty 118kg and 185cm. I am working with a dietician who focuses on sports nutrition. They’re an ironman athlete and pretty well versed in nutrition for cycling and the triathilon sport. Currently they have me sitting at
2575 calories
170g protein
225g carbs
65g fat
I can fairly easily get through the rides IF I eat something before working out. If I ride in the morning, which I typically do on the weekend before the family gets up, I have to eat something carby. Whether that’s gummy bears, gatorade, or some rice, I have to eat something. If I don’t, I simply don’t have the power to push the pedals towards the end of the rides. I count those carbs in my daily macro targets.
I would encourage you to not eat back the calories you burn for the ride. Try a 45% carb, 35% protein, and 20% fat macro target and see what happens. Most likely you’re burning a calorie amount of closer to the Kj’s listed on the post ride summary. Take a 1 for 1 ratio of kj to calorie to see what you’re probably actually burning. Most likely it is less than you think.
If you’re bonking hard on the rides maybe your FTP is too high or something else is going on. You should be able to manage the rides well with a decent diet. Chad has often said you should get to the point where the workouts aren’t horrible, while they won’t be enjoyable, they should be something you’re looking forward to doing because you know you can tackle them.