I ❤️CARBS! (and so should you!)

Mine too.

This is very interesting. Sounds like Victor campenaerts is doing high carb bottles as @Dr_Alex_Harrison has been suggesting on here.

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I agree that Dr. Harrison’s “sugar water” recommendation is a game changer.

I have been using sugar water on the bike, and it’s been working well. I find that if I add some fresh citrus to the bottle, whether that be juice from a lemon, lime or orange, the sugar water becomes more palatable.

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Little questions. I have come from a sport where fueling during isn’t really needed (bouldering) but overall daily carbs matter for the next day. So I have a good grasp on how many carbs i used to eat per day for that.

With that in mind what do you generally hit in grams of carbs per day when training. An average session for me would be one below.

I can’t decide if im eating to much off the bike in terms of carbs and or not enough on the bike :laughing:

Screenshot_20210718-124952_Chrome

Wish my FTP increased 12w during average sessions :muscle:

Haha I’m not taking that as always dubious of power from outside sessions from the power meter.

That said I’d send it on one of the hills :man_shrugging:

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Re high(er) carbs after reading through here and receiving DrAlex book, I’ve played with 80g, then 120g of carbs per hour on the bike mainly for endurance. Oh my, what a difference. Its really at the end of 4-6hrs on the bike I’m still chugging along physically and mentally as happy as I was at the start. For example - and this is after 3.5 weeks of BuildEndurance at 12hrs per week - yesterday I did a 6hr road ride at 210NP/30KMPH average and today a 2hr MTB ride also at 210NP which I was dreading beforehand because I’m tired at the end of my block. With those concentrations of Carbs I feel SO much better at the end of rides its ridiculous. And Zero weight gain.

I’m wondering now; for the last 2 years I’ve been low carb/high protein to drop weight through the base period, but now I’m wondering if I only dropped the carbs off the bike but used Carbs during the long base rides, would I get more out of the rides, recover quick and be stronger later in the year? Would I drop as much weight?

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Interesting question. My own personal experience has been fuel everything during base with a reasonable amount of carbs (50-60g p/h) = higher NP over long rides = more kJs burned = better body composition/better aerobic power.

I have found for weight loss cutting fat and eating mainly high carb vegan really keeps weight low and energy levels high.
And fuelling everything

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I saw these & couldn’t resist!

38g carbs and 4g fat per pkg.
Better than a CLIF bar and a lot cheaper!

(Yes, there is actual glucose, milk, and honey in them! :milk_glass::honey_pot:)

:yum::yum::yum:

I :heart:CARBS! (and so should you!)

Really, it blows my mind how controversial carbs are still to most cyclists out there!

The way I see it, carbs are exactly like paint and brush. Let me explain:

Giving carbs to a couch potato is like giving paint and brush to my 2 years old: it’s a terrible idea, and is guaranteed to end in tears. Paint = bad!

Now, giving carbs to a cyclist about to embark in a VO2max workout is like giving a brush to Da Vinci: magic is about to happen! Paint = good!

I :heart:CARBS! (and so should you!)

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A bit late, but at 7-800kcal/hr you aren’t going to be able to eat too much. So I would just try to maximize your intake for most rides and then make sure that you compensate for that during the rest of the day so that you don’t over consume. I think that 50% number is a decent target and would require ~90g/hr which is relatively high but nothing that most people couldn’t hit without some practice and acclimation.

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I am currently resorting to pure honey in a flask, since my rides are so long and I struggle to carry what I need right now. This (along with some water to dilute) is working really well.

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Mmm…honey might not be the best choice. It’s more fructose than glucose and only ~70% carbs.

If you’re struggling to carry what you need now, honey is only making the problem worse! You’d be better just to pour straight up sugar water into the flask.

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Understand your point but so far has worked amazing for say 6 hour rides, cannot complain right now.

and further to that, sugar water really works amazing a la @Dr_Alex_Harrison. Have also used this super concentrated too. Even better, costs literally nothing in comparison to a gel.

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After BWR a few days ago, Gatorade/ sugar mix is what I’m definitely using going forward! My pockets are happy too.
I’ve used honey in the past but I’m more of a maple syrup kinda of guy. Plus maple syrup is closer to sucrose than honey. If it works for you it works, don’t fix it if it ain’t broken!

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Can someone summarise the Sugar Water recipe please? I can’t find it and would like to try a bottle tonight…

Thanks

Ummm…put sugar in bottle, add water, shake…? :man_shrugging:t2:

Sugar is 100% carbs so it’s easy to deal with: 1g sugar = 1g carbs.
(by volume it’s a bit different)

Weight out how much you want/need, add water to the consistency you want/need…that’s it!

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