Add in some coke or red bull in the bottles and you’re good to go!
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That’s not a big deal at all, any healthy person can go water only for 30-40 days, nothing special about it.
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Yes very impressive list. I would probably only use the main ingredients; Rice syrup, royal jelly, honey and maybe add some lemon juice + salt. My father is a serious beekeeper so I can get good quality honey and royal jelly.
Is for the average person, but still interesting to consider.
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There are plenty of ways to get the food / energy you need on the bike without resorting to sports drinks / gels, etc. Skip the energy bar and substitute a banana (the original Power Bar, complete with wrapper, as we used to say). Kiwis are awesome on the bike (assuming you like the skin, which I do). Instead of chews, use grapes.
But the reality is that sports drinks, gels and bars are easy and convenient, so we use them. As with everything else in life and training, use them in moderation.
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+1 to this. Use the race fuel, when the car needs it.
If you are going out for an easier cruise with the friends, have a normal breakfast, pack some regular food, and you’ll be fine.
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Retired dentist here, and you are right on the mark. I’ve seen middle aged folks with no previous cavities or fillings suddenly develop horrendous tooth decay after taking up cycling and fueling their rides with gels and/or drinks containing simple sugars. It is not the amount consumed that matters, but the frequency of intake. What happens is that certain bacteria in our mouths feed off the sugar while it is in our mouths. Those bacteria then release acid as a byproduct. It is that acid that slowly dissolves our teeth and causes them to decay.
The problem isn’t the amount of sugar we consume, but rather the frequency of intake. We generally take a swig, or consume a gel. Then, just about the time we build up enough saliva to buffer the acid attack, we take another swig or consume another gel. As a result, the teeth are under constant acid attack throughout the ride. Do that for a 3-6 hour ride and the damage starts to add up. Consuming calories once per hour and drinking nothing but water in between would be a good strategy, at least from a dental health perspective.
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I think it is not so much that sugar by itself is bad, but the the lack of food people replace with processed sugary crap is what’s doing harm. Often a case of false attribution, adding some hi octane fuel to an otherwise balanced and well rounded diet doesn’t do much harm if any.
The main reason for me to keep a few Gels and bars at hand is energy density. I prefer fruits and real food as much as anyone, but it is practically impossible to get enough calories at sustained high efforts. For my races I usually plan for 300-350 cal/hr for 5 to 10 hours - that’s the equivalent of three bananas or 150grams of dates. I could not stomach this amount of food and could neither reach the finish line without convenience breaks.
It is also very easy to make bars and gels yourself. Gels are just sugar, but when it comes to bars you can even go down the whole-food-ish route to make something tasty and energy dense. I have a recipe that does completely without refined white sugar and uses rice syrup and palm sugar instead. Although I am sure that the romantic view of „things coming from nature are less harmful“ does not hold, I don’t think the syrup or palm sugar is significantly less processed than white granulated sugar.
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I totally agree. As much as I enjoy listening to the podcasts, the constant promotion of eating a high carb diet to fuel a bit of riding a bike is of concern to me. To put things into context, I am 53 and weigh 65kg (177cm). As we get older, our insulin resistance becomes a real issue even for slim guys and girls. I rather stay healthy and not develop diabetes rather than chasing a few watts. I do however enjoy the TR workouts very much and the have made me a better and faster cyclist. I do all sweet spot workouts up to 60 minutes fasted (I take some essential amino acids before to prevent muscle loss). For longer or higher intensity workouts I take some quick absorbing carbs before the workouts. After the workout I have some oats to replenish glycogen. I eat a salad for lunch and some carbs and protein in the evening to stock up on glycogen for the next workout. On rest days I eat almost no carbs. The podcast guys in particular Nate seem to eat a ton of carbs mainly processed and really unhealthy ones (at least last year) Anyway it is his choice and not mine.
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They recommend a carb centered diet consisting of high quality carbs (grains, vegetables etc.) balanced with some healthy fats and protein.
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I would’ve said @Nate_Pearson has specifically called this out as his carb focus being unprocessed fruit and veg, and grains, rather than processed carbs (outside of the context of workouts/ races).
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Sure. But there is a lot of talk about going to these fast food places. Also the amount of carbs that they eat would be a concern to me. I would normally not comment on what other people eat, but he is the CEO and frontman of the company.
I think you’ve got your wires crossed a little. He’s doing it healthily and fuelling his workouts; he’s training a huge amount which requires the calories.
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I’ve had fast food once per year for the last two years. The whole Popeyes thing is a running joke, I’m sorry if that didn’t get across.
I’ve got a high carb diet based on plants and Whole foods. That’s been correlated with longer life spans.
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Having read through all this, I can’t help but go back to what Coaches Chad, Jonathan and Nate say in nearly every podcast: Here’s the science, but you have to figure out what works for you and the events you are doing…and what you want to achieve with your diet off the bike…
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Sure. With respect to your second paragraph, this topic has been beaten to death which diet is better. There is too much money and personal interest involved to ever solve this. All I would add, I have been a medical doctor for 25 years. In that time I have seen a meteoric rise in type 2 Diabetes. That is not caused by eating to many rib-eyes or avocados.
I absolutely love your software and use it almost everyday. 5 stars.
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It’s not caused by doing carb fuelled exercise, either. 
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This is a good article from Alex Hutchinson on athletes and diabetes.
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Causality is very often difficult to establish in science. Correlation and contribution can be suspected. What is established and proven is that if you have a genetically low insulin sensitivity and you eat a very high carb diet, you can develop diabetes even if you exercise. Also as we get older, our insulin sensitivity decreases. I think most people eat too many carbs for their given level of exercise.
Keep on riding.
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I would agree. Too many HC eaters either don’t do intense enough exercise or don’t exercise at all.
As stated way at the top of the thread, food is fuel, if you aren’t going to burn it, don’t eat it. Adjust accordingly.
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