Weekly food intake for a cyclist

[Dr_Alex_Harrison]

@PattyP

What ratio about carbs/protein/fat do i need? I think about 55/25/20

Food intake ratios should vary daily, based on expenditure on the bike. Primarily through variance in carb intake, daily. Protein needs are relatively unchanged whether you’re resting or riding 5 hours.

Don’t target the same ratio every day of the week. You’ll end up vastly under-consuming carbs for your longer ride days and over-consuming carbs on rest or recovery days.

@PattyP

So for that day i need 4200kcal…that is for me a hugh intake… Do i really need so much?

Yeah, probably. Or close to it. Maybe a couple hundred less because:

1. Usually folks are slightly less active the rest of the day when they have a 3.5-hr ride.
2. 3.5 hours makes up ~15% of your day and 15% of your BMR is ~250kcal. BMR is included in the on-bike 1:1 kJ:kcal human efficiency assumptions.

@BlueHeron

@PattyP

What ratio about carbs/protein/fat do i need? I think about 55/25/20

Rather than this, you might try setting your protein and fat at a hard limit (recommended daily for fat and recommended Grams/Kg of protein) and getting the rest of the extra calories from carbs. A lot of people seem to find greater performance with higher carb intake.

Great advice.

@QuittingBikes

Use the 1:1 as per TrainerRoad.

Usually when KCals are much higher than KJs, they’re adding BMR during the elapsed time. While that’s technically accurate, problem is you’re prone to double counting BMR later.

Also great advice.

@PattyP

But how can i calculate my kcal burn when i know my In based on power.

RP Endurance Macro Calculator will help a lot. I created it. I financially benefit from it. Input your daily kj or kcal coming from your device reading your power meter, and it outputs protein, carbs, and fat recommendations based on your body composition, weight, and whether your goal is weight maintenance or loss. It beats the pants off MFP and will take care of the “ratio” question completely because it gives you target ranges in grams of each macronutrient to hit daily, specific to your training demands of the day.

I pretty well spell out the calculator’s math step by step with examples and rationales in the RP endurance book in the TR Recommended reading thread (which I also financially benefit from but is legitimately worth a read).