Ben Greenfield, a good friend of mine and great exercise physiologist, gave me some valuable information about nutrition while training. Last year we did some metabolic tests on the bike and at rest. He gave me the raw data and showed me how to use the results of the tests for fueling my energy costs when training (or sitting on the couch doing nothing).
The metabolic tests correlate to how much fuel I'm burning during set heart rate intensities. This of course changes over time and with increases (or decreases) in fitness, however the estimate is a good measurement. (Unless my muscle mass from last year has changed dramatically, the results should be about the same.) At a moderate aerobic range, (i.e., Ironman intensity) I'm burning approximately 435 fat and 422 carbohydrates (average) for a total of 857 calories per hour. I should be replenishing my body with 30-40% of these values during Ironman bike intensities. For me, this comes out to 260-340 calories/hr.
Currently, my plan of attack is to start bike rides with a stomach full of food and eat as necessary on the ride. My goal is to start on the low range of food intake and work my way up to Ben's suggested intake and assess my stomach's tolerance. Chuckie has told me that when he trained alongside Mark Allen, Mark was able to ingest more calories than anyone...that he had trained his body to learn to absorb more. Few labs or sport nutritionists think of it in this manner and I find it fascinating, and intriguing.
I have all the raw data, more numbers than you'd ever want in fact, but it's now easy for me to see my energy needs at varying intensities. My goal is to become a fast and fuel-efficient machine!
Below is an example of my daily calorie intake with a 4-hour ride at a moderate intensity:
750 calorie breakfast
100 calories before the ride
250 calories per hour during ride
300 calories post-ride recovery snack
750 calories for lunch
2x250 calorie snacks
750 calories for dinner
250 calories dessert
That's around 4400 calories. This might still leave me in a calorie deficit of around 800 calories...at which point it is time to start eating that ice cream!
Be sure to check out Ben Greenfield:
http://www.humanwellnesssolutions.com
http://www.bengreenfieldfitness.com
http://www.champsportsmed.com
Personally I don't count calories or watch how much I eat, just what I eat. However, Ben's testing has allowed me to really look at how much I'm eating and what I need to refuel my body for the next day's workouts. I've had times where I didn't eat enough carbohydrates the day prior to a hard workout and paid for it dearly! I fuel primarily on a well-rounded diet (including plenty of good fats)but when the day calls for some harder or longer workouts, I eat more sugars than usual. Chocolate, ice cream, and Bon-Bons become a must.... :)
Ben has provided me with valuable information to help me solidify my daily caloric needs. Chuckie's caveman diet is a must-read and one I refer to often. However, for now after seeing these numbers, I'll stick to the candy, ice cream and c-h-o-c-o-l-a-t-e! ☺ Thanks Ben! You helped me realize how much I can eat! :)
The metabolic tests correlate to how much fuel I'm burning during set heart rate intensities. This of course changes over time and with increases (or decreases) in fitness, however the estimate is a good measurement. (Unless my muscle mass from last year has changed dramatically, the results should be about the same.) At a moderate aerobic range, (i.e., Ironman intensity) I'm burning approximately 435 fat and 422 carbohydrates (average) for a total of 857 calories per hour. I should be replenishing my body with 30-40% of these values during Ironman bike intensities. For me, this comes out to 260-340 calories/hr.
Currently, my plan of attack is to start bike rides with a stomach full of food and eat as necessary on the ride. My goal is to start on the low range of food intake and work my way up to Ben's suggested intake and assess my stomach's tolerance. Chuckie has told me that when he trained alongside Mark Allen, Mark was able to ingest more calories than anyone...that he had trained his body to learn to absorb more. Few labs or sport nutritionists think of it in this manner and I find it fascinating, and intriguing.
I have all the raw data, more numbers than you'd ever want in fact, but it's now easy for me to see my energy needs at varying intensities. My goal is to become a fast and fuel-efficient machine!
Below is an example of my daily calorie intake with a 4-hour ride at a moderate intensity:
750 calorie breakfast
100 calories before the ride
250 calories per hour during ride
300 calories post-ride recovery snack
750 calories for lunch
2x250 calorie snacks
750 calories for dinner
250 calories dessert
That's around 4400 calories. This might still leave me in a calorie deficit of around 800 calories...at which point it is time to start eating that ice cream!
Be sure to check out Ben Greenfield:
http://www.humanwellnesssolutions.com
http://www.bengreenfieldfitness.com
http://www.champsportsmed.com
Personally I don't count calories or watch how much I eat, just what I eat. However, Ben's testing has allowed me to really look at how much I'm eating and what I need to refuel my body for the next day's workouts. I've had times where I didn't eat enough carbohydrates the day prior to a hard workout and paid for it dearly! I fuel primarily on a well-rounded diet (including plenty of good fats)but when the day calls for some harder or longer workouts, I eat more sugars than usual. Chocolate, ice cream, and Bon-Bons become a must.... :)
Ben has provided me with valuable information to help me solidify my daily caloric needs. Chuckie's caveman diet is a must-read and one I refer to often. However, for now after seeing these numbers, I'll stick to the candy, ice cream and c-h-o-c-o-l-a-t-e! ☺ Thanks Ben! You helped me realize how much I can eat! :)
5 comments:
Hey Angela,
I bet we eat pretty much the same (CV and I share just about the same exact thoughts towards eating/caloric intake).
Can I ask if your fat/cho values you mentioned are at 'aerobic threshold', or specifically at IM intensity? If at IM, how does that compare to HIM intensities?
In my lead up to WF, I was doing about 4K calorides/day, with about 2200 coming from fat!
Hi Ryan. The Fat/CHO values were roughly 50/50 at lower than threshold. For HIM intensities the ratio would favor cho, approximately 80/20. I'd have to look at the number. The more you train and the fitter you are, the better these ratios become - hence, a FAT-burning machine!
Hi Angela
I was wondering if you are eating even when you aren't hungry to get up to the 4000 calorie range? I know your training schedule fluctuates day to day etc. But could you tell how many hours are you training a day? Thanks so much for your time.
Hi Kelly,
My training changes each day. Ben has given me my resting metabilic rate of around 1500 calories x 1.2 (to offset normal caloric expenditure from daily activities). From there I would then look at what I'm doing that day. Mind you, I don't do this...yet! It's something I'm working on.
...although I would highly not recommend ice cream...I recommend you read the book "Holistic Fueling for Ironman Triathletes" to learn how to shove thousands of calories into your body each day without creating lasting damage...
...you can check out the book here: http://tinyurl.com/lbk4yh
Cheers,
ben
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