# Maximizing college diet for more energy?



## flyfisher117 (Jul 3, 2011)

I am sure I have a combination of issues but my endurance just sucks. It seems that halfway through what should be an easy ride I am just drained and have zero energy.
Where I ride if you aren't pedaling your ass up hill you are riding down so that does not help. I am also guessing that since I havent really biked for a few years and college has tole so I am just out of shape plain and simple. But I struggle to keep up with riding buddies.

I dont have the time or money to try these exotic diets. I am still living in a fraternity so I do not purchase my own food. We get fed some good food and other days its just processed ****. Next year I will be in my own place so I can purchase my own food. 
For now, what kinds of foods should I be seeking to eat and what ones should I avoid? What will give me the energy to go further? Would it be worth my time to take an energy gel with me and try one of those while riding or is there something better I could do?


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## Terranaut (Jun 9, 2014)

I am sure others will have better advice than this but for me personally my hydration level has a huge impact on my endurance. I ensure the day of that my pee is almost clear and drink a ton before I ride. On days I am not at this hydration level I notice it for sure. Like wearing lead boots.
I can't wait to see what others post but as far as cost effective, water wins


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## fsrxc (Jan 31, 2004)

How long are your rides? If you are getting drained at 2 hours, then you'd benefit from fueling during the ride.


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## flyfisher117 (Jul 3, 2011)

I'm not really sure length. We don't go out for time or distance it's more of just exploring new trails on the mountain.

The only time I jave ever gone for a set time was this summer I rode 10-15 miles a few nights a week. The one time I got wore out I was riding the 5-6 miles home in a constant head wind. That killed me. But I've never really paid attention to when I am getting worn down .

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## Mark_BC (Sep 19, 2012)

Red Bull!

Haha, nah, I'd say real fruit juices, carrot, orange, celery, etc, and kale too. Also get some turmeric roots and chew on those, you will get used to the taste.

But I think you need to train, your body has to be stressed for long periods before it adjusts.


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## shredchic (Jun 18, 2007)

Does your frat get bananas or oranges or any fruit at all? Those are the best, simple not fancy, works as good as gels and expensive ride foods. 


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## flyfisher117 (Jul 3, 2011)

We do get fruit but it's not that great quality wise. We got such small amounts of poor quality that even if I hoarded myself a few bananas they would be brown by the end of the week.
Do they little Clementine Oranges count as a normal orange? I usually always have a bag of them in my fridge. I love them for on the go snacks but wasn't sure if they were just as good as a normal orange.

I do need to train and that was my next question is 2hat would be best as far as training. This time of year I can't get out and rode the mountain. I can ride around town some mornings but at times it is too slick.
I can go to the gym and ride the bikes with pre programmed routines or get on a spinning bike. Or I can start lifting weights again.
I only have a 2 hour window each morning that I can do any of that so I am currently searching for the best use of my 2 hours.

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## LyNx (Oct 26, 2004)

Simple,cheap...pasta, preferably wholewheat, oats, these are good carbs that will help you fuel and fill your glycogen stores before a ride. Also Terranaut is right, making sure you are properly hydrated helps a whole lot as your body needs, it's made up mainly of water. As said, bananas are really good, if you have to, buy them from a store, if there's a blender, then banana smoothies with some other fruit and protein powder after a ride is good for recovery and recovery is key to progressing - remember you basically break your muscles down when you exercise, si if you don't feed them well to help them fix and replenish, you are really doing more harm than good.

Also remember that if you aren't eating good, or enough good, sometimes you will just have to miss a ride or ride less, just simple as that, your body cannot perform if it doesn't have enough fuel and burning into your muscle is not good.


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## shredchic (Jun 18, 2007)

Clementines are great. Also, spotty bananas are the most nutritious if you can handle the sweetness. 

Oatmeal is great, basically we're steering you towards good carbs like any fruit, vegetables, whole grains (unprocessed) and whole potatoes (not fried) squashes, yams... To perhaps oversimplify it a bit - carbs = fuel, protein = recovery. So timing those nutrients appropriately helps. 

A lot of us end up spinning on the stationary bike or trainer or doing road rides in the off season. Both do help! The problem with the indoor bike is mainly boredom. Try to get some intervals, or short bursts of hard effort or fast spinning followed by easy spinning to maximize your time there. 

Squats, dead lifts, glute bridges, planks are all great.

Read Racing Weight by Matt Fitzgerald. There is a lot there in the general area of sports nutrition and training.


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## Le Duke (Mar 23, 2009)

I'm going to get crucified for this, but I'm going to say it anyway. 

I think you're over thinking it. Plenty of college kids in the same situation riding 2-3hrs a day at a very high intensity. 

Yes, getting some fruits and vegetables in your diet will help. But the root of the problem is that you aren't in very good shape. Your leg muscles have enough glycogen in them to give you 1.5-2hrs of solid riding. 

Ride every day. Ride easy some days, do intervals on other days, go long when you can (bring extra food/water for these). If you can't ride outside, watch movies on your smartphone as you ride the stationary bike at your school's gym.

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## shredchic (Jun 18, 2007)

Le Duke brings up a good point (crucified? lol). He's right - it is pretty simple if you haven't ridden in a while, you just need time & consistency. Your riding buddies probably just have ridden more. But you need energy to ride more often... so yeah, part of it is proper fueling and most of the other sensible life habits (good night's sleep, minimize the alcohol, etc.) to support the added exercise.


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## flyfisher117 (Jul 3, 2011)

shredchic said:


> Clementines are great. Also, spotty bananas are the most nutritious if you can handle the sweetness.
> 
> Oatmeal is great, basically we're steering you towards good carbs like any fruit, vegetables, whole grains (unprocessed) and whole potatoes (not fried) squashes, yams... To perhaps oversimplify it a bit - carbs = fuel, protein = recovery. So timing those nutrients appropriately helps.
> 
> ...


I actually cant eat bananas when they start to brown. For some reason if they are too ripe my lips and mouth get itchy and feel like they are swollen so I have to eat them when they are still lightly green or just turned yellow.
I need to start eating my oatmeal again, I used to eat it every day then I just got bored with it.

The schools gym only has a few spinning bikes that are open to public use (not just anyone can use the classroom full of them) and its hard to get a seat on one sometimes. They do have ones you sit on like a recliner and the pedals are a bit more infront of you instead of below you. Is it worth my time to use these ones? They are the ones that have pre prgrammed resistance settings.  They also have built in TV's with Cable. They just are nothing like an actual bike IMHO.



Le Duke said:


> I'm going to get crucified for this, but I'm going to say it anyway.
> 
> I think you're over thinking it. Plenty of college kids in the same situation riding 2-3hrs a day at a very high intensity.
> 
> ...


No crucifixion here. Haha I know I am out of shape. I have been doing my best to get back into it. Ive always had an ultra fast metabolisim and it is starting to drop so I have been working on cutting the junk out of my diet and get back into doing more activities.

The hardest part is the fraternity food. I spend a good chunk of money to live here so I dont have a ton of money to go spend on extra food that isnt already given to me but our house cook loves feeding is bread, cheese, and butter. Everything is packed full of it, even when she gets fresh green beans she loads them up with butter. I am just trying to figure out what to eat more of and what to eat less of.


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## shredchic (Jun 18, 2007)

If you don't have to pay extra for a spinning class try one! I think they are usually pretty intense. The reclining ones aren't as similar to the real bike, obviously, but they're better than no exercise if that's the choice.

Diet is a hard one because there are widely varying schools of thought, conflicting studies and every body is slightly different. No one can really tell you what to eat. Generally, all of the approaches have some things in common: i.e. add more fruits & veg, eat less processed foods. People have varying reactions to dairy and wheat. You just have to learn over time what foods make you feel best, which you can tolerate ok, and which make you feel crappy. Keeping a food journal where you make note of that is a good tool. It took me a while to learn that my migraines were triggered by dairy... 

Maybe you can ask for a few reasonable healthier mods from your cook - if you're paying for the service then you should be able to have some input. Like, can she set aside some beans that aren't buttered or put the cheese on the side? I'm sure you're not the only guy there who'd appreciate it.


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## flyfisher117 (Jul 3, 2011)

Im waiting to hear back. There is a "cycling class 3 days a week every morning. It would require me getting up an hour early each day, 6 am but I may go and check it out. I am still waiting to hear what it costs. It looks like it is $4 per class or you can get punch cards that are a discount. It sounds fun but honestly I dont want to spend upwards of $125 a year to go ride a bike.

I may just go and ride the free bikes for now. That way I can continue waking up at my normal times and I wont die trying to keep up with everyone in the classes. Then next year when I am hopefully in better shape maybe I can try one out.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Honestly, at the gym, riding a stationary isn't the only thing you can do to work on your biking legs. I've always felt like I had much better biking stamina when I'm in a running habit. Also, there should be weights and things you can use, or even better, medicine balls. 

Forget all the fancy equipment. You can work out just fine with a good pair of sneakers, medicine balls, and free weights. The only weight machine I've ever used was one for legs (don't know what it was called, like a leg curl thing).


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## dave54 (Jul 1, 2003)

Mark_BC said:


> Red Bull!
> 
> Haha, nah, I'd say real fruit juices, carrot, orange, celery, etc, and kale too. Also get some turmeric roots and chew on those, you will get used to the taste.
> 
> But I think you need to train, your body has to be stressed for long periods before it adjusts.


Eat fruit and vegetables. Not juices.

College food usually means ramen because its cheap. Avoid ramen. It is about the worst junk food that exists.


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## Mark_BC (Sep 19, 2012)

NDD said:


> Honestly, at the gym, riding a stationary isn't the only thing you can do to work on your biking legs. I've always felt like I had much better biking stamina when I'm in a running habit.


Yeah nothing pounds the legs like a good hard run with lots of ups downs and sharp turns. I pushed it too far and screwed myself up years ago from that, luckily no permanent damage.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Mark_BC said:


> Yeah nothing pounds the legs like a good hard run with lots of ups downs and sharp turns. I pushed it too far and screwed myself up years ago from that, luckily no permanent damage.


Eh, moderation in all things.


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## flyfisher117 (Jul 3, 2011)

I might have to try running again. My knees hate it. To many dirtbike accidents and slips when hunting.

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## fsrxc (Jan 31, 2004)

flyfisher117 said:


> I might have to try running again. My knees hate it. To many dirtbike accidents and slips when hunting.
> 
> Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk


some bodies just can't tolerate running, but often it's a matter of building up sensibly, and finding the right shoes (or orthotics, which might be a dirty word for some people but they make all the difference for me).


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