BMX diet???

[slc-danza]

I'm just curious if anyone out there (probably some of you older guys) have tried eating different foods, or have tried improving your overall diet, to improve your racing? I have been drinking water only, and have tried eating more grains and nuts, as well as more fruits. Anyone have any tips or success stories?

[bnd]

I guess it depends on what your after, losing weight or gaining it. I know Melton has had a pretty good track history of losing weight & keeping it off since his return back in the late 90's. Maybe he can give you some advice. Me, I try to eat more salads, lesser portions of everything, fruits (bananas) & cut back on the beers.


b.

[slc-danza]

Well when it started out, I wasn't really after gaining or losing weight. I had to pass a physical fitness test for a job I was applying for so I started running for about 30 minutes each day, stopped drinking pop, tried to control the portions meals, and tried to eat less junk food. I lost about 10 pounds in a matter of a few weeks. I've continued running and watching my diet and have noticed a huge improvement as far as my racing has gone. My endurance has increased a hundred times over and i'm hardly tired after riding hard laps. I'm just curious if anyone else had changed there diet to better their racing, or if most people are solely riding their bike to improve???

[b2]

Not for really any other reason than to shed the spare tire (which I had some success with but put some of it back on) around the mid-section, I cut back on how much I was eating... fewer 6-dollar bugars, etc. And I also started drinking a soy protien drink in the morning and in the night as a meal replacement. The riding during the indoors may have turned up my metabolism a tad as well. I dropped about 15 pounds but put probably 5 of it back on during the break between indoor and outdoor... so now that I'm getting on the track again, I hope to get back on track with that "diet"...

[Jackie]

I am not an expert but have read a bit on the topic and have spent my share of time in the weight room. I did a little research and found some helpful tips. I hope this helps

A good strength and fitness diet needs to follow 3 rules:

1-It should favor smaller and frequent feedings throughout the day instead of smaller ones.
2-Every meal should have carbohydrates, protein and fat in the correct ratios: 40% carbs, 40% protein, 20 % good fats.
3-The calories should be cycled to prevent the metabolism from getting used to a certain caloric level.

To keep it simple balance protein and carbs and take out the bad fat when possible. Balance strength and cardio into your program to burn the most fat.

[JAlvey]

There has been a lot of research in the Sports Medicine field on this for sprinting athletes. The suggestions that Jackie talks about are all good overall suggestions for the day to day.

After workouts, make sure you rehydrate, then take back at least 80% of the calories burned in the workout with an equal mix of protein/simple carbs/complex carbs, preferably within 30 minutes of the workout (the same time you should be stretching).

For diet changes to help you to go faster, race day hydration is the most important. There are studies on track cyclists on a 1 minutes event that show if you are 3% dehydrated (down 3-4 lbs-about what would happen if you did practice for 2 hours at 85 degrees without drinking anything), then your VO2max will drop by 8-9%, your sustained power output (in Watts over 30 seconds) drops by 12%, and for them track times dropped by 5-6%. At rad, that's the equivalent of 55-70 feet behind by the finish line. For rehydration, go for water, or something with some complex carbs and protein. Stay away from gatorade and the like due to it's sugar levels. Obviously stay far away from soda and "energy" drinks. For race day I drink water through practice, then switch to a maltodextrin/electrolyte/creatine/aminoacid mix for motos. When you're slow like me, every little bit helps.

This is one of the things I do for a living, so I could go on for hours. Most of it is specific to each person and what they need to accomplish so what works for one person, may not be the best for you.

[J Gallo]

I guess thats why I'm "intermediate", cause my rehydration comes from a 12 pack of diet coke with lime I threw in my trunk

[JAlvey]

I'm not sure that the lime in diet coke counts for complex carbs. Don't start that whole intermediate/expert thing again, B will get mad.....

[bnd]

Funny Dr. J...........Hey! "Dr. J". New nickname?

From roughly 96' to 01' I was totally gung ho about my diet & suppliments. I pounded creatine like it was candy, well not really, I took & cycled it like you should but I can't take it now. About 6 or 7 years ago when I started another cycle & started getting nose bleeds. I figured it was from not taking in enough water. That wasn't it & I quit taking it. Iv'e had a few false starts since then. I would start & a few days later, really bad nose bleeds, it just wasn't worth it. The first year of so of taking though saw my fitness & speed go up a few levels for sure.
Iv'e got a huge tub of Celltech & another medium tub of EAS sitting in a cabinet I'll never use. Maybe you can mix the stuff up with your diet cokes Jason?

I stick with a good multi vitamin, drink plenty of water & what I said earlier. Make yourself a good, SHORT term plan too, something you'l stick with.


b.

[Trunions]

Last year I dropped 60 lbs by changing my diet and through exercise. The best advise I can give is if you want to drasticly change your diet do it slowy (little changes every week for a couple of months) that way you don't crave everything your giving up and the change will be more permanent. At least that is what worked for me. I don't really count calories or fat content or read labels, I just stay away from fast food, pop, candy, and anything canned or prepackaged (microwave dinners) I try to eat whole fresh foods nothing refined. My weight has leveled off (I am still trying to get the last ten to fifteen pounds off) I also did alot of cardio, now I'm doing more weight training. All that being said I still enjoy pizza and ice cream every now and then. As for getting faster, I'm still trying to figure that one out.

[crash]

So Alvey what do you suggest for the little ones? Water is good but I am worried they need a little something more.

[JAlvey]

Kids are more prone to dehydration than adults due to them having a higher metabolism, quicker respiratory rate, and quicker fluid losses. So far as hydration goes, water is definitely best for the kids. Same as in adults, too much simple sugars in a rehydration fluid might cause them to get a high blood sugar level for a short time, which is then followed by a "crash" where the blood sugar drops a bit and they get shaky or tired, and certainly drop in strength. In many ways this is more exagerated in kids because they don't store extra sugar as fat as efficiently as adults.

On the flip side, most kids don't have as much energy stored as glycogen and fat as adults, so through a race night, they will lose energy if they're just taking water.

The ideal thing for kids would be a lot of water and a steady amount of complex carbs through the race night with a minimum of simple carbs. Protein isn't as important in the kids as in adults. Caffeinated drinks, a supplements like creatine should be avoided in the kids.

If your kids are like mine though, getting them to eat right is easier said than done, especially with lots of nachos and churros and the concession stand.

[JasonStout]

Justin, please go on all day. this is facinating! please tell us the effects creatine has on hydration. also, I couldn't stay hydrated at the track on sat..i had 60 oz of water...any reason why? was it too late? cotton mouth every lap! help?