Nutrition: If Only Spinach Tasted Like Chocolate

I have been trying to convince myself for years that because I ride so many miles, I can eat whatever I want. It's simply not true. If a body doesn't get the fuel it needs to perform the work that it is asked to do, it will 1) break down muscle tissue in order to get the fuel, or 2) refuse to perform the work. When Karen sent me a suggested list of foods that would properly fuel someone doing endurance activities, along with when those foods ought to be eaten, I realized just how far off the mark I had gotten. Then Patty told me of a mutual friend turned racer...he had lost 15 pounds, and while that seemed wonderful...he found out through some body testing that 12 of those pounds were muscle. Yikes.

I have become serious about my food intake. I like to fast for Lent...it's a personal thing, and though it changes a bit from year to year, I usually do something along the lines of a Daniel Fast. I basically become a vegan who eats no sugar. If it's true that you are what you eat, then I've become Mr. McGregor's garden. Which...poses a problem. I need protein...about 60 grams a day, and it's hard for me to get that kind of protein from fruits and vegetables, grains, legumes and nuts. I supplement my diet with some protein drinks called muscle milks. I had heard about a swimming coach whose swimmers were dragging by noon following a morning practice. He had them down chocolate milk after their morning practice and noticed a change in their energy level almost immediately. Afternoon practices were just as rigorous as the morning practices, but now the swimmers were performing at higher levels. Chocolate milk seems to have a good ratio of protein to carbs.


I won't bore you with a list of what I eat, but I will tell you that gone are the days when I would come home from a long ride and have a cup of coffee with plenty of cream and sugar along with a scone or a handful of cookies. And I can feel the difference. I have more energy and I am starting to feel stronger. Today I was clipping along at 15 mph on the flats. My Garmin said that I burned a little over 2000 calories in the 50+ miles that I rode...double that, and you have a good idea of what it is going to take to fuel me each day of this trip. Now, could you please pass me the quinoa tabouleh?

maybe you can't...because you won't...