Cyclist's Nutrition: Choose Where You Get Your Calories

There are 3,500 calories in each pound of body weight. Riding your bike zaps nine to ten calories a minute, that means a 150-pound bike rider will burn between five hundred and six hundred caloriesroughly the amount in a 6-inch Spicy Italian subway subon a normal hour-long ride. ( If youre heavier, you shed more calories ; if you are lighter, you lose less. )

Cyclists notoriously overestimate how many calories theyre burning. If you eat an energy bar and drink a sports drink on a fair ride, you have effectively cancelled out any calorie burn. Surveys show that some exercisersoverestimate the calories they burn by almost 1,000about half a days worth. Unless each morsel has a food label, its hard to learn how much youre taking in. It can be far harder to understand how much you are burning.

A calorie is a measurement of the energy in food. And for years weve been told a calorie is a calorie : Whether you eat 500 of broccoli or pastry, your body will burn or store them similarly. Thats not right. Foods close to their natural state, for example fresh veg, whole grains and lean, entire cuts of beef, require actionenergyfrom your body. You need to work to chew them and to digest them. They make a thermic response, which suggests you burn more calories just processing them.

Experts partly blame the preponderance of lazy calories for the present obesity epidemic. Our food is so heavily processed, its practically predigested. That fastfood burger has gone through so much pulverization, you barely have to chew. Were losing the ability to burn calories as we naturally would in the eating and digestive process. And many of those same foods are calorie-dense, so theres more for your body to store. Mavens don't suggest calorie counting. It takes the joy out of eating and ends up a futile venture. Instead, fill your plate with active calories, like those found in fruit and vegetables. Such foods possess more fiber and water, which suggests you digest them slowly, feel pleased with less of them and gain longer-lasting energy. You can consider them free foods and eat as many as you need.

By simply changing the composition of your plate, you can lose weight without being concerned about pangs of hunger, bonking episodes or watching the calories.

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