One of the goals that I set for myself was to complete a century ride for charity this year. I have registered for one and have started training for it. I am currently 7 months post op and only able to get 1200 to 1300 calories in with out using gel paks and the like. I have an appointment with my nutritionist in 2 weeks but I was wondering what others were doing intake wise during long rides?

Have you ever done any reading on MAF training (Maximum Aerobic Effort)? Quite a few triathletes and long distance runners use this training method. The basic premise is...you train your body to burn fat rather than glycogen to fuel your long cardio sessions. Even a lean person has way more fat fuel at his disposal than glycogen (carbs). By doing this, you don't need to eat any extra fuel. I've been experimenting with this with my long runs. I did 8 miles the other day on less than 35 carbs for the day. There are loads of people that say you can't do that....but I did and felt great. Now one of the big caveats is you cannot go fast. You have to keep your heart rate below a certain limit (your aerobic threshold). But the more you train like this, the faster you can go without raising your heart rate above the fat burning zone. If your interested check out this link...

http://content.bandzoogle.com/users/cippianhotmail/files/Want_Speed_Slow_Down_2007.pdf

I should add, when I say you don't need to eat any extra fuel, that's not entirely accurate. You should eat some extra food if you're doing long distance cycling or running...but it doesn't have to be sugar based carbs during the workout. I eat some extra Protein to rebuild muscle after such a long run.

Thanks I will check that out.

If that doesn't workout for you....check out Pocket Fuel. All natural energy gels that are based on nut butters, not sugar. They are kinda like flavored peanut butter. Very tasty and will not give you an insulin spike the way other gels will. I've ordered some online and they came pretty fast. For a long century ride they are a good alternative.

Typically my usage of the gels was only on days of over 35 to 40 miles. That seems to be the mark were my body just says "i don't have any more go". On most ride days I try to get at least 30% more Protein in. If the maf doesn't fit the bill I will check out pocket fuel. There is a store that sells them locally, according to the store locator.

Thanks 1000 times over Butter