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It feels like I'm struggling to take on enough sugar for the amount of exercise I do and I'm wondering a) if I even need to worry about it and b) if so, how to take on sugar without stuffing my face full of cake and biscuits
I ride 100+ miles a week and running twice a week, plus several sessions of yoga/core strength/stretches.
Overall my diet is very good, no red meat, virtually no alcohol, 5+ fruit and veg a day...
But I get really strong cravings for sugar which I can't seem to straighten out with things like milk, fruit, dried fruit etc - it has to be biscuits or chocolate or I don't feel like I've had enough sugar. I've had a massive sweet tooth since I was a kid - this isn't anything new tbh.
I assume my body will need plenty of sugar to support the physical effort but I'm struggling the find a way to deliver this without troughing my face like a typical obese Brit!
I'm trying things like chocolate milk, fruit bread and flapjacks to try and find (slightly) healthier inputs.
My BMI is good - 75kg and 180cm so I don't think there's a problem per se, I'd just like to cut down on the amount of cakes and biscuits I'm taking on...
Any ideas?
Eating all that sugar is making you crave sugar.
Cut back, replace with complex carbs, fats or protein.
I went through this a few months ago. I've had a huge sugar addiction, mainly through chocolate, for years. I decided enough is enough and stopped eating it . It seemed to take ages to get out of the sugar "slump" I felt I was in. No energy and a lack of interest in all my active hobbies. I've now come out the other side and yes I still snack on the odd bar but it's so rare now as it all tastes false and chemically flavoured. I'm now eating more fruit and drinking loads of juices etc which have changed my taste buds for the better.
[quote=fd3chris ]I've had a huge sugar addiction...
I'm now eating more [s]fruit[/s] sugar and drinking loads of [s]juices etc[/s] sugar which have changed my taste buds for the better.
No change then? 😆
feels like I'm struggling to take on enough sugar for the amount of exercise I do and I'm wondering
You dont need sugar for exercise you need complex carbs. If you eat sugary foodcyour body produces lots of insulin to convert the glucose ( sugar) to glycogen for storage. The spike in insulin will then make your blood sugar drop and make you want sugar and it cycles again. You need to try and smooth out the peaks and troughs. Try having a bowl of mon sugary cereal instead of biscuits for example.
No change then?
😀
Yeh, get fat adapted apparently is the way forwards according to a couple of mates.
To be fair, I probably already am, don't need to eat sugar when out on the bike.
@ anagallis_arvensis
+1
As above, the more sugar you eat the more you crave it. Luckily you can use this to your advantage- cut it out and you'll (eventually!) stop craving it.
fruit is not refined sugar.
fruit has a whole host of benifits associated with it as well as the non refined sugar.
Refined sugar has no benifits .
always makes me laugh when people cut out fruit and veg as they are "full of sugar" ...... probably the same people that think all fats are bad and go for the "fat free option" ........
As with everything - moderation is the key. - and i dont mean fashist bully boys on forums 😉
During exercise your muscles burns the glycogen stored in your blood - depending on how well trained / level of intensity it should last for a couple of hours but after more than an hour, you should try topping up with complex carbs via energy drinks, dried fruit, bananas. As said, straight sugar isn't much good (unless desperate measures) due to glycaemic 'spikes' playing havoc with your insulin levels
You body makes no distinction between sugar from 'refined sources' and sugar from fruits. The fact that fruit provides trace vitamins, minerals, fibre and other micro nutrients is really ancillary to this conversation, other than having them packaged with'natural sugar'. This doesn't make natural sugar better or worse, it just comes in a more nutritional package.
Arguably, fructose from fruit and juices can put a significantly higher metabolic load on your liver and has been implicated in fatty liver disease and carrying a higher causal effect in the development of diabetes than some of the simpler sugars.
Yeah, sure it's natural, but we only used to eat it for two months in the autumn. Now we eat it year round, and we supplement it with all the other sugars too.
@ scotroutes yes a huge change as the amount of chocolate I used to eat was a lot and I'm taking in on average one banana and say three satsumas a day which has lowered my intake hugely ?
So - is that a banana and two satsumas in your pocket or.....
ctfu
Davina McCall has a book out - 5 weeks to sugar free. It's not the usual celeb guff, actually some pretty decent recipes in it. My riding crowd love the power balls.
Overall my diet is very good, no red meat, virtually no alcohol, 5+ fruit and veg a day..
Good for you, why is that a good diet?
My BMI is good - 75kg and 180cm so I don't think there's a problem per se, I'd just like to cut down on the amount of cakes and biscuits I'm taking on..
Well cut out the cakes and biscuits - you don't mention these in your "Good Diet" line
BMI is a very crude measure, I know people who are close to obese on it with a very low body fat and fitter than most and others who are in line but not fit/healthy. From being a climber to a mountain biker my weight change is probably 15kg. I'm probably as healthy now as I was then (and not taller)
Looking at what I eat I don't reckon I touch much added sugar at all, certainly no cakes unless I'm doing mega miles and it's a treat not a need.
Take a look at something like this
https://feedzonecookbook.com/
I think it has been covered above. Your cravings are addiction rather than need. Begin to cut back and get your energy from complex carbs (things like wholemeal pasta, brown rice). Simple sugars spike your blood sugar making you feel good but then you drop just as fast.
I find dont be afraid of fat either, makes you feel full and stops the hungry feeling making you go for snacks.
I don't want to be alarmist but the weeks before I got diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes I was craving sugar a lot.
For the 30 years since I was diagnosed T1 diabetic I've craved sugar a lot.
how to take on sugar without stuffing my face full of cake and biscuits
That's exactly what energy drink is for. Go on amazon and look for bulk powders - plain maltodextrin is cheap as chips (much cheaper, in fact) and it will stop you craving sugar - which is probably caused by low muscle glycogen stores or low blood sugar.
Drink during rides, and immediately afterwards. But then eat low-medium GI at other times. You will probably need to eat plenty of carbs but try and keep the GI down. Recovery drink works better after rides though - 3:1 ratio carbs/protein.
fruit has a whole host of benifits associated with it as well as the non refined sugar.
Some does, some doesn't.