what am i doing wrong?!!?

seems that lately every time i ride, the day after i feel crap. not aching, not sore just kinda “empty” and grumpy.

I’ve lost about 2 stone over the last year so have been in calorie deficit for quite some time but have gotten to a level where i feel I’m happy with (83kg from 96) so have upped the intake a bit to stop the loss.

try to do 1 or 2 rides a week (1 midweek 1-1.5 hours 1 weekend of 2-3 hours) but seems that after each one I’m eating ‘ok’ (generally a proper meal with a good mix of carbs/protein) but feel pretty crap the next day.

any sugestions as to what i can do/change??

Lack of protein ??
Recovery shake may help.

Are you eating anything and drinking enough during the ride? And how soon do you take on food afterwards?

I tend to try to eat something within the first 20 mins/half hour after stopping – ideally something light like a banana and a big glass of milk.

Lack of fitness/conditioning ??
Do you do any other exercise in a normal week or is that it? Generally though I would put poor recovery down to not eating enough.

Quite the opposite here, always feel really good.

Try getting an early night and loads of nutrition down yer.

drink plenty on ride.
eating, maybe 45-60 mins afterwards.
other excercise = about an hour of walking per day other than that i’m pretty sedantry

maybe don’t take on enough kcals while riding though. might try that angle.

cheers for the input.

Get fitter.. easily said but it’s a sign of over-extending yourself, I got it all the time on mondays after big sunday rides after only the odd shorter ride mid-week. Now I’m a bit better conditioned it takes a bigger ride to do it, but it still happens (ie today, despite all the right things yesterday evening and good rest, a big effort takes it out of you for a few days, up to a week for proper recovery I think)

You say calorie defect? How many calories have you been taking in on average and what mix (protein, fat and carbs)?

I guess you know that there is a minimum calorie in take that you should avoid going below, even when dieting?

for a 1-1.5 hour ride you should really start to think about eating correctly both before and during the ride and even more so for the 2-3 hr ride and after. Also you should be replacing lost fluids.

How about some more details? what are you eating before a ride and how long before, what do you eat and drink during the ride and what after?

Sounds like classic calorie, fluid & protein deficit to me. I get this after racing – despite post race refuelling and lots of sleep, it hits me for a couple of days, tend to find myself feeling quite dopey for want of a better word.

Try using a good quality protein shake (something like Nutri 1st Lean Extra – make sure it’s the “Extra” version as the normal Lean is rubbish and has hardly any protein in it) straight after riding, and another just before bed on the day you’ve ridden. Make sure you are getting plenty of fluid during the ride – in the region of 0.75 – 1 litre per hour is a decent bet if you’re going at it with any intensity.

Then sleep post-ride. So often overlooked, but you need the sleep to recover properly.

Lots of the rubbish feeling you have is depleted resources and your body healing itself.

not been using any protein supplements for a long time now, WOW they’ve gotten expensive!!

what’s that nurti 1st lean got that others haven’t? or why is it better?

and where from?

Recovery food does not have to be in the form of a protein supplement.

Why not elaborate on your pre and post ride nutritional intake. That way you are likely to get better advice.

If you are feeling ill, it could be that you are not getting enough carbs. Low carb diets, mean low glycogen stores, which are associated with bigger increases in cortisol levels which will suppress your immune cells.

2-4 hours before a big ride you should think about fueling up with an appropriate meal. A couple of whole grain rounds of sandwiches would probably do it depending on your size. fill with chicken, cheese egg or peanut butter and salad or something like that. That way you have good carbs, and also protein plus a little fat.

1-2 hours before you could have a snack. fruit, cereal bar and a drink of diluted fruit juice.

After 1 hr of exercise you will be depleting muscle glycogen depletes quite quickly. So you should think about eating while you ride. 30-60g of carb every hour will help, it matches roughly the rate at which your muscles will take up the carbs. Make them cerial type carbs, not white bread.

Post exercise (within 2 hrs) you should be looking at eating something like jacket potatoes with tuna or baked beans. This will help recovery. You will need to replace the glycogen in your muscles. Eating the carb with protein helps do this more efficiently.

And like I said before. drink.