Greetings Posted May 20, 2014 Report Share Posted May 20, 2014 Often get this and it's starting to piss me off. This never happens after a longer while on the bike, always within the first 5 minutes. I start feeling very weak, a bit dizzy and my hands start to shake. I then get epic munchies and finish up consuming probably my daily intake of food in a frenzy. I'll gobble up literally anything I can find that doesn't require preparation, so often finish up eating things like crisps with dry instant noodles and chocolate. After a "meal" like that I'm usually good to go riding again. Does anyone have any idea what's going on? Could it be related to sugar levels? I felt it coming half an hour ago so got off the bike, ate a snack and am waiting for the feeling of weakness to pass. Usually, I'll continue riding until I can barely stand and then run off to the kitchen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N.Wood Posted May 20, 2014 Report Share Posted May 20, 2014 Sugar levels, yeah. Usually happen in the evenings? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greetings Posted May 20, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 20, 2014 Sugar levels, yeah. Usually happen in the evenings? Considering I usually ride in the evenings I'd say so, yeah. What can be done to avoid this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew_Gibson Posted May 20, 2014 Report Share Posted May 20, 2014 not eaten before hand? Happens to me. but only if I haven't had a meal/something to eat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N.Wood Posted May 20, 2014 Report Share Posted May 20, 2014 Not 100% but I'd guess avoid very sugary stuff like half an hour to an hour before you ride (insulin spike, your body tries to deal with it and you're making it work muscles really hard so it goes all weird) but also eat a kinda level amount of sugar throughout the day so you don't get a drop just before you go and ride and your body wants energy. I'm not a doctor or nutritionist or whatever but have experienced many times. Chocolate coated raisins are good to have as a snack if you get this, they will increase sugar levels quickly and you can limit how many you have. Maybe try monitoring what you eat throughout the day if you plan to go riding and see any patterns in food vs jitteryness? I know on Saturday 3 of us were riding hard natural all day in the sun, stopped for lunch, then all 3 started feeling dizzy and all over the place when we started riding again. Choco sorted us out, then we carried on riding for another few hours. Try and keep fluid levels up too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALI_GH Posted May 20, 2014 Report Share Posted May 20, 2014 when glucogen in your muscles decreases then the glucose in blood will decrease too . you have to eat sugars between 1-2 hour before riding ... ... try not to eat fats and proteins before riding they are much less effective than sugars in order to increase your glucogen ... geting tired have many reasons 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FamilyBiker Posted May 20, 2014 Report Share Posted May 20, 2014 noodles and stuff,food for champions i had this a lot,but after starting to eat a good ammount of carbohydrates gefore riding i didnt have it once. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
williams Posted May 20, 2014 Report Share Posted May 20, 2014 I don't have the energy now to explain why this happens... But basically cut the shitty fast carbohydrates, and eat a lot of complex carbs like brown rice. Do this before you ride and if you still feel a bit low on energy, have a coffe and a banana. Caffeine stimulate the central nervous system, and also increases the amount of adrenaline in your system, causing a rush of extra glucose and oxygen to your muscles. The banana is good because it gives you a extra bit of glycose. And if you start to feel low on energy after a while, have another banana 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zetecmk2 Posted May 20, 2014 Report Share Posted May 20, 2014 ^ reminds me of xc advice....this type of advice ends in taking 4 hrs to do shopping!!! but after reading every label......no more bonking!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greetings Posted May 20, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 20, 2014 Thanks guys, much appreciated. I'll do as advised. I usually try to eat 1.5 hours before riding but my schedule is pretty hectic so can't plan for this properly. So in a nutshell - brown rice / whole grain pasta before riding, no meat until after riding (correct?). If I don't drink coffee, will a Red Bull do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark W Posted May 20, 2014 Report Share Posted May 20, 2014 Dat glycemic index shit, yo! The lower the number on the chart, the less it should give you that kind of feeling basically: http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsweek/Glycemic_index_and_glycemic_load_for_100_foods.htm 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdamR28 Posted May 21, 2014 Report Share Posted May 21, 2014 Red Bull, no no no no no no no. Coffee isn't great either IMO, anything that fools your body isn't good for it. It also dehydrates you. I have the same problem BTW, tend to try and get something eaten before riding, then keep topping myself up during. Even very small amounts of 'fast' carbohydrate work for me as long as I stay properly hydrated - the body needs water to metabolise fat into energy, which it can do quickly enough to keep you going providing you give it plenty of hydration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
valk Posted May 21, 2014 Report Share Posted May 21, 2014 You can eat proteins before, it doesn't matter as long as you get your complex carbs in before you go ride; also like Adam said, keep eating while you ride in small amounts and stay hydrated. No energy drinks or substances because you'll feel far worse in the long run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
williams Posted May 21, 2014 Report Share Posted May 21, 2014 Try to drink coffe, if you can't there's some tea that has the same ammount of caffeine as coffee! I don't get the same buzz from redbull as I get from just real nice coffee. And you can definetely eat protein before. It still takes around 8 hours for the protein to get digested into your system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdamR28 Posted May 21, 2014 Report Share Posted May 21, 2014 A buzz is the wrong thing to try and achieve if you're already having energy issues though, it will make you crash (in energy levels) even more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.KYDD Posted May 21, 2014 Report Share Posted May 21, 2014 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
williams Posted May 21, 2014 Report Share Posted May 21, 2014 A buzz is the wrong thing to try and achieve if you're already having energy issues though, it will make you crash (in energy levels) even more. I use it before I go to the gym. And yes I do 'get low' on energy at the end of my 1,6 mile bike ride + gym workout, but just having another banana does the job. The crash I'm having is because I'm running out of glycose Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JD™ Posted May 21, 2014 Report Share Posted May 21, 2014 A buzz is the wrong thing to try and achieve if you're already having energy issues though, it will make you crash (in energy levels) even more. When the crash comes: MORE COFFEE! Note for Inur, not a serious suggestion. Everyone else has it covered. Eat well, all the time. Try to even out the peaks and troughs and you'll always have the energy. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdamR28 Posted May 21, 2014 Report Share Posted May 21, 2014 When the crash comes: FILL YOUR BODY WITH YET MORE CRAP!I still find it crazy that such a huge company has been formed around this concept Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greetings Posted May 21, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 21, 2014 A buzz is the wrong thing to try and achieve if you're already having energy issues though, it will make you crash (in energy levels) even more. What's a buzz? Is it a feeling of having too much energy? If so, I only got this a handful of times in the past few years and would really like to know how I can get this more often. Need to read up on the GI and GL. From what I read on Wikipedia it's probably worth sticking to foods which have a glycemic load of under 15 in the table Mark posted? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark W Posted May 21, 2014 Report Share Posted May 21, 2014 It's kind of misleading though in a sense - the 'problem' with trying to get that pepped up feeling is that you'll need to do more to keep getting it, and if you can't you'll feel worse. I cut out a lot of sugary shit from my diet and focussed on eating healthily and felt way better almost all of the time. Before I'd have some sugary crap and feel energetic but then get a crash after that - when I eat healthily and avoid that kind of stuff I feel in a generally better way the whole time. It's way better for you in the long term too that way. If you look at that table, just changing to wholemeal/wholewheat stuff makes a pretty big difference. I switched to brown rice and wholewheat pasta/bread ages ago (not least 'cos it tastes way nicer), and even such a simple switch like that makes quite a big difference cumulatively. There's plenty of info about GI stuff online though so I wouldn't just look at that table - it was just the first list I could find. I still have a couple of cups of coffee a day, but I don't need to smash an espresso before I go out riding or anything Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thee Damon Watson Posted May 21, 2014 Report Share Posted May 21, 2014 (edited) when glucogen glycogen in your muscles decreases then the glucose in blood will decrease too . you have to eat sugars between 1-2 hour before riding ... ... try not to eat proteins, low gi carbs and glucose before riding they are much less more effective than sugars in order to kick start the body pre-ride. geting tired have many reasons hypoglycemia? have you looked this up, just trouble regulating your blood sugars usually Edited May 21, 2014 by Thee Damon Watson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALI_GH Posted May 21, 2014 Report Share Posted May 21, 2014 hypoglycemia? have you looked this up, just trouble regulating your blood sugars usually that is one i dont know the exact names in English dehydration , lack of salt , amount of sodium and potasium , body tempreture and a few others reasons i cant remember now together they will make you get tired easier Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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