Nailing your Nutrition Plan - A Simple Trick to Fuel Properly 

And please, guys, don't throw your empty packaging into nature!

This is an excellent 7 ½ minute discussion of a straightforward approach to carb intake to training-effect discussion. It really _is_ that simple. Now, get ready for the deluge of folks that will insist it’s much, much more complicated than that, and how your math is off, or how you’re not accounting for this, or for that. I’ve been making this argument for years with my cycling and running club members - some get it, most have not, but hey… what the Hell do I know? The ACSM have been proponents of this simple application like mad scientists (nutritionists??) since the dawn of sticky fuel for the body. Remember, folks, he's talking specifically about carbohydrates, don't confuse this with accompanying nutrition intake. 30 to 60 grams per hour of carbs for training-effect is the golden standard. And for anyone disbelieving this, if you’re the typical athlete whose body can oxidize MORE than one gram of carb per minute, then your body is definitively _atypical._ Good stuff, Jeff. Love this channel.

Great information... I will say this, the most important thing actually (for me at least)... Have breakfast, 1-2hours later prepare ride, but going to the bathroom BEFORE leaving the house is sooooo important lol.

Jeff I have watched literally every video you have ever released on both channels, and this was hands down the most helpful thing I’ve ever watched. Fueling has always seemed way too complicated to me. I don’t know why, of all the videos and reading I have ever done on the topic, but this is the first time it felt like it just clicked for me. Everest on Monday, will be applying your concepts!!

That Jerry-rigged camera setup worked well in the end huh Jeff!

I don’t even bike but your race content and commentary is great and interesting for any, and as an endurance athlete, really makes me want to start. Thanks for the great videos

If you can make a video for the food before and after. Like the breakfast and the right lunch or complements your take after a long ride. Thanks for this usefull video.

Why should I support companies selling overpriced sugar? I just pour sugar in ma second water bottle 😆

I do it for the pizza too

Why waste money on expensive products when you can just mix sugar into a water bottle?

Short and sweet. Thanks for the tips, I’ll be following this and see how my body reacts. 🤙🏼

About the amino acids: that particular one (GU) contains L-Leucine, L-Valine, and L-Isoleucine. These are all branched chain amino acids (BCAAs). There's mixed evidence about whether they delay fatigue and/or protect lean body mass and/or increase muscle hypertrophy. There's also mixed evidence they can contribute to fat storage and glucose insensitivity. Google around and you'll find various rabbit holes to go down. My personal opinion from looking at a bunch of the studies is that they are similar to the sugars in the energy gels: yes, this stuff is bad for you to eat when you're sitting on your couch, but when you're out riding, they are beneficial if taken in reasonable amounts.

super helpful and straightforward, thanks

Thanks so much. I'm a type 1 diabetic (i.e. insulin dependent). I've struggled really hard with low blood glucose levels on rides and now I realize it's because I was seriously under fueling. With an insulin pump, you can reduce the amount of insulin you get, but that doesn't help with actually fueling your body to perform (if you're blood sugar runs high because you don't have enough insulin, your body breaks down any glycogen stores and then muscle which is inefficient and harms your speed over time; if your blood sugar runs low, your power will drop and to even maintain speed with a group, your heart rate will spike and burn even more energy dropping your blood sugars lower). Really appreciate this simple explanation and the examples. I used it for two rides this week and maintained perfect blood sugars, along with maintaining consistent speed and power rather than seeing drops due to decreasing blood sugar levels.

Thanks for the nutrition breakdown! I never bring enough on a ride, and this is such a simple way of thinking about food intake!

Thanks Jeff, simple and helpful. Love your channel.

Do you have tips for food high in carbs but that isn’t sport’s food ?

Just remember that most products have a mix of various carbs (starches like rice in a Clif Bar, complex sugars like maltodextrin and simple sugars like fructose). The immediate boost only comes from simple sugars that can convert almost directly to glucose which is what your cells use to make ATP. And, depending on your intensity, your body can convert some fat to sugar if you are going easy, like low Zone 2.

Great video! For me, I need to add sodium into the calculation, I'm a very salty sweater, always caked in white 2 hours in if it's above 75F and I'm pushing. I'll find myself getting horrible cramps in weird places if I don't stay ahead of it.

There’s some slight misinformation here, the 60grams figure is a little misleading on three grounds. Firstly, It is actually typically around 90grams if you ingest fructose and glucose in the right ratio. Secondly, the number is also individual/differs per person. And thirdly, it is “trainable” in that you can increase your tolerance somewhat. Finally, both your carbohydrate needs as well as your ability to ingest carbs is dependent on your metabolic/work rate - at higher intensities your body diverts blood flow away from your gut, reducing digestive capacity

I understand that this channel is aimed at bicycle racing, but I am a larger guy just getting into the hobby and looking to lose weight. Would I still want to fuel 60g carbs per hour, or less than that and hope that my body uses some fat instead? I have been going for 2-3 hour rides, but usually only take a 32oz gatorade and water, which is much less than you recommend in this video.

For me the first hour is covered by the pre-ride meal. So if I'm riding 1 to 1-1/2 hour I don't consume any on bike nutrition. For longer rides I follow the presenters plan but minus one hour, or 60grams.

Great post thank you, cleared up a lot of misunderstanding, seems like I’ve not been using enough carbs

Do you count the mineral intake from eating dust over the top of Montevina/Bohlman?

I hate these packaged foods So much trash.. I wish we get an alternative for plastic packaging

Great breakdown. This rookie now knows a thing or three about fueling for a ride. Thanks, man!

some products have lots of fiber that is counted as total carbs, so also look at fiber grams also....you can't get much energy from fiber

I know you try to keep it simple but would you change the amounts for a lighter Z2 endurance ride?

You forgot to mention that most brands have a glucose-fructose mixture and that makes it possible to absorb up to 90g of carbohydrate.

This is exactly what I need! A simple no BS explanation of what I need to eat on the bike. Thanks and keep up the killer videos 💪🏼

Just started watching your videos! They’re great and inspiring

Do you think you could do a video on different roles teammates have in a crit? Not much information out there for that.

Dude I saw your C2C video on nutrition and it literally changed my life. For the past 3 years (when I started cycling) I just used water, then I moved to water with electrolytes. I always though fueling was for longer rides, sometimes I'd take a cliff bar and that's it. I got heavy into indoor training and though ok it's only 1 hour, maybe 1.5 hours max that's not long enough for carbs and fueling and all of that. Every session I'd get off the bike and my legs would be blasted for the rest of the night, like I had just done heavy sets of squats or something. Then I saw your C2C video that was like no that's not good, no matter how long the ride you need at least 60g of carbs per hour, even if it's a one hour workout. So I tried it out and the difference is insane. I can destroy my legs for 1.5 hours, get off the bike and after maybe 10 minutes I feel like I can go on another full length bike ride no problem. I'm just mad at myself for waiting 3 years to understand how important it is even on shorter rides. I'm the same with the concentrated water formula. For me drinking the full 2 scoops concentrated supplement in one bottle actually makes me more thirsty, what works perfect for me is splitting the supplement into two bottles. So each bottle is 30g of carbs but you can still get hydrated and not feel thirsty. A cliff bar is really good for the pre-ride setup. 250 calories, solid food, with 45g carbs.

Stroopwafel!! You should put on top of a hot coffee, is then warms up a little.

Love the waffles! Actually all those GU products are pretty good, and convenient to use on a ride. Thanks for the simple tip!

Clearly just a promotional video..

This was really great Jeff. Thanks for posting this. There is so much information out there, most of it marketing fluff. It's good to know it' just as simple as getting the right amount of simple carbs at the right time.

Stroop wafels (Dutch) RULE 😂

That’s how much I bring on a 4 hour ride 😂

Do you stay on the bike for 4 hours straight? Or do you go off to eat?

I yern for the days I could ride 6 hours on a hilly course and then get up and do it again the next day.

Second comment: any thoughts on how you might adjust this if your goals are split between performance and a bit of weight loss?

I see that Morgan Blue. That shit is the best.

Kudos for the animation at the end!

60g of carbs * 4 (kcal) = 240kcal/h - that's the maximum number of energy we can provide for our body? (fats need more time? we don't count them here?) so how can you ride for 3-4h and burn (according to garmin/other computer) 3000-4000kcal ? (without being completely depleted waaaay before)

It's 60grams of glukose and around 30 more of fructose you can digest and absorb per hour. Which gives you around 90grams of carbs per hour.

I hit gels first then chews last. It's nice to have something to chew on after an hour or so. Helps get the saliva going and that actually cues your digestive system, which means faster absorption. And I follow up the chews with a glug of water to help it even more. What do you think about pre-workout mixes, like ON Nutrition Amino Energy or Bare Fitness Flight? I know that I also burn through electrolytes/salts fast; still start to cramp on hot days with hard work, so I take one bottle of pure water and another mixed heavy with electrolytes (Camelbak or Nuun usually). Sometimes I'll use the one with caffeine if I'm feeling froggy, or it's a particularly long event I'm getting into. That's a personal thing though, different for each athlete.

Bottle of water + bottle of water with e-gels added= no fumbling around with the sticky wrappers...good video

What about short (up to 3 hours let's say) endurance rides? Still 60 grams of carbs every hour? Isn't it too much?

Another great video! I was hoping you might do a video on some supplements that might help performance? Maybe on sodium bicarbonate? Pre-workout drinks ? Beet juice ? (See what happens)

Very informative video! Straight to the point! Could you do more video on nutrition? How many carbs x day you eat? Do you think 7gr * kg of body weight can be enough for riding all days 2 hour? (im 70 kg 177 cm) Thank you from italy

"amino acids, i don't know what that means"... why am I listening to you again?

I just did my first 100 mile ride and thought I fueled correctly, 1 500ml bottle of sugar water, 4 stroop waffles. At 60 miles, I was out of food and only had a 1/4 bottle left. Did nt bonk but felt very weak at the end. Tot ride time for 100 miles 5hrs, 30 min.

Pray tell you don't eat the same thing on a recovery ride and an ftp or vo2 max session? And what about endurance? All the types of rides have different calorie demands per hour. Also this nutritional advice: do you have and alternative advice to a Cyclist who tries to compete but it's overweight?

Interesting. This is about the same amount of carbs I take (around 50g per hour). I am a diabetic and have a continuous glucose monitor, I get updates of my blood glucose every 5 min. At this rate I can maintain my levels. I have tried higher carb intake and my body cant even absorb them fast enough the levels stay steady and shoot up after the ride.

For the (for me) occasional much longer group ride or brevet, say 200km up to 6hrs, what do you think about bringing 2-3 more scoops of powdered nutrition supplement to add to bottles as you stop and refuel? I kind of gave up on the powdered mixes because I didn't feel like it was hugely necessary or useful in the first hour or so and then I never had anymore for the rest of long rides when maybe it might have given me a solid or more quickly metabolizing energy source than the solid foods I was relying on.

Nice. GU gels are great but a little too thick for my liking. Did you go for professional bike fit or did you do it on your own? A video on that would be cool! Thanks :)

Helps a lot, thank you! 😁

Hey! Love your videos and I am guy who usually rides MTB, going to be purchasing my first road bike very soon. I am a Biochemistry major currently and id like to work with some teams dealing with nutrition, but we can all dream cant we... To be honest this isn't that hard and it really is this easy for the most riders. The amount of gains most amateur riders will get from nutrition may be easily off set by equipment or any number of factors. Its really important that you are eating correctly when off the bike as well or it will not matter the amount of carb loading you do.

So easy, yet som important!

Incredible video, no wonder I bonked on a 2 hour climb with 2 bananas in my pockets, followed the video and had no problems at all!

Not to be hyperbolic, but this is advice I've been looking for for YEARS! I can do this, it's not complicated. Thank you SO much.

The best part of being endurance Athlete... east so many... still maintain weight...

You should put affiliate links for this Gu nutrition stuff! If I bought them I'd want to buy in a way that supports the channel.

Thank you brotha, never knew this. I always focused on sodium and calories

Great video!

Why does every youtube channel involved with cycling have these park tools thats the great mystery..

Is it bad that I'm 99% sure I can recognize Shannon rd from a half second clip? 😅

sounds complicated, I just eat a banana or a gel or a lara bar every 20 minutes after the first 45 minutes

learned something today - thx Jeff

The 60g/hr number you mention applies to glucose taken alone, but there’s also science that shows that mixing carb sources (combination of glucose, fructose, maltodextrin etc) can allow your gut to absorb upwards of 90g/hr since the different carbs are absorbed via different transport mechanisms. Most sport nutrition will already have this mix done for you, so you can basically just take the formula you already use and extend it to 90g/hr instead of 60. It’s also worth mentioning that on pretty much any reasonably intense ride, your calorie burn is going to be higher than 360 cal/hr, so you’re always going to be depending on some amount of stored glycogen and triglycerides, which is why pacing on longer rides becomes increasingly critical, and why you need to eat your body weight in leftover pizza afterwards.

Nice video, would be nice to see one about your off the bike daily nutrition.

This is actually helpful! Simple, straight-forward and easy to implement. Thanks, Jeff.

what about bananas? how do they fit in?

Table sugar........not cool though.

Nice and informative video, totally loved it. The last thing that you said about being an endurance athlete is totally true, at least for me. I love to be allowed to eat more food and not gaining weight.

1 word before your ride: Hypoglycemia....

I think for the majority of cyclists it's unhealthy, unnecessary and just plain expensive to be eating gels and sports nutrition on every ride like you show in this video. Muesli bars and bananas are my go-to's, and occasionally I will bring some sugar water for really long rides; I only use sports nutrition for races. I agree with the grams of carbs/hour you're advising however I hope that most people (especially newer cyclists) will understand that you don't need to eat energy bars and GUs on every ride. Great content, love your channel.

That's a nice approach, I'll definitely try that. Thank you for the tips!

Good points. Thanks for the info. This will definitely help make things simpler as I plan for longer rides and events.

I calculated my fuel this same way for my 3 hour endurance ride today. Worked like a charm. My max intake seems to be about 60/hr spaced out so I’m eating at least every 30-40 minutes.

Nearly an 8 minute video and I hit like into a minute after intro. Ride on, NCC!

Excellent tip! So simple and easy to remember. Thanks

Are u a medic?

Nice off road section on that last climb according to google maps

if you dont fuel properly is that why the body craves carbs for the next few days? I do long 5+ hour rides and short 2 hr rides, each have their own tss and i push hard but rarely fuel except at a coffee shop at the half way point. i always seem to need sugar for the next several days. could this be the reason?

Seems like this would vary by rider weight. 60g of carbs per hour would not be enough for me for sure

i normally just slam two 24oz at walmart or 711 and keep rolling. but as a runner thats not always practical. great content.

What happens if you don’t eat anything for a six hours ride?

I absolutely love this video, straight to the point and spot on. I am in ❤️ with your videos.

what is the brand of the bottles?

Can't agree with you enough on that comment about just water. A pallet cleanser like that is so important to me on long rides and races to stay cheerful and actually want to eat the other stuff

Great video. And ditto to all the comments. It's all for the 'za

I mix 2:1 table sugar (sucrose) to maltodextrin powder in my water. This creates a 2:1 glucose to fructose ratio that alows you to digest 80-90g per hour instead of 60, exacty the same as SIS beta fuel does but significantly cheaper. 1kg Maltodextrin is roughly $5 so it works out very cheap. you can add fruit juice for flavour. Idea from cycling tips website

Great piece of information. Thanks

thank you, this is good information

How about a 3hr zone 2 ride? That many carbs for zone 2 rides?

what chainrings do you ride ?

Boom, gut biome destroyed. Just like that.

Wow I do not fuel enough