Are all calories the same?

[touch]

I know how to fuel myself for a long cycle:
slow release carbs before (pasta/rice the night before, porridge in the morning)
a mix of simple+complex carbs during the ride (bananas, sugary ceareal bars, etc)
fast release carbs for when I need a quick boost (carb gel, jelly babies, etc)

That's fine. I understand why I need to eat these types of things so that I have the energy when I need it.

But what happens if there isnt a specific time that I need to release the energy from my food? For example, if i'm cycling 14 hours a day for several days at a time. I just need to get as much energy from my food as possible.
Does 100 calories of butter give me the same amount of energy as 100 calories of porridge?

 

[Freefaller]

It's quite a complex question as calories from different macro nutrients offer different hormonal responses, as well as a different way that you body triggers its breakdown for release of energy.

In terms of energy release, if you ignite 100 calories worth of butter, and 100 calories worth of porridge you'd get pretty much the same energy release in terms of potential energy. How your body deals with it is entirely different.

 

[Uriel]

Same amount of energy yes but your body uses it different ways.

Running on just fat, most men can only sustain a power output of sub 200 watts. Running on carbs, you can get a much higher power output. Your carb calories are held mainly in liver / muscle glycogen totalling about 400 grams - so maybe 1600 calories worth.

The fitter people get (endurance athletes at least), the more efficient they get at burning fat too and are able to sustain a higher power output using fat as fuel. Even the leanest people have massive calorie stores in fat compared to their glycogen. Fat is worth about 9 kcal per gram.

 

[FrenchTart]

If you're planning to do endurance cycling rather than just out and out racing then it's certainly worth looking into ways to acclimatise yourself to utilising fat as an energy source more.

Your original question has already been answered pretty much and tbh I'm sure you know your stuff /re cycling but fasted rides (taking BCAA beforehand to reduce muscle catabolism) at a low to moderate intensity will help with this, as would anything keto-y, but as above, if you're on keto you can kiss your sprinting ability goodbye. At least initially.

On that note, I wouldn't recommend keto for any cyclist that doesn't want to *just* try and do endurance stuff or has another specific goal in mind.

 

[[Damien]]

On that note, I wouldn't recommend keto for any cyclist that doesn't want to *just* try and do endurance stuff or has another specific goal in mind.

I've found so far on my n=1 keto experiment that the thing about losing top end power until fully adapted is correct (but I'm also unfit so that's probably not helping). The difference in concentration and endurance is a vast improvement though. Even when my legs are slowing and I've done a good run my mind is still sharp and none of the usual bonk warning signs are there due to your brain using the ketones for fuel so not giving a damn about blood glucose levels.

Recovery is also super quick. After backing off for long enough for your legs to rest a min, you can put the power back on again.

I'm only a couple of weeks into regular cycling on keto but it's working for me. I'll transition into a TKD program once I've dropped some weight, and just consume carbs on ride days.

Here's the log I'm doing. It'll be interesting to see how things go over a month or two.

 

[6thElement]

Having raced for 14 hours a day for many days in a row eating lots of crappy calories as you have to take what you can get in the middle of nowhere petrol station/store. It can catch up with you if your body isn't used to those crappy foods. Probiotics can help in these circumstances.