To bonk or not to bonk....

CollieMom
on 11/11/17 7:41 pm
RNY on 05/19/17

ROFLM*O!!! I was so focused on the athletic definition that it didn't occur to me to think "broad spectrum". Every day is an excellent suggestion! I'll pass that along to Blu III (my dearest, darlingest darling - and cycling partner).

Bonking (as I am referring to it) is when endurance athletes run out of fuel. It's exactly like a car running out of gas. One minute You'll be merrily chugging along thinking you've got the world on a string and suddenly WHAM!!!! You're lucky if you can disengage from your equipment (bike in my case) without falling over.

It's a truly lousy feeling. There's a touch of nausea but mostly you are utterly beyond weak. For me there are often tears (I'm not at all a cryer). I may not be able to even stand, much less walk. And it isn't just my legs. It's my entire body. I suspect that even my fingernails are exhausted. The only cure is to refuel. Carbs are a quick fix. Most cyclists below the professional level use a whole host of high carb bars, drinks and gels to keep a steady stream of sugar pushing them forward.

Obviously since surgery I can no longer go that route. Aside from my focus on high protein and scant carbs, my system now totally rejects sucrose in any form. Even a tiny amount of sucrose has me puking for 2-3 hours and nauseous for 6-8 beyond that. I can eat glucose and fructose without issue, but commercial power foods are now completely off limits.

So the trick for me is going to be figuring out how to balance my need for food with my need for water so I can power my muscles properly. That's why I'm hoping some of the more experienced runners and other endurance athletes here can tell me what works for them; what they eat, when they eat it and how frequently they need to eat. Because trying to figure this out on my own (and repeatedly bonking) is not a lot of fun.

Thanks for the good laugh -

Karen

62 year old woman, surgery 5/19/2017 - HW - 345, CW - 139, GW - 160ish (BMI based healthy weight - 140)

ScottAndrews
on 11/12/17 6:26 am, edited 11/11/17 10:26 pm
RNY on 03/20/17

Thanks for clarifying. So know we all know...there's a good AND bad "bonking"

Also thanks for the insight in the different sugars. Never even really thought any of that could make a difference.

Laura in Texas
on 11/12/17 8:50 am

Me, too!!

Laura in Texas

53 years old; 5'7" tall; HW: 339 (BMI=53); GW: 140 CW: 170 (BMI=27)

RNY: 09-17-08 Dr. Garth Davis

brachioplasty: 12-18-09 Dr. Wainwright; lbl/bl: 06-28-11 Dr. LoMonaco

"May your choices reflect your hopes and not your fears."

White Dove
on 11/11/17 7:56 am - Warren, OH

That has happened to me a lot and I make sure to always have a protein bar with me when I am going to be exercising. I take a Quest Brownie bar, cut it into eight pieces and carry in a ziplock bag.

I also like the little packets of nut butters. That way you are getting some protein and fat. Applesauce would work but it is all carbs and might end up in a big crash. You do have to learn how your body is going to respond and be proactive.

If I wait until my blood sugar crashes, then I need something like orange juice or candy to recover enough to get back home.

Real life begins where your comfort zone ends

CollieMom
on 11/11/17 7:50 pm
RNY on 05/19/17

NUT BUTTERS!!!!! WHat a great idea!!!! I should be able to drink fairly quickly after those; more so than with a bar. Maybe I can add in some dried fruit or a little honey, too, to give me the carbs that will keep me upright while the protein and fats keep me from a sugar crash. That might work!! White Dove, you are a genius! Thank you!! I'm not saying this will totally answer all my prayers, but it's certainly an excellent thing to try. Maybe I'll get in the habit of throwing a small thingie of orange juice in my bag as well. Candy is out of the question. Since surgery, sugar now makes me puke. I think the only cure for combined puking and bonking would have to be death. No way do I want to go there!

Thanks for the wisdom and the great idea.

62 year old woman, surgery 5/19/2017 - HW - 345, CW - 139, GW - 160ish (BMI based healthy weight - 140)

sor09
on 11/12/17 7:48 am

Hello: That's just an opinion unless she can show you long term data.... I got RNY and dang... I hated taking pictures pre op since I was super morbid obese. BUT now I got cuts that are crazy! I do not exercise like I'm training for a muscle show but my arms are natural w/o cosmetics... my whole body is w/o cosmetics. Skip the carbs and opt for dense veggies, no matter what, apples have sugar which can stall you and slow your weight loss. I am not a professional but you can read my page to let you know that I have been at this for a long time and will be at this for the rest of my life; RNY rules! Whether it is RNY or VSG it depends on the personality for the success and how well you are prepared for this life style.

 

                
LynnAlex
on 11/12/17 1:25 pm, edited 11/12/17 6:23 am
RNY on 08/04/15

Hello,

I was a cycling fool. I used to ride between 3 and 9 thousand miles a year before WLS. I searched for diet help when I tried to ride again. I did not find any help. Runners eat little fuel, they usually only run an hour at a time. This works well for high protein diets. Cycling for 3 to 8 hours a day has a different need for fuel. After my WLS, I was unable to drink enough liquids the first year to ride over an hour. The second year I trained for Ride the Rockies, a 400 mile, week long event with over 30,000 feet of climbing. I cycled 1000 miles of rail trail in Florida for my base mileage. These were in 20-30, and some 50 mile days. I came home for a week or so, then drove to the Blue Ridge Parkway. I concentrated on hill training, my mileage was 15-20 miles of climbing back to back days. I drove home again. I then drove out to Colorado 3 weeks early and cycled all the passes, front and back, but I kept my mileage low--30-40 miles per day. The week of the event I was able to cycle 60-80 miles of mountains for a week, some at high elevation.

For food, on the 1-2 hour rides, I would eat 1-2 eggs, bacon and 1/2 piece of toast. Then on the ride I would drink a protein shake and have some fruit. This worked well for me.

When I cycled "Bike Florida" a flat 400 mile week on an organized ride, I brought protein bars and protein shakes and made shakes. I would eat the breakfast, protein and some carbs. I would then drink 1/2 of a protein shake before I got to a rest area. At the rest areas, I would eat fruit (apple w/peanut butter) and maybe chips or pretzels. I did not eat the bars, cookies, candy. I would then cycle and eat again in 1 hour. I had to make sure to drink my protein before I hit the rest area. They do not stock protein in the rest areas. At lunch stops, I would order a sandwich from a caterer and not eat the bread. I filled one of my water bottles with Synthrex Fuzzy Navel, the other would be water. I used a camel bak so I could sip all the the time. I eventually did several centries and did not bonk. I did have problems with only protein, and I did have an instance where I was very light-headed from a PB and Jelly 1/2 sandwich. So, I make sure to have the protein first, and then add carbs, I was terrified of Sports Drinks. My Fuzzy Navel looked like Gatorade. I did not lose weight or gain weight. That was my goal.

On some of my training rides, I would eat cottage cheese and yogurt with fruit. I kept a cooler in my car and would do 10 mile out and backs, so I was always near my food.

As a road biker, I have had to do my own thing. I have a small handlebar bag for shakes and bars, and I use a camelbak. I don't have to worry about such nonsence when I ride my mountain bike.

When I was going to have my surgery, I asked the surgeon how I was going to fuel for my long distance cycling. He said that most road cyclists are overweight and I didn't need to eat so much. I did have trouble the first year, but not now. When I go for a club ride now, I bring a protein bar and use it if we stop at a bakery. If we stop at Tim Horton's or such, I order protein and eat about 1/4 of the bread.

Good luck on your journey.

Edit to add: After 3000 miles, I still had 2 bad times with food. The one time was 1/2 PB and light jam which gave me the shakes. The other time was on Ride the Rockies, they had a vendor at the lunch stop which had some healthy bowls of rice, veggies and eggs, all natural, etc. I had about 1/3 of the serving and had the slimies for 2 hours afterwards. I was worried about dehydration. I had a friend on RAGBRAI with me one year who had blood in his stool and a bad case of the runs, he had to be hospitilized for 2 days because of dehydration. I wanted to mention, that it seemed like I was always eating. I would supplement my coffee with protein shake if the breakfast was mostly carbs on the organized rides. Then I would pre-protein before the rest stops. At the rest stop, I might eat 1-2 items, then carry a handful of grapes in my pocket. I would then snack on them after about 15 minutes. I was probably eating about 2500 calories a day. I would eat about 1/3 to 1/2 of what other people around me were eating, but it would take me 45 minutes longer. At breakfast, I would carry my bananna and eat 1/2 after 15 min.

At 2 years, I have reactive hypoglycemia. I have to have fat/protein with all simple carbs or I get the shakes, or dizzy, etc.

Age 61 5'4" Consult-6/2/15: 238 SW-8/4/15: 210 CW:145 (6/30/18) M1-16#, M2-17#, M3-14#, M4-10#, M5-6#, M6-5#, M7-1#, M8 -3# Range 133-138 DexaScan 4/16/17 19% body fat---- 2016 wt avg 142-146, 2017, wt. avg 132-136, 2018 avg weight 144-146 bounce back is real.

NANNY13
on 11/13/17 5:22 pm
WLS on 12/21/15

I had trouble after the first year. What worked for me was a mixture of anything with fats carbs and protein mixed. I was keeping carbs low and when I started on the 8 mile runs I wa****ting the wall. Nuts right before I started out and maybe halfway through and a large protein shake right after helped my body tremendously!

aesposito
on 11/13/17 9:14 pm

I have to be careful due to reactive hypoglycemia but in general, I average 50 g carbs a day in the winter, and 100 g in the summer. We routinely do the Apple Cider Century and other local weekend long-distance rides during the summer, so it works for me better than just eating more on ride days. As you are still early out, that may not work for you, but I think I started doing that maybe 2 years in and it has worked ever since.

When I do bonk, it is often due to hydration issues, not just food. G2 seems to keep that under control as it has a tiny amount of sugar in it compared to full-sugar Gatorade. I fill my camelbak with water (which I hate, but I drink when forced), pop a few bottles of G2 in the bike, and I am ready to go. During the ride I don't eat much unless it's more than 40 miles or so, then maybe a banana or nuts or a protein bar (or all three) depending on distance left.

Audrey

Highest weight: 340
Surgery weight: 313
Surgery date: 10/24/11
Current weight 170... 170 pounds lost!!!!

I am not a doctor, but I play one at work.

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