Dear Monique,
In your April 25th column (More prepping for long rides), you mentionweighing before and after a ride. Is the weight differential entirely fluidor food in the stomach? Can you say a bit more about this differential?Should riders shoot for some change, no change, under what circumstances?
Thanks,
JoelHi Joel,
The difference between your weight before and after a training riderepresents the amount of sweat that you did not replace with fluid intakeduring the ride. Even losing 2-percent of your body weight, about 3.5 poundsfor a 165-lb. cyclist can decrease your endurance, particularly in warmerweather conditions.The goal is to minimize your overall fluid deficit without over drinkingduring the ride. While over drinking is possible in a cyclist with a verylow sweat rate, most of us finish harder rides in some state of dehydration.Some cyclists will also have such a high sweat rate, that matching theirsweat losses simply isn’t possible due to gastrointestinal intoleranceto larger amounts of fluid. It is important that you check your sweat rateto determine your own individual sweat losses in various weather conditions,and as you become acclimated. It is best if you test your sweat rate ona shorter ride, perhaps one hour when consuming only a carbohydrate-electrolytebeverage and no solid items such as gels and bars.Below is an example of how to check your sweat rate. Sweat rates canrange greatly in cyclists, anywhere from 0.5 to 3 liters per hour.1. Check your weight before and after training and calculateyour weight loss.

Weight before training: ________________
Weight after training: __________________
Amount of weight lost: _________________

2. Know the amount of fluid consumed during the training session.

Ounces (ml) of sports drink consumed: __________________
( squeeze bottles are 20 to 24 ounces/ 600 to 720 ml)
Ounces (ml) plain water (if any) consumed: _____________________

3. Convert the amount of ounces (ml) of fluid consumed to weight.

• 30 ounces of fluid weighs 2 lb.
• 1000 ml fluid equals 1 kg.

4. Add the amount of weight loss and the weight of the fluid consumed.

________________________________________ = __________ lb. (kg)lost
Convert this total lb. (kg) weight loss to ounces (ml).

5. Divide the total ounces (ml) of weight loss by the number ofhours of training, to determine the amount of ounces lost in sweat perhour.

____________________ Sweat losses per hour

Example:

Weight before training: 165 lb. (75 kg) Weight after training: 162 lb. (74 kg) Total weight loss: 3 lb. (1.4 kg)Fluid Consumed: 60 ounces (1800 ml) fluid during a three hour bike ride. 60 ounces (1800 ml) fluid weight 4 lb. (1.8 kg)Total weight loss and weight of fluid. 3 lb. (1.4 kg) + 4 lb. (1.8 kg) = 7 lb. (3.2 kg)The seven-pound total weight is equivalent to 105 ounces (3.2 kg equals 3200 ml fluid) divided by three hours of training.Amount lost in sweat per hour: 35 ounces (1060 ml) per hour for sweat losses

Salt tablets
Dear Monique,
I use electrolyte tablets pretty liberally to prevent cramping. In your column on muscle cramps you seem to suggest that their use should be a last resort, and then only in a limited dose. What’s the downside of taking electrolyte tablets?
Thanks,
BartDear Bart,
Electrolyte tablets can definitely be used during training and racing if you struggle with muscle cramping that responds to electrolyte supplementation. However, I would suggest that you definitely use a higher sodium sports drink when training and racing and try working with that first as an effectiveand convenience method of higher electrolyte replacement during training.Because adequate fluid intake is also closely tied to preventing musclecramping, drinking adequate amounts of a higher sodium sports drink canalso go a long way to curb the cramping. These sports drinks often providehigher amounts of potassium, calcium, and magnesium as well.Once you have reached a plateau in how much fluid you can comfortablyconsume to minimize the sweat loss deficit, you can determine what yoursodium intake may be per hour. It is possible that you can consume anywherefrom 600 to 1200 milligrams per hour. Unlike your fluid losses, it is reallynot possible to determine what your sodium losses are per hour other thanin the laboratory setting. Of course salt marking on your training clothingcan indicate that you are a salty sweater. So if these higher sodium sportsdrinks are not adequate to replace your sodium losses, you can add electrolytetablets/supplements to the mix. Many tablets/supplements contain not onlysodium, but the other electrolytes as well.Since the amount that you should consume to replace electrolyte lossesis still not clear, you can add in electrolyte tablets/ supplements asneeded to prevent a decline in performance, low levels of blood sodium,or in your case, muscle cramping. The amount of sodium in one tablet ofproducts can vary widely, ranging from 100 mg to 500 mg. Sweat sodium lossescan range greatly from 400 to over 1000 milligrams per liter of sweat.You can determine your sweat rate and then try to replace sodium at a reasonablelevel between the high sodium sports drink and salt/electrolyte tablet.Generally for a very salty sweater, consumption of over 1000 mg per hourcan be met with a carbohydrate electrolyte beverage and a salt tablet.Are there any dangers to over-supplementing- yes, possibly. If you overconsume sodium and don’t take these products with adequate fluid, you couldpossibly risk some gastric irritation and upset. Sodium tablets shouldalways be consumed with fluid, and “buffered” products are also available.Over-supplementing also provides no performance benefits. Butyou do need to consume enough sodium during exercise to prevent an excessof sodium loss through sweating which can lead to low blood sodium levelsand in some susceptible cyclists, muscle cramping.
MoniqueA fishy question
Hi Monique,
I have a simple question, which may not have a simple answer. Are there nutritional advantages to eating wild salmon as opposed to farmed salmon? Also, most tuna is wild, should always be consumed over “farmed” salmon?
Thanks,
EricHello Eric,
As you are aware, seafood is good for you and one of the best sourcesof the healthy omeg-3 fatty acids DHA (docohexaenoic acid) and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid). Both of these fats play important roles in your immune and neurological systems and are linked to a lower risk of heart disease.But because of the concern around contaminated waters, consuming fishis not entirely risk free. One recent report from Harvard’s School of PublicHealth concluded that the health benefits of eating fish exceeds the riskof contamination, and that one to two fish meals weekly can reduce riskof death from heart disease by 36 percent. Another report from theInstitute of Medicine (IOM) did advise that individuals at risk for heartdisease could reduce their risk by consuming fish regularly. They alsoadvised that a variety of fish be consumed to reduce risk of contaminantsfrom one source.Unfortunately fish can be contaminated with mercury and PCBs. PCB’s accumulate in fatty fish, just as mercury does, though these fish are good sources of EPA and DHA. Fish most likely to be contaminated are large predatory fish, especially shark, swordfish, tilefish, and king mackerel. Both farmed and wild salmon are good sources of DHA and EPA and are low in mercury,but can be contaminated with PCBs. Farmed salmon is more likely to containhigh levels of PCBs than wild salmon, with two exceptions. Farmed salmonfrom Chile and Washington state are relatively low in contaminants. Thelowest in contaminants is wild Alaskan salmon. In regards to tuna, makechunk light your regular tuna. Limit the higher mercury choice of cannedwhite albacore to no more than one serving per week (3 ounces). Fresh tuna,a very fatty fish, is also high in mercury.Other safer seafood choices include: crab, clams (farmed), halibut (Alaska),herring (Atlantic), mackerel (Atlantic), sardine, scallops (farmed), shrimp(farmed), and tilapia (farmed).
Monique

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Monique Ryan, MS, RD, LDN is a nationally recognized nutritionistwith over twenty-two years of experience and is owner of Personal NutritionDesigns, a Chicago based nutrition consulting company that provides nutritionprograms for endurance athletes across North America (www.moniqueryan.com).Monique consults with the Chicago Fire Soccer Team, and was the nutritionistfor Saturn Cycling from 1994 to 2000. She has also consulted with the Volvo-CannondaleMountain Bike Team, the Gary Fisher Mountain Bike Team, and the RollerbladeRacing Team. Monique has consulted with USA Cycling, and was a member ofthe Performance Enhancement Team for the Women’s Road Team leading to the2004 Athens Olympics. She has also provided nutrition consultation servicesto USA Triathlon for coaching clinics, athlete clinics, and for the residentathlete team and was a member of the USAT Performance Enhancement Teamfor the 2004 Athens Olympics. Monique is the author of "SportsNutrition for Endurance Athletes," 2nd edition (March 2007), from VeloPress,which provides sports specific nutrition for road cycling, mountain biking,running, triathlon, swimming, rowing, and adventure racing. She is alsoauthor of "PerformanceNutrition for Winter Sports" (PeakSports Press), "Performance Nutritionfor Team Sports" (PeakSports Press), and "Complete Guide to Sports Nutrition."Monique is a regular contributor to VeloNews, Inside Triathlon,Outside, and ACE Fitness Matters. As part of the FeedZonecolumn, Monique will answer selected questions online. Please sendyour questions to RyanWebQA@aol.com.