Lycra doesn't lie, as a look in the mirror sometimes shows in an unsparing way. Especially after the turn of the year, the cyclist's clothing often stretches like the skin around liver sausage. Instead of vegetables, wholemeal and training, there was gingerbread fattening and sofa sport. But how do you get rid of those unloved pounds around your centre?
Crash diet from the women's magazine? Slimfast powder? Starve yourself? Athletes don't have to take such a radical approach, because the requirements for active people are different from those of their peers whose daily peak performance is the sprint to the underground. When normally active mountain bikers switch back into exercise mode, minor changes to their diet and everyday habits are often enough to steam off the extra pounds.
With nutrition experts we have Ten tips for you, with which your Body weight goes into decline and your Form curve starts to soar. Then you'll soon be able to step in front of the mirror in tight Lycra again.
- Green tea Studies on green tea show that it could hardly be healthier: in addition to all its positive properties for health, tea is considered a fat killer. The bitter substances (secondary plant substances) curb the appetite for sweets. At the same time, it has been repeatedly proven that these ingredients stimulate the metabolism (thermogenesis) and increase energy metabolism. Green tea also inhibits enzymes that store fat.
- Dietary fibre Three birds with one stone: fibre (especially in salad and vegetables) increases the volume of food, remains largely undigested and has a low energy density. Therefore: eat lots of greens twice a day - they provide lasting satiety and are low in calories.
- Short-term fasting Just don't eat anything for once. If you fast one day a week, you save a lot of calories that you can hardly eat for the rest of the week. The highlight: fasting is also healthy - studies show that fasting greatly improves blood lipid levels and insulin sensitivity.
- Water One thing is clear: drinking water instead of juice spritzers and soft drinks saves a lot of calories. Drinking water, especially before a meal, also increases the feeling of fullness. Drinking a large glass of water before every meal means you eat less afterwards - this has been proven. The studies are not entirely clear on the theory that water increases energy metabolism and therefore helps you lose weight.
- Protein shake No muscle loss, no hunger: protein shakes and the studies surrounding them promise all of this. But who wants to slurp porridge for weeks on end? So replace one or two meals with protein shakes. Ideally, you should only follow this diet for three days and eat normally again on the fourth (3:1 rhythm).
- Doing sport sober A look at our physiology quickly reveals that exercise before breakfast is very effective against fat deposits. Why? Because the body has not consumed any food overnight, its glycogen stores (the carbohydrate tank) are relatively empty. If energy is demanded of it in this state during early morning exercise, the body soon switches to fat metabolism due to the empty glycogen stores.
- Eat chilli Nice and hot: It has been scientifically proven that chilli (the ingredient capsaicin) can increase heat production in the body by up to 25 percent. Our body compensates for the rise in temperature by sweating, and that costs energy. Capsaicin also stimulates the production of saliva and gastric juices and improves blood flow to the mucous membranes, which aids digestion.
- Be more active Simply increase your energy turnover by being more active. Don't use the lift, the escalator or cycle to work. Do you already do all that? How about doing all these everyday movements more quickly? This also has a performance-enhancing effect. Instead of one flight of stairs, run up two or three at a time.
- Sleep longer You should sleep soundly for at least seven hours a night, because a lack of sleep makes you hungry. Why? When there is a sleep deficit, the body lowers the satiety hormone leptin and at the same time produces more appetite-stimulating ghrelin.
- Sugar Sugar is mean, because we have an innate imprint. Even our mother's milk tastes sweet - and this will stay with us forever. Sweetness stands for nutritious and non-toxic. But sugar in the metabolism is like brushwood in a fire - a brief flare-up and the flame goes out without lasting heat. Sugar causes our insulin to spike, after which it drops rapidly - no sign of long-term satiety. The result: renewed hunger, again for sweets. If you want to avoid the sugar trap, you should reduce your consumption. Tip: Insulin levels are particularly sensitive in the morning. Therefore, eat mainly fats and proteins in the morning - that way the desire for sweets also disappears during the day.
You can also find the article in BIKE 2/2016. You can buy the complete issue in the BIKE app (iTunes and Google Play) or in the DK shop reorder:
