 What is the optimal diet for improving cycling performance? There are a lot of theories on what diets, cyclists and other endurance athletes should be following to maximize their potential. So today we're going to take a look at the science to get a clearer answer on this muddy topic. The good news is that it doesn't need to be nearly as complicated as a lot of people make it out to be. Welcome back to another video. There are a lot of factors that contribute to your performance on the bike, probably the biggest being the training that you actually do on the bike, but a close second would be what you're putting in your mouth to fuel that training and recovery. Yeah, but where does the lateral stiffness and vertical compliance of my $5,000 carbon frame rank? That's got to be a close third, right? I mean, that's what the bike industry has led me to believe. Despite diet being such an important piece of the puzzle, there's a lot of confusion out there about what an endurance athlete should be eating. There's a lot of focus on certain aspects of diet that don't matter nearly as much as people give it credit for, and then other aspects that are completely overlooked that have a large impact on performance. First things first, we should probably discuss macronutrient ratios or the ratio of carbs, fat and protein in your diet. The reason I want to get this out of the way right off the bat is because a lot of cyclists and athletes in general love to obsess about their macronutrient ratios. And macronutrient ratios are the basis of a lot of popular diets out there from high carb ones like 80, 10, 10 to high fat ones like the ketogenic diet. This is far from the whole picture, though, and actually may be a lot less important than you think. With that being said, though, you can definitely screw this up by going to extreme with one macronutrient, and that goes for going to extreme with carbs, fat and protein. Let's not forget that going overboard on one macronutrient usually comes at the cost of another macronutrient. For example, if you're really trying to pound in the carbs all the time, you may be consuming a lot less fat. And while fat isn't the primary fuel source for training, it's still important. In this review article on the optimal composition of an athlete's diet, they state that lower dietary fat intakes are correlated with reduced resting serum testosterone concentrations in males and with menstrual dysfunction and its associated disorders in females. Dietary fat intake doesn't need to be high. At just 20 to 25 percent for athletes, but it still needs to be present. The same goes for protein. If higher protein intakes result in an insufficient carbohydrate intake, this increases the likelihood of a negative impact on training capability when training loads are high. That being said, going to extreme with macronutrient ratios is something that's commonly seen with fat, because for whatever reason, the ketogenic and other low carb diets have gained a lot of popularity amongst endurance athletes. And I say for whatever reason, because if you actually look at the science, you'll find that there is no reason. In this review on carbohydrate dependence in endurance athletes, they concluded that despite renewed popular interest in high fat, low carbohydrate diets for endurance sports, fat-rich diets do not spare carbohydrates or improve training capacity and performance, but instead directly impair rates of muscle glycogenalysis and energy flux. I could go on and on about how low carb diets are not optimal for endurance sports, and I have in other videos and you can check those out if you still aren't convinced. But for the sake of time, let's move on to carbs and protein. As I said earlier, carbs are your source of fuel as an endurance athlete. And the research on this is abundantly clear. For example, this 2011 meta analysis on the topic looked at 88 randomized crossover studies on carbohydrate consumption and endurance performance and came to the conclusion that carbohydrates show a large benefit to performance. Being well-fed with carbohydrates for high intensity days or long rides is crucial if you want to get the most out of that workout. However, that doesn't mean that you need to eat a ton of carbs all the time. For low intensity days or days where you don't ride at all, you may want to reduce the number of calories you're eating that day, mainly by reducing the amount of carb-rich foods that you're eating. And now we get to everyone's favorite macronutrient, the macronutrient that can do no wrong, that you should supposedly be shoveling in your face constantly, and that is protein. Given the sarcastic tone of that last sentence, you may think that I'm not that big a fan of protein or that I think it's overrated. Well, actually, it is the most overrated macronutrient, but that doesn't mean that it's not important. Protein is critically important, especially for athletes. From this review on protein for athlete weight loss, the requirement for protein to sustain lean mass increases while in negative energy balance. And protein as a macronutrient may have advantages with respect to satiety, and it may allow greater fat loss during a negative energy balance. OK, we know that protein is important, but how critical is it that you hyper-focus on protein like so many cyclists do? Making sure that every meal is high in protein, checking labels for the amount of protein a given food has, taking protein supplements, etc. Back to this review, they state that some athletes have become overzealous with their focus on consuming protein. Although there are no convincing arguments regarding the danger of excessive protein intakes, it is known that excess protein cannot be stored and that it is simply oxidized. One potential problem with overwaring about getting enough protein is that it may come at the expense of another macronutrient, most notably carbohydrates. But hold up, Dylan. Don't athletes who need to recover from intense exercise require more protein? Well, yes, but not nearly as much as you might think. This review on protein requirements for endurance athletes states that for the well-trained endurance athlete training four to five times per week, there appears to be a very modest increase in dietary protein requirements of only 20 to 25 percent. For the top sport elite endurance athletes, the increase in dietary protein intake may be up to 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day. And while this sounds like a lot, there's no need for supplementation with a mixed diet providing adequate energy and only 10 to 15 percent coming from dietary protein. For example, an energy intake of about 3,500 calories per day would amount to about 125 grams of protein per day or about 1.7 grams per kilogram of body weight per day. So while protein is important, it's actually not in short supply. And as an endurance athlete who needs to consume more calories per day to begin with, getting enough is rarely an issue. If you're not getting enough protein, it will lead to slower recovery and other potential issues. But the number of people not getting enough protein is staggeringly low. From this USDA survey, the number of Americans who don't get enough protein is only 3 percent. And clearly it's not the nutrient we should be most concerned about. My advice on protein is simple. If you're eating a well-balanced diet with a variety of whole foods, not processed ones, and you're eating enough to meet your caloric needs, especially as an endurance athlete who needs to eat more to begin with, then getting enough protein is not really something that you need to worry about and protein supplementation is largely unnecessary. Dude, are you trying to kill our business here? Look, guys, getting your protein from real food is like actually studying for a test instead of just sitting next to the nerdy kid in math class and copying off of their answer. Yeah, it's the wholesome thing to do, but would you rather be wholesome or get an A? Or in this case, crush skulls in a D-race on Zwift. This is actually the approach that you should take with all three macronutrients. Sure, consume more carbohydrates before, during and after hard training sessions and or races. But other than that, stop concerning yourself with what your exact macronutrient ratio is all the time. If you're eating a wide variety of whole foods, then you'll be fine because there's a lot of wiggle room here, as long as you're not going too extreme in one direction or the other, which you'd have to consciously think about doing anyway. With macronutrients out of the way, let's get to what really matters, which is what are you actually eating? This gets a lot less attention than the carbs, fats and protein debate, but is arguably more important. I already alluded to what you should be focusing on earlier, and that is getting in a variety of whole foods, and these should be mostly plant foods. Why is this important? Well, let's start with weight loss. Most of us could stand to lose a few pounds before we spend a couple hundred bucks on a crankset that's 150 grams lighter than the one we currently have. That's it. Now you've just gone off the deep end. The thing to remember about weight loss is that if you're constantly hungry, this is not sustainable. You may be able to lose weight in the short term, but if you're living in a state of hunger, then you will most likely gain the weight back. So how do we get around this issue of hunger? By following a diet that's low in calorie density, low calorie density means for the same amount of food you're consuming fewer calories, meaning that you're less likely to overeat. This study on the energy density of foods affects on energy intake provided subjects with meals for two days during three separate testing sessions. In these three sessions, the subjects consumed either low, medium or high density or calorie density meals. The results showed that significantly more calories were consumed for the higher energy density conditions, even though the amount of food by weight was relatively similar. Calories consumed were around 1,800 for the high energy density group and below 1,400 for the low. The study concluded that the energy density influenced energy intake independent of macronutrient composition and that subjects reported no difference in feelings of hunger or fullness. And while this is just one study, this systematic review on dietary energy density and body weight looking at many studies confirm these findings, concluding that there is a growing body of scientific evidence suggesting a relationship between energy density and body weight and that consuming diets low in energy density may be an effective strategy for managing body weight. OK, so eating low calorie density is clearly an effective weight loss strategy. But what does eating low calorie density actually look like? Whole plant foods like fruits and vegetables have the lowest calorie density and just so happened to have the highest nutrient density, meaning for a given weight of food, they have the most micronutrients. OK, great, that's probably good for your long term health or whatever. But this is a cycling performance channel. Health is fine. But, you know, what about my FTP? You know, that's actually the first thing you've said that's made any sense this whole video. The reason you should care from a performance perspective is because nutrient dense foods, particularly ones that are high in antioxidants, help with the recovery process. For example, let's take a high antioxidant food like tomatoes. This study looking at the effect of tomato juice on oxidative stress found that those drinking tomato juice after workouts ran significantly farther than they had previously, while the control group saw no improvement. The tomato juice drinkers also showed a reduction in markers of oxidative stress, leading to the conclusion that the antioxidant like a peen in the tomato reduced oxidative stress and improved performance. The same has been found in other high antioxidant foods like cherry juice, which has been shown to increase antioxidant capacity after a marathon leading to aided recovery and in another study reduced symptoms of exercise induced muscle damage. That study showed that strength loss after eccentric exercise was 22 percent with a placebo, but only 4 percent when subjects consume cherry juice. Blueberries are another rich source of antioxidants and have been shown to reduce inflammation after two and a half hours of running. Improved recovery, lower calorie density, leading to reduced weight without constantly feeling hungry. And on top of all of that, loading your diet with whole foods, mostly from plants, is one of the healthiest ways that you can eat. And in a sport that is so reliant on your cardiovascular system, this may provide further benefits. A study on plant-based diets for cardiovascular safety and performance in endurance sports stated that surprisingly, endurance athletes may have more advanced atherosclerosis and more myocardial damage compared with sedentary individuals, particularly as they age. However, plant-based diets address key contributors to atherosclerosis, dyslipidemia, elevated blood pressure, elevated body weight and diabetes. On top of this, the reduced blood viscosity from eating plant-based may improve tissue oxygenation, potentially improving athletic performance. All right, that was a lot of information, so let's tie this all together and I'll show you what this kind of diet should look like with some examples. First, stopping so concerned with your macronutrient ratios and even calorie counting for that matter. If you're eating a whole food, low calorie density diet with a variety of foods, it shouldn't be a challenge to meet your macronutrient and micronutrient needs. And yes, that includes protein. The one exception to this is to make sure that you're getting enough carbohydrates before, during and after high intensity workouts, long rides and races to ensure the best possible performance and quickest recovery. You should eat until you're satisfied. And if you're eating low calorie density foods, you can do this and still lose weight if that's a goal for you. The majority of the food that you eat should be whole foods and plant based. We're talking fruits, vegetables, beans, lentils, sweet potatoes, whole grains like brown rice, quinoa, oats, nuts and seeds, spices like cumin and turmeric. And in fact, spices are packed with those antioxidants that aid in recovery. So they're great to include. A typical day of eating for me might include oatmeal for breakfast with peanut butter or almond butter and a variety of berries like blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, etc. And a banana lunch and dinner are usually some sort of grain like rice or quinoa, some sort of legume like beans or lentils. And then a lot of veggies, the more vegetables and or fruits that you include in your meal, the lower the calorie density of that meal will be. So if weight loss is a goal for you, make sure that fruits and vegetables take up the majority of your plate. Thanks for watching. If you enjoyed this video, be sure to give it a like, subscribe for weekly science based cycling videos just like this one and share this video with your cycling friends. I'll see you in the next one.