You’re sweaty, tired, and hungry after you finished your long ride. You need to eat now and it’s pretty easy to cruise through a McDonald’s drive-in and grab a Big Mac.
Takeaway food has a horrendously bad reputation: high in fat, high in salt, high in sugar and laced with monosodium glutamate, it’s not really got a part to play in a cyclist’s healthy balanced diet.
Planning your naughty takeaway supper to coincide with a long ride or a race is a common strategy for justifying the indulgence. It’s not a bad idea to do this but be aware that approaching a menu ravenously hungry doesn’t help you to make the best decisions.
Stick with water
The most important thing is to change your soda for water. And keep in mind that all those fancy types of coffee are just huge portions of sugar in disguise. The same goes for all milkshakes and juices; they are sugar bombs that spike your blood sugar and add a lot of empty calories.
No fries
Fries are made to be addictive. They are potatoes soaked in fat and salt, and contain way more calories than the burger itself. Getting a salad instead of fries is the ideal solution but corn on the cob is a good choice too.
Grilled instead of fried meat
Fried meat is often covered in refined flour and cooked at very high temperatures, adding more cancerous toxins. If there’s the option, go with grilled meat instead. It’s an overall healthier option with fewer calories and less refined oil.
Skip the desert
Anything that would be called a desert is, in most cases, just refined oils, white sugar and flour. And they make that stuff as addictive as possible. Mixtures like that are what scientists use to feed lab rats when they want to make them gain weight quickly.
