What\’d I do in the last day or two prior to Tour de Cure? Was I carbo-loading, or not?

For months now I\’ve been watching the carbs, working to limit them to 150-200 grams per day. The objective is to get my A1c levels back down below the pre-diabetes range. At the same time, I\’ve been watching the calorie intake.

But there I was, with a 62-mile ride looming. Two days before the event, I went overboard with the \”bad\” carbs; the biggest offender being a large chunk of cake!

On the other hand, my meals that day included quinoa, sweet potato, and cauliflower. Those are good carbs; and unless I miscounted somewhere, the day\’s total carb count was 192 grams.

My carb count yesterday reached 212 grams; that\’s a lot! The banana and Bald Eagle were OK. Tempeh isn\’t bad for carbs; it\’s at least twice as dense in texture as firm tofu, so I\’m not surprised that it has about double the carb count. Unfortunately I ate bad carbs, too; will I never learn to tame my sweet tooth?

Today I rode the 62-mile Tour de Cure, and did I ever chow down the carbs during those hours of pedaling! In total, 181.5 grams! But during long rides I need the quick fuel.

I\’m drifting away from Clif Bars; they\’re very high in carbs, and just as low in protein. My nutritionist advised me to look for energy bars that have at least 8-12 grams of protein, and RXBars fit the bill quite well.

What\’d I do? I took along four RX Bars, plus two other energy bars, as on-bike food today. I also ate three GU-Gels during the ride. THAT was some carbo-loading!