Bikers beware — instead of sweating off the pounds, riding your bike could be causing your spare tire to swell. A recent survey conducted by a health care center showed that 67 percent of respondents choose to dine at a nearby restaurant or eat local snacks after biking. Dieticians say that biking from Tamshui to Sanzhi will burn about 1,500 calories, but street snacks along the path contain more than 3,000 calories. This means that cyclists may consume more calories than they burn if they eat after biking.
Yang Pei-chen, director of the health care center, said the survey consisted of multiple-choice questions and that respondents could choose more than one answer. The results showed that nearly 80 percent of respondents ride bicycles out of health concerns or in the hope of losing weight. Eighty-one percent ride a bicycle more than once a week, 39 percent bike for three hours each time, and 38 percent ride around 40km at a time. An 80kg person usually burns about 1,200 calories by riding 40km.
Yang says that it may seem healthy to burn 1,200 calories by riding a bicycle. But 67 percent of cyclists choose to dine at a local joint or munch on local delicacies after biking while 24 percent grab a bite at a convenience store. Among these people, 70 percent do so for the tastiness of food while only 16 percent take low-calorie diets into consideration.
Yang says that 51 percent of respondents would choose to eat ice products while 10 percent would drink beer after biking. Some 20 percent prefer dining at a seafood or chicken restaurant while 22 percent would go for lunch boxes. Hung Yi-fen, a dietician at the health care center, explains that the syrup and additives in ice products contain high calories and that each person consumes an average of 1,200 calories when sharing a table full of dishes at a seafood or chicken restaurant.
Take for example a popular bicycle path from Tamshui to Sanzhi in northern Taiwan, which is 52km long for a round trip. Along the path, various local delicacies can been found such as A-Gei — deep fried tofu stuffed with flavored mung bean noodles and sealed with fish paste, fish ball soup, iron eggs, fish crisps, ice cream, cake and black tea. These street delicacies contain as much as 3,710 calories in total.
Cyclist Hu Chao-wei, who is 185cm tall and weighs 115kg, says he started biking four years ago. Since he always ate while cycling, he put on 12kg after a year. In order to lessen the burden on his folding bike, he decided to go on a diet by not eating snacks or sharing food with other people after his ride. After exercising and being on a diet for eight weeks, he has lost nearly 27kg.
Hung suggests that cyclists eat low-fat, low-sugar, high-fiber and high-protein food after biking. As exercise may cause muscle tissue to break, it is advised to eat soybean products such as tofu and dried bean curd, fresh milk, an egg and an adequate portion of meat after exercise so as to supplement protein and restore muscle tissue. Doing so will also increase the body’s muscle ratio and basal metabolism rate as well as help lose weight.
(LIBERTY TIMES, TRANSLATED BY THEODORE YANG)
騎自行車減重當心越騎越胖。一家健檢中心日前發表問卷調查結果,有六成七的車友在騎車後,會選擇當地餐廳或小吃進食;營養師分析,騎一趟淡水至三芝,沿線小吃熱量超過三千大卡,而騎車消耗的熱量約一千五百大卡,反而吃進更多熱量。
該健檢中心院長楊培鎮表示,此項問卷可複選,結果顯示有近八成受訪者騎車的目的是「為了健康或減重」;八成一「一週騎一次以上」;三成九「每次約騎三小時」;三成八「每次約騎四十公里」,以八十公斤體重計算,騎四十公里,約消耗一千兩百大卡。
楊培鎮說,每次騎車消耗一千兩百卡,看似健康,但騎車後,六成七的車友會就近選擇當地餐廳或小吃;兩成四選擇便利商店進食;其中七成選擇標準是「好吃」,僅有一成六考慮低熱量。
楊培鎮表示,五成七車友吃冰、一成八喝啤酒、兩成選吃海產店或土雞城、兩成二吃便當。健檢中心營養師洪誼芬解釋,冰品的糖漿、配料熱量高,吃海產店、土雞城一桌菜,平均每人吃下一千兩百卡的熱量。
以北部熱門路線淡水至三芝為例,來回五十二公里,沿途美食阿給、魚丸湯、鐵蛋、魚酥、冰淇淋、蛋糕搭配紅茶,總熱量高達三千七百一十大卡。
車友胡肇威說,四年前開始騎車,身高一百八十五公分的他體重一百一十五公斤,每次都是邊騎邊吃,騎完再吃,騎一年多,反而胖了十二公斤;為了不讓「小摺」負擔太重,他決定減重。騎車後,避吃小吃或和別人共享,經過八週運動及飲食控制,體重減了近二十七公斤。
洪誼芬建議,車友運動後進食,應遵守低油、低糖、高纖、高蛋白原則,運動會導致肌肉組織斷裂,可補充豆腐、豆乾等黃豆製品、鮮奶、一顆蛋或一份手掌心大小的肉,補充蛋白質,修復肌肉,增加身體肌肉比例,提高基礎代謝率,讓減重效果更好。(自由時報記者林相美)
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