feeling tired and having low energy during 2+ hour exercise, ie mountain biking rides.

[asujavelina]

We do the whole30 every year. It has been really hard this time around during the last bit of mountain biking season. Although the first 1-2 hours of the rides, I felt pretty good, but after the 2 hour mark, I feel like I am not getting enough nutrition and its led to leg cramping and feeling horrible the next day, not recovered enough, almost like a hangover. When not doing whole30, I pretty much have my nutrition down when not doing whole30.  I use the brand Scratch for hydration/super fuel and vegan recovery mix with, lara bars &cliff blocks, and I feel like I can keep going for 2+ hours on these long and high intensity rides, which was not the case this time around. I had lots of leg cramping after workouts and am wondering how to manage this when doing whole30. I will probably not do whole30 again during mountain biking season due to these complications. Anyone else experiencing this issues? Any recommendations?

[SugarcubeOD]

If the cramping is due to imbalanced electrolytes, there are ways to deal with this such as the unflavored LMNT powders that you would put in your water - as long as whatever you're using doesn't contain off plan ingredients (usually sugar), they're good to go. As far as feeling like you're not getting enough nutrition, lara bars, dried fruit and nuts, starchy carbs, hardboiled eggs, leftover cooked chicken etc... It may be less 'convenient' to stay fueled during your rides while you're doing the program but it's definitely possible - just think about what you get from the substances you take when off the program and then look for real food alternatives to that.  And then make sure you're eating following the template for your three meals a day plus any pre and post ride meals. if you're doing 2+ hour bike rides, you need to fuel for that and while packaged and processed food is a lot of calories in a small packet, it's actually a LOT of real food so make sure you're eating enough and adding fat to all your meals.