The 7 Most Common Diet Mistakes Cyclists Make (and How to Avoid Them)
After more than a decade as a professional cyclist, and now riding for enjoyment, balance and longevity, I’ve learned that nutrition mistakes rarely come from a lack of effort.
They usually come from good intentions. Most cyclists want to feel better on the bike, recover well, and stay healthy. But along the way, certain habits creep in that quietly undermine performance and enjoyment. They’re not dramatic. They don’t look like “doing it wrong”. In fact, many of them look disciplined.
Here are the most common diet mistakes I see cyclists make, starting with the ones that feel the most harmless, and ending with the one that causes the most damage.
7. Turning Nutrition into a Source of Stress
This one often flies under the radar. When food becomes something you overthink, restrict, label, or feel guilty about, it stops being supportive. Instead of helping your riding, it starts to drain mental energy and enjoyment.
I’ve seen riders avoid social meals because they don’t fit a plan, stress about eating “too much” on rest days, and feel anxious about food choices rather than fuelled by them. None of this improves performance.
What to do instead: aim for a flexible approach. Nutrition should support your riding and your life, not dominate it. Consistency over time matters far more than rigid control.
6. Ignoring Hydration and Sodium
Hydration is often reduced to “drink more water”, but that’s only part of the picture. When you ride, especially in warmer conditions or for longer durations, you lose sodium through sweat.
Replacing fluids without replacing sodium can leave you feeling flat, foggy or fatigued, even if you’re drinking plenty. This can show up as heavy legs late in rides, headaches post-ride, cramping, or poor recovery the next day.
What to do instead: drink regularly and include sodium during longer or hotter rides. It doesn’t need to be complicated. The key is being consistent rather than reactive.
5. Eating “Perfectly” Off the Bike but Under-Fuelling on Rides
Many cyclists eat well day-to-day, but forget that riding significantly increases energy demands. Light meals might feel appropriate in general life, but without additional fuel around rides, energy availability drops quickly.
This mismatch often leads to fading during rides, poor quality training, excessive hunger later in the day, and inconsistent recovery.
What to do instead: let your riding dictate your intake. Training days should look different from rest days. Adjust portions, timing and carbohydrate intake based on what you’re doing on the bike.
4. Over-Relying on Supplements Instead of Food
Supplements are everywhere in cycling. They can be useful, but they’re not a replacement for real food. I’ve seen riders focus heavily on powders and pills while skipping meals or under-fuelling overall.
What to do instead: build your nutrition around food first. Use supplements only when there’s a clear purpose, not as a shortcut or replacement.
3. Waiting Too Long to Eat After Riding
Recovery doesn’t start later. It starts when the ride ends. Delaying food for hours makes it harder to restore energy stores and repair muscle tissue, particularly if you’re riding again soon.
What to do instead: eat a balanced meal or snack with carbohydrates and protein within a reasonable window after riding. It doesn’t need to be immediate. It just needs to be timely and sufficient.
2. Treating Carbohydrates as the Enemy
Carbohydrates have been unfairly demonised, especially in endurance sport. Cycling relies heavily on carbohydrate availability. When carbs are too low, intensity drops, recovery slows, and riding feels harder than it needs to.
Avoiding carbohydrates often leads to reduced training quality, poor concentration, increased fatigue, and slower recovery.
What to do instead: use carbohydrates strategically. Include them around rides and harder training days, and choose familiar, digestible sources you enjoy.
1. Not Eating Enough (Especially Around Training)
This is the most common and most damaging mistake. Cycling burns a lot of energy, even on rides that don’t feel especially hard. When intake doesn’t keep up with training load, the consequences build quietly over time.
Under-fuelling often looks like skipping meals, eating “light”, or assuming you’ll make it up later. It shows up as heavy legs, low motivation, plateaued performance, frequent illness, and poor recovery.
What to do instead: fuel around your riding. Eat before, during and after rides based on duration and intensity. Eating enough is foundational. Everything else builds on it.
A Better Way to Think About Cycling Nutrition
The cyclists who perform best long-term aren’t the ones with the strictest diets. They’re the ones who eat enough, fuel their riding appropriately, recover consistently, enjoy their food, and adjust intake as training changes.
Nutrition doesn’t need to be complicated or perfect. It just needs to be aligned with what you’re asking your body to do.
Final Thoughts
Cycling is demanding. Your body needs fuel to perform, adapt and stay healthy. Avoiding these diet mistakes doesn’t require discipline at all costs. It requires awareness, flexibility and consistency.
Eat enough. Fuel your riding. Recover well. And remember that food is there to support the ride, not fight it.
— Chloe and the Hosking Bikes Team