pre-commute breakfast?

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  • Keiron Curtis
    Keiron Curtis Posts: 126
    andrewc3142 wrote:
    Not too large bowl of muesli with kefir or yoghurt about 30 mins before setting off works fine to keep me going 30 miles. Plus a bidon of water on the way and sometimes a smoothie when I get there.

    Excuse my ignorance, but what is a " bidon of water"?
    k.curtis
  • Keiron Curtis
    Keiron Curtis Posts: 126
    krushgroove wrote:
    Hi all, this is my first post, this looks like a great forum!

    I haven't ridden my bike in ages, it's an older MTB to which I've added slicks, but with my carpool partner out of town I thought I'd give cycling commuting a go and see if I can do it a couple of times a week while the weather is passable.

    The first time I tried the ride I hadn't ridden more than a couple of miles in years, and I only had some water and a protein shake before I left and suffered mild cramping to and from work, along with saddle soreness and the usual 'oh my god why am I exercising so hard after not doing it for so long' thoughts :) This morning, my second go, I had a small omelette, big bowl of porridge, a protein shake and a glass of apple juice. Not surprisingly, I didn't cramp, didn't have to walk up any hills and generally had a great ride (partly because of a shorter route and a much earlier leaving time).

    So obviously getting up earlier and making the effort to have breakfast at home is worth it :) but I'm wondering what other cycle commuters do to maintain their energy level on the morning and afternoon rides? My concern is that I might be slow getting out of bed and not be able to fix up a proper breakfast, so I am just curious what quick-fix breakfasts other commuters do.

    I suppose it would help to say my commute is 15.5-17.5 miles round trip (depends if I want to risk the nasty roundabout at the A38/A50 for the shorter trip).

    Thanks for any suggestions!

    I've been reading all the replies to this thread/topic, and now firmly believe there's no hope for me, I've been cycling again, now for the last 2 years, and seriously commuting 11 miles each way for about 6 months. My diet should appall you, I only eat a small banana and take a glass of water before I leave, but on arrival at work I eat 2 bacon or sausage rolls and a couple of cups of tea, then for the rest of the day I snack on a bowl of breakfast cereal, digestive biscuits with tea or coffee, and go gome to a full cooked dinner at night. I seem to cycle to eat, when I returned to cycling, and I still don't class myself as a serious cyclist, I weighed 17 stone 7lbs, today I weigh 16 stone, and feel great. However, I would like to loose another stone. Obviously, the key is to eat less, but keep up the cycling.

    Any suggestions about a diet, oh, I hate that word, let's use the big word, nutrition, that will assist me towards that goal?
    k.curtis
  • andrewc3142
    andrewc3142 Posts: 906
    Well, as a long-standing veggie I'd recommend cutting out meat ...

    But I'm not an evangelist for the cause so ignore that.

    You don't say how tall you are or whether you are into muscle sports like rowing, rugby, etc so a guess only, but at 16 stone you may well have about 4-5 stone left to lose. Jump up and down naked in front of the mirror (in private!) and you'll know for sure where any surplus is.

    If you really want to lose weight, it's actually fairly easy, you just have to really want to.
    Cut out all added sugar. Completely. Reduce fat to a minimum. Cut out all alcohol (500 calories a bottle of wine!!). Cycle a lot, ideally 100 miles a week or more. Do some sit-ups/dips/press-ups (3 cycles) before bed. Go swimming/hill-walking/running/whatever at the weekend. Give your body one day of rest a week. Eat muesli for breakfast. Eat a good lunch and dinner. Get 8 hours sleep. Aim to lose 1lb, perhaps 2lb pw. No more. Within a few months you should have got very close to your goal and hopefully it will be sustainable.

    Good luck

    Andy
  • Keiron Curtis
    Keiron Curtis Posts: 126
    Thanks andrewc3142,

    Great advice, I'm sure, however my self-discipline leaves alot to be desired. Time is a big problem for me, I work 12 hour shifts. I wouldn't dare to jump up and down naked in front of the mirror, not just for what I would see, but the floorboards just couldn't take it.

    To be serious, I'm 5' 8", according to the charts I'm obese, and about 4st 7ibs overweight, but the truth is I'd have to lose alot of muscle to get down to 11st 7lbs. I will be quite happy to get to 14-15 stone. I don't think I could be a vegetarian, but I have thought about it, when I've seen how they treat food animals etc., I wish I had your strength of conviction.

    So the only answer is, to up the mileage, get my body working and try to eat more sensibly. By the way I hate press-ups, sit-ups and the like, but I'll give it a go, starting tomorrow.

    Thanks again for your help.
    k.curtis
  • andrewc3142
    andrewc3142 Posts: 906
    Good luck. Once you get started it's not hard. Important not to get discouraged at first, especially if by exercising you initially actually put on weight, since muscle is heavier than fat.

    I did the same thing when I was at college and had gone from being very active and skinny to about 4 stone overweight. Lost it over about a year and that was that.

    One of the key things to remember is that dieting doesn't work since your metabolism slows to adapt to eating less. And if you stop the diet you put it all back on (or more) very quickly. A vicious circle. The only thing that works is cutting out all the refined sugar that you don't need at all, but otherwise eating well, combined with a reasonable amount of exercise.

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