Cycling nutrition

Lancslad

Hey LiT thought of trying crumpets? plenty carbs no mess and keep you full for quite a while, well thats assuming shops down there stock them, I like them because I can put them in the toaster whilst I'm getting everything else ready in a morning.

What they look like



Nutrition of crumpets
http://www.weightlossresources.co.uk/calories-in-food/bakery-products/Warburtons-Crumpets.htm

Yum yum!

UndercoverElephant

Lancslad

UndercoverElephant wrote:

Oh yes we always have some of that in the house too but that more on the bike food than breakfast food.

lost_in_thought

outofbreath2 wrote:

Bingo.

I'll leave you alone soon, but just to add to look for sustitute milks that are enriched, i.e. have calcium, vitamin D added at least. Otherwise you'll only be drinking, e.g oats and water.

Heehee, don't worry, I really appreciate the advice! I will have a look today and do a taste test!

lost_in_thought

Jay dubbleU wrote:

Fruit is good in the morning - pick fruit you really like - strawberries, banana, grapes, then it feels like a treat - black coffee - although remember coffee is a diuretic so not too much - carry raisins, mixed fruit on the bike - don't need peeling so just carry loose in a pocket - don't make the mistake I made today and carry chocolate raisins - you end up with raisins floating in liquid chocolate

Mixed fruit is another good idea, not as sweet and it doesn't melt!

lost_in_thought

Lancslad wrote:

Hey LiT thought of trying crumpets? plenty carbs no mess and keep you full for quite a while, well thats assuming shops down there stock them, I like them because I can put them in the toaster whilst I'm getting everything else ready in a morning.

Yep, we have crumpets down here too!

My main objection to them is that it seems the done thing to slather them in butter, as per your picture, and I really don't like butter.

Are they better for carbs than ordinary bread?

And yep, someone in Wales had soreen. I am not a huge fan, but it's edible.

nich

Lancslad wrote:

UndercoverElephant wrote:

Oh yes we always have some of that in the house too but that more on the bike food than breakfast food.

Have you tried this toasted, with a dollop of butter. Soooooooooo tasty!

Kieran_Burns

Malt loaf is nectar of the Gods 8)

My local Co Op KEEPS having them on offer (2 for a £1) and my fridge is always full of loaves - and yes: they are great for breakfast

Wallace1492

Jelly babies!! or small pack of Haribo (from Wiggle of course)
They keep you well refueled on a long ride.

rjsterry

One last thought on the porridge - not my favourite, but you can make it with water rather than milk (some say this is the proper way to make it). I can see that if you can't stomach milk or cheese, then that cuts out a lot of breakfast options.

suzyb

Wallace1492 wrote:

Jelly babies!! or small pack of Haribo (from Wiggle of course)
They keep you well refueled on a long ride.

A jelly baby gave me a handy boost of energy on Wednesday when I was out MTBing. That and an Ice Cream flavoured chewit.

Kieran_Burns

Porridge with Golden Syrup. Just don't worry about your teeth.

shouldbeinbed

+1 for malt loaf or if you're not overly keen, theres plenty of other fruit loaf/banana tea breads out there which aren't quite as chewy and claggy round the teeth. Gotta be Soreen malt loaf though, all the own brand ones I've tried seem to be reconstituted cardboard

agree totally on the dairy thing, hideous stuff - I eat weetabix mini's fruit and nut dry for cerial, portable, tasty and not as dry as you might think.

Quaker Oatso Simple porridge sachets make up quickly and thickly with water and are nice with some dried fruit and nuts in 'em for a sit down brekky

tennis players eating between sets can make a whole banana last for ages just a bite or 2 each time they swap ends- not as easy on a bike but if I'm on a long charity / potter somewhere, I'll put chopped bananas and strawberries in a plastic bag in a small flat style bar bag and just dip in as I'm trundling along.

stuaff

+1 for making porridge with water. That is the 'proper' way indeed. Another breakfast idea: a bircher muesli, such as this- soaked in juice so it won't be dry.
What also works for me: riding post-Sunday lunch. I obviously let it go down first, but fulfils all the nutritional basics....

Lancslad

You can always put some honey on crumpets instead of butter.

Never toasted malt loaf must try it although I never put butter on it as i find it sickly that way. On the bike I use M & S jelly babies (the best ones)towards the end of the week when I start tiring

greg66_tri_v2.0

lost_in_thought wrote:

Thanks peeps. To clarify,

snip and replace with "I'm a fussy eater"

Yes, well now that's sorted out, where to next?

Most obviously you have to devise a fuelling strategy that works for your physiology. That means both as to content of food and as to timing.

I have one that works for me, but it won't necessarily for you. I don't load with food before a ride as if I'm never going to eat again. Banana and a glass of milk usually do (fruit juice for you, madam?). On the bike I have a fairly strict regime: every 25 mins or so an electrolyte & carb drink swig (two mouthfuls, maybe three) and a mouthful of Clif bar. I carry water to wash down the Clif bar. I found that the killer for me was the electrolytes. Sweat out a lot of salts and your body processes start some major malfunctions.

And if I get to the point where I feel hungry, I know I've left it too late. Always eat to the clock, not to the stomach.

But returning to the start, what works for you is something you've got to find out. Have you had a look at any of the SIS powders?

outofbreath2

[quote="lost_in_thought

Are they better for carbs than ordinary bread?

.[/quote]

It's all much of a muchness. Per 100g a toasted crumpet is 45g carbs, wholemeal bread is 42 and white bread is 49. All figures are hugely approximate depending on everything.

Lancslad

outofbreath2 wrote:

[quote="lost_in_thought

Are they better for carbs than ordinary bread?

.

It's all much of a muchness. Per 100g a toasted crumpet is 45g carbs, wholemeal bread is 42 and white bread is 49. All figures are hugely approximate depending on everything.

Ah but bread has much more fat....and fibre.

What this is really about is keeping food interesting enough to eat. Personally I find toast to dull to contemplate at 4am and cant face or have the time for porridge. therefore my preferred pre ride meal is crumpets.[/i]

sorry quoting messed up.

outofbreath2

They are all still low fat foods though at all considerably less than 4g/100g. Wholemeal bread definitely does have much more fibre as you'd expect, but there's only about a 1g difference between white bread and a crumpet per 100g.

Crumpet with melted cheese and marmite for me please.

thrope

Just thought I'd mention rice milk as a dairy alternative which goes really nicely with cereal. Tried soy and found it discusting, but rice milk (both plain and vanilla flavoured) goes really well with muesli and doesnt make me feel sick in the mornings.

Try to find a carton of Rice Dream next time you are in the supermarket!

mrc1

Lancslad wrote:

Hey LiT thought of trying crumpets? plenty carbs no mess and keep you full for quite a while, well thats assuming shops down there stock them, I like them because I can put them in the toaster whilst I'm getting everything else ready in a morning.

What they look like



Nutrition of crumpets
http://www.weightlossresources.co.uk/calories-in-food/bakery-products/Warburtons-Crumpets.htm

Yum yum!

Crumpets are epic and are probably the best pre commute breakfast known to [wo]man! Dollop jam or honey on them and they go down really easily and will provide a reasonable amount of energy if you cant stomach heavy stuff!

mrc1

mrc1 wrote:

Lancslad wrote:

Hey LiT thought of trying crumpets? plenty carbs no mess and keep you full for quite a while, well thats assuming shops down there stock them, I like them because I can put them in the toaster whilst I'm getting everything else ready in a morning.

What they look like



Nutrition of crumpets
http://www.weightlossresources.co.uk/calories-in-food/bakery-products/Warburtons-Crumpets.htm

Yum yum!

Crumpets are epic and are probably the best pre commute breakfast known to [wo]man! Dollop jam or honey on them and they go down really easily and will provide a reasonable amount of energy if you cant stomach heavy stuff!

Don't put butter on them though as that will probably add to the stomach problems. In all other respects however crumpets are perfect. Doctors should probably start prescribing them

lost_in_thought

Thanks guys!

The picture of the crumpets with butter is making me feel slightly queasy... :?

A heavy fruit cake, like a christmas cake, is something I like, and indeed scoffed down about 65 miles in to the first day of my little mini-tour. Malt loaf is very sticky.

And yeah, you're right, once I started feeling hungry I knew I'd ducked up. Trouble is I feel the exact opposite of hungry all day up to that point!

So what has electrolytes in it? High5? I don't mind high5, the citrus one is tangy. Or nuun? I should probably have taken some nuun with me.

More interesting though is this making porridge with water... how do you go about doing that? Just heat oats and water as you would oats and milk? With a bit of salt?

EDIT: I've tried the cereal with juice thing, didn't care for it.

Oh god. I am a fussy eater, aren't I? Damn. I just don't do very well with breakfast food!

Aidy

I never tend to be a big fan of energy/sportsy type foods, although I do use them for long races.

Other foods, I just tend to go with what I feel like.
Um, that's not helpful, is it? I've never really paid much attention to my diet, and I seem to keep myself reasonably well fueled.

If it's more helpful, I've just gotten back from a bit of a roadtrip biking places around the UK. Typical meals involved:

Breakfast - Bacon butty, coffee.
Lunch - Some sort of pasty, cake, biscuits
Dinner - Standardish barbecue faire

I haven't died yet, so it must be healthy

Cafewanda

Aidy wrote:

I never tend to be a big fan of energy/sportsy type foods, although I do use them for long races.

Other foods, I just tend to go with what I feel like.
Um, that's not helpful, is it? I've never really paid much attention to my diet, and I seem to keep myself reasonably well fueled.

If it's more helpful, I've just gotten back from a bit of a roadtrip biking places around the UK. Typical meals involved:

Breakfast - Bacon butty, coffee.
Lunch - Some sort of pasty, cake, biscuits
Dinner - Standardish barbecue faire

I haven't died yet, so it must be healthy

You and Oddjob compare nutrition don't you?

stuaff

Hi5 (energy source, 4.1 etc- and the equivalents from SIS et al- and the water/juice/pinch of salt mix I use) and Nuun (& Hi5's Zero tabs- also nice) both have electrolytes. Difference is the former have carbs and in some cases protein, the latter do not , so don't use those alone for a long ride unless you're going to supplement them with carbs. As G66 noted, you could for example combine them with Torq's neutral energy powder (or a DIY energy powder mix).
Porridge with water: exactly the same as making it with milk (well, all water instead of milk & water). Same ratio of dry to liquid (I usually use 1 teacup of oats to 2 of liquid), similar time in pan or microwave. Might cook a bit quicker than with milk, watch you don't make cement! Try here for more. No need for salt unless you want to go the Scots masochist route
Breakfast isn't called the most important meal of the day for nothing....and as I recall, on the days you did have rather more than two slices of toast for breakfast in Wales, you were absolutely fine. This was not coincidental!

Rich158

Ok I'll add my bit. Personally I always use High5, it works for me. I try to work to 1 bottle per hour of riding right from the off and I never cramp. As for food, I've tried most things, but nothing works like proper food, cheese or ham rolls, fig rolls, fruit flapjacks. It's all good, just getting something down is ths main thing, oh and bananas for the pottasium. On the dragon I stuck to my fluid intake strategy and did the rest on one flapjack, a couple of jam tarts, and about 6 bananas. I never felt like I was going to run out of energy. Mind you brekky was 4 rounds of toast and marmalade, 4 weetabix, and a bowl of cunchy nut. I find a good meal before a long ride works wonders.

A club mate swears by apple juice diluted 50/50 with water and s pinch of salt, hard boiled eggs, and potatoes rolled on parmesan. That works for her (2nd fastest woman at the dragon), so in reality it's finding what suits you.

The one common factor I've always found is that adequate fluid intake is an absolute must, I work on 750ml per hour which seems fine. I'm not stopping to pee every 5 minutes and I don't ever feel thirsty

stuaff

Rich158 wrote:

Ok I'll add my bit. Personally I always use High5, it works for me. I try to work to 1 bottle per hour of riding right from the off and I never cramp. As for food, I've tried most things, but nothing works like proper food, cheese or ham rolls, fig rolls, fruit flapjacks. It's all good, just getting something down is ths main thing, oh and bananas for the pottasium. On the dragon I stuck to my fluid intake strategy and did the rest on one flapjack, a couple of jam tarts, and about 6 bananas. I never felt like I was going to run out of energy. Mind you brekky was 4 rounds of toast and marmalade, 4 weetabix, and a bowl of cunchy nut. I find a good meal before a long ride works wonders.

A club mate swears by apple juice diluted 50/50 with water and s pinch of salt, hard boiled eggs, and potatoes rolled on parmesan. That works for her (2nd fastest woman at the dragon), so in reality it's finding what suits you.

The one common factor I've always found is that adequate fluid intake is an absolute must, I work on 750ml per hour which seems fine. I'm not stopping to pee every 5 minutes and I don't ever feel thirsty

Mentioning apple juice- I follow a similar recipe, after I saw this piece in The Times, which says not to use apple juice- I have absolutely no idea why, many people seem to. Any idea why there should be a problem?
A man after my own heart re breakfast- for the New Forest Sportive I had a couple of Weetabix & then muesli (and my usual portion of that I think's about 50% bigger than the recommended serving!). I just can't face the thought of doing anything- work or exercise- on an empty stomach.

Aidy

Cafewanda wrote:

Aidy wrote:

I never tend to be a big fan of energy/sportsy type foods, although I do use them for long races.

Other foods, I just tend to go with what I feel like.
Um, that's not helpful, is it? I've never really paid much attention to my diet, and I seem to keep myself reasonably well fueled.

If it's more helpful, I've just gotten back from a bit of a roadtrip biking places around the UK. Typical meals involved:

Breakfast - Bacon butty, coffee.
Lunch - Some sort of pasty, cake, biscuits
Dinner - Standardish barbecue faire

I haven't died yet, so it must be healthy

You and Oddjob compare nutrition don't you?

Conservation of colour! How can green things be good for you?

Aapje

StuAff wrote:

Mentioning apple juice- I follow a similar recipe, after I saw this piece in The Times, which says not to use apple juice- I have absolutely no idea why, many people seem to. Any idea why there should be a problem?

I don't see any reason why apple juice would be worse than other juices. They all contain fructose, which is the sugar that gives you energy. Fructose digests a bit too slowly for it to be a really good source of energy for intensive efforts. A mix of maltodextrin and fructose is optimal (they digest in different ways, so a mix maximizes the carb intake). For performance, a 2:1 mix. For reduced sweetness and to preserve your teeth, 4:1 is better, which is why I ordered 4 kilo's of maltodextrin and 1 kilo of fructose and will be making my own (with salt added).

Regardless of what you do, you need to remember that the amount of water and salt you need per hour depends on how much you sweat, but the amount of sugars you need depends on how hard you ride. So in the summer, you should drink more water + salt, but the amount of carbs per liter should go down. Since you drink more sports drink per hour, you should get the same amount of carbs per hour.