Breakfast or fast

Kieran_Burns

I spent yesterday in the garden attacking the jungle of my front hedge so was near dead when I got up this morning (note GOT up, not WOKE up)

I decided not to cycle in, so only had a paltry breakfast (hobnobs and coffee) - but come 10 to 7 I got the overwhelming urge to cycle in (looking out at the clear blue sky had a lot of influence)

So, quick prep and out on the bike.

The thing is: it seemed easier to cycle in on no breakfast. I was not trying but the time was lower and the ride easier than normal.

Now I know that you should not eat just before exercise but is (no) breakfast (about an hour) before cycling 12 miles a good idea?

I'm knackered and hungry now but I'm in the office, so I can wander down to the canteen and indulge myself.

So: breakfast before you leave or after you get to work?

Underscore

I always breakfast with porridge before I leave. My reasoning is that, once I get to work, my body has to replenish the glycogen store in the muscles for the journey home and, if my breakfast is already there, that'll happen more easily. Of course, it is quite likely that this is all bo11ocks so it'll be interesting to hear how it goes on your ride home!

_

gtvlusso

Or, no breakfast at all!

Usually a cup of tea while the kid feeding frenzy commences in the house. 10 mile sprint into work and then coffee-a-plenty....

Usually have a few nits for lunch and snakc on fruit during the day, oranges and bananas mainly!

Kieran_Burns

Underscore wrote:

I always breakfast with porridge before I leave. My reasoning is that, once I get to work, my body has to replenish the glycogen store in the muscles for the journey home and, if my breakfast is already there, that'll happen more easily. Of course, it is quite likely that this is all bo11ocks so it'll be interesting to hear how it goes on your ride home!

_

I'll be eating while here (about to go down and get some toast now) so I'll not be cycling home hungry (although I did forget my banana)

rick_chasey

Underscore wrote:

I always breakfast with porridge before I leave.

breakfast is a noun, not a verb.

You eat or have breakfast.

mudcow007

i cant really eat when i wake up but use to force my self to eat two weetabix before i left for wor but found myself feeling sick after 3 miles or so, ive stopped eating anythign now until i get into work i feel waaay better

Kieran_Burns

mudcow007 wrote:

i cant really eat when i wake up but use to force my self to eat two weetabix before i left for wor but found myself feeling sick after 3 miles or so, ive stopped eating anythign now until i get into work i feel waaay better

To be fair - this is how I've been feeling but put it down to being crap in the morning. I really don't enjoy a bowl of cereal first thing but have been eating it because I thought I needed to.

Now I'm not so sure: hence my post

mudcow007

Kieran_Burns wrote:

To be fair - this is how I've been feeling but put it down to being crap in the morning. I really don't enjoy a bowl of cereal first thing but have been eating it because I thought I needed to.

it was only by chance that one morning i forgot to eat brekkie an noticed that i was riding faster.

so i just eat a load of fruit when i get in

verloren

I always commute in before having breakfast, and probably once a week I feel like I'm bonking during the 75 minutes it takes. The rest of the time, though, I feel better without, so I just carry an energy bar in a glass case that I can break in case of emergency

dhope

Rick Chasey wrote:

Underscore wrote:

I always breakfast with porridge before I leave.

breakfast is a noun, not a verb.

You eat or have breakfast.

Actually it's both...

UndercoverElephant

dhope wrote:

Rick Chasey wrote:

Underscore wrote:

I always breakfast with porridge before I leave.

breakfast is a noun, not a verb.

You eat or have breakfast.

Actually it's both...

One of the things I like about working with Americans, is that there isn't a noun that can't be verberized.

vorsprung

I always have breakfast before. My commute is 15 miles of hills, takes about an hour. There isn't a canteen at work

shm_uk

I have a mug of strong coffee & a banana 30 minutes before my 45-minute commute, then a bowl of muesli at my desk.

There's no need to eat much before a commute of under 90 minutes, your body can easily cope with an hour or so of exertion.

iPete

A banana is my limit but I tend to wake up 10-15minutes before I should be out the door!

Have a gel in my bag in-case of bonk.

Clever Pun

I have a glass of oj in the morning, I might have some cereal/toast when I get in if I'm hungry.

snooks

I have breakfast when I get in.

My body has (way) more fat reserves than it needs to last the 7 miles in.

Once in, I shower and try to break my fast within an hour of arriving.

In winter that's porridge, in summer (well the warmth we find ourselves in at the moment) it'll be a peanut butter bagel

Wrath Rob

+1 with snooks.

I have a quick protein shake at work for my breakfast and that gets me through to lunch. I'm sure that if it was a 15 mile ride things might be different, but for the 9 miles I do I've got enough energy in my muscles to cope.

Underscore

Rick Chasey wrote:

Underscore wrote:

I always breakfast with porridge before I leave.

breakfast is a noun, not a verb.

You eat or have breakfast.

Yes, and it is traditional to start a sentence with a capital letter...

Edit: I've just checked the Chambers dictionary on the subject and got:

breakfast

• noun the first meal of the day, normally taken soon after getting up in the morning.
• verb (breakfasted, breakfasting) intrans to have breakfast.

UpTheWall

Ey up.

I don't bother with breakfast before the commute. In fact I think this is a great way to train for distance as it means you're more efficient at taking energy from your long term stores.

Si

essex-commuter

My commute is 16 miles, I have nothing until I get into the office. I'm up at 5.30am and out in 10 minutes, look forward to showering and eating (not together) as I ride in.

Wallace1492

No breakfast... till get in.

notsoblue

I have breakfast at work. Its only 10 miles, the previous night's meal is enough to tide me over. If I'd eaten lightly the day before, I may have some OJ. I make more of a point of ensuring I have something to drink before I head out though.

This is more out of habit and a desire to get from Bed to Bike as quickly as possible though.

too slow to go

When i wake up i will sometimes have a protein shake before my 35 min commute, then shower and have breakfast at work. Its easier for me to have breakfast at work after shower rather than pre commute.

dhope

too slow to go wrote:

When i wake up i will sometimes have a protein shake before my 35 min commute, then shower and have breakfast at work. Its easier for me to have breakfast at work after shower rather than pre commute.

+1, may as well spend time making breakfast at work while I'm being paid for it 8)

hambones

My commute is only 8 miles which is surely akin to walking less than a mile - hence I have no breakfast and when I get into work I tend to have a banana or a slice of toast until lunchtime.

I also wouldn't consider having breakfast if I'm only do 50 miles or so at the weekend but might have a couple of bananas and a cereal bar whilst riding, depending on the intensity of the ride.

dgstewart

dhope wrote:

+1, may as well spend time making breakfast at work while I'm being paid for it 8)

+1 indeed. My commute is 16 miles leaving at 6:30am and I always (have ) breakfast at work. I'll maybe have a small handful of Cheerios or the like before I set off, and definitely have a decent drink of water and maybe a bit of OJ and/or tea. When I get to work I have a banana straight away, then shower and have my porridge after that.

The pre-ride Cheerios are hard to resist when getting the kids "snack pots" ready - they have a pre-breakfast snack upstairs when they get up at 6am (every day, without fail, 6:30am is considered a long lie in our house these days!), before heading downstairs for proper breakfast once the wife is up and ready.

dhope

hambones wrote:

My commute is only 8 miles which is surely akin to walking less than a mile - hence I have no breakfast and when I get into work I tend to have a banana or a slice of toast until lunchtime.

That's not all you've had at work.
eh?
Eh?
Geddit?

:roll:

daviesee

dhope wrote:

+1, may as well spend time making breakfast at work while I'm being paid for it 8)

And we wonder why this Country isn't competative anymore

Arrive at work 1/2 hour earlier and have breakfast. Please don't take this personally but it is a cultural problem and very definitely becoming the norm. Some people in the office here only "work" for about 3 hours a day. Also note that I am as guilty as I am posting during work hours :oops:

Aidy

UndercoverElephant wrote:

dhope wrote:

Rick Chasey wrote:

Underscore wrote:

I always breakfast with porridge before I leave.

breakfast is a noun, not a verb.

You eat or have breakfast.

Actually it's both...

One of the things I like about working with Americans, is that there isn't a noun that can't be verberized.

It's not an Americanism, though. Breakfast can be used as a noun or a verb.

dhope

daviesee wrote:

dhope wrote:

+1, may as well spend time making breakfast at work while I'm being paid for it 8)

And we wonder why this Country isn't competative anymore

Arrive at work 1/2 hour earlier and have breakfast. Please don't take this personally but it is a cultural problem and very definitely becoming the norm. Some people in the office here only "work" for about 3 hours a day. Also note that I am as guilty as I am posting during work hours :oops:

Get over yourself, I'm taking the piss :roll:
My 'hours' (I put hours in quotes as I don't have hours, I have a job) last week varied from 8-7 at best to 8-11 at worst. Yesterday I was in til midnight from 4pm - I'm not contracted to work weekends and I don't put in for overtime unless it's work specifically scheduled for out of hours.

lost_in_thought

Well, up until last December I never had breakfast before leaving the house, then a friend's other half started an online personal training challenges-via-twitter, and one of the challenges was to incorporate breakfast into your day, as soon after you get up as possible.

Whatever the theories behind it, this is the only change I've made for the better in both diet and exercise, and I've lost 3" off my waist since january, and feel more awake/energetic.

Sure, it's a real effort to force breakfast down yourself for the first few weeks, but now I always wake up hungry.

I would theorise that it's making my metabolic rate higher or something, but I have no idea.