Absolutely starving & bonking

barrybridges

I'm a regular road rider, but recently have moved office and have decided to ride to work, rather than get public transport.

It's around 15 miles each way and I've been riding it in just under an hour. It's actually a really tough ride though; in the first couple of miles outbound I've got a long, steep climb (Titsey Hill) which hits 19% in places. The route overall is undulating and not great road surface.

What I wanted to know is what to do about nutrition. Obviously I don't need to eat on the ride, but around this I need some advice.

I don't eat breakfast before I leave, because I'm out of the door early, but that's not a problem - I'll grab a coffee and something when I get to work (8am). But despite that, I'm normally absolutely starving by around 11am and will end up getting lunch at 11:30am before I pass over with hunger!

On the way home, I really struggle and yesterday I felt hunger knock coming on!

It's not fitness - I completed a 120 mile sportive just over a month ago and have plenty of energy in the legs - but I just can't work out what to eat during the day. I don't want to put any weight on (ironically, I started cycling to work to try and lose weight) but am struggling on the amount I eat at present.

Wooliferkins

You've changed your routine and need to rewrite your fuelling. An hour is around the most you can do on empty, as you are, first thing. You need to sort out a small carby snack for as soon as you arrive and a post shower breakfast of slow release stuff so you don't peak and crash. You need to be fuelled before you go home so smaller snacks throughout the day are helpful as opposed to lunch alone. At the moment you are eating into your reserves on the ride in not replacing or fuelling for the day, working all day then taking from your drained reserves on the way home.

bails87

If you get to work at 8 then I'm guessing you leave the house at about 7. So you're eating breakfast at 6:30? Which means it's 5 hours between breakfast and lunch, that's not exactly a small gap, especially given the exercise.

Eat bananas, pasta, wholewheat toast instead of white, nuts, etc.

I often have a packet of that 'filled pasta' stuff for lunch (spinach and ricotta, that sort of thing). It takes a few mintues to cook in the morning while I'm eating breakfast, then I rinse it in cold water (to stop it continuing to cook and turning to mush), mix it in with a spoonful of pesto and I've got a decent lunch in less than ten minutes.

For breakfast I tend to have cereal and a banana. Then I'll take an apple, packet of crisps, another banana, some other fruit like a pear or nectarine, yoghurt, cereal bar and something sweet with me to work. I drink a couple of coffees and usually have a few biscuits throughout the day too.

I'm at the bottom end of a "healthy" BMI, do a 12.5 mile (each way) commute and that tends to keep me going pretty well. I know the 'bonk' feeling though, it's horrible and I try to eat steadily throughout the day to avoid it.

thistle_

I tend to get hungry and have lunch around 10:30, despite having a slice of toast before riding in. At my last job I noticed the other cycle commuters were the same and we were all eating small amounts constanly thoughout the day.

The hill at the start of your ride sounds a bit brutal, can you go around it instead on the way to work? It sounds good for the ride home though.

antfly

Eat breakfast. Problem solved.

bails87

antfly wrote:

Eat breakfast. Problem solved.

Ah, I misread the OP and thought it said he does have breakfast!

Yes, eat breakfast!

Dekodawg

You could eat breakfast... Or you could rewire your body to use ketones for your energy source a bit more. Very often I go on long rides (30 plus miles) without any food and only water and electrolytes. It is difficult to just jump into that if you are totally reliant on glucose as your energy source. Getting fat adapted takes about 2 weeks.

notnot

Yes - try eating breakfast. Even if it's just shovelling a banana or some toast down before you leave, getting some food in you needn't take long and might make you feel better.

shmooster

The OP does eat something when he gets to work. Seems to be the evening that's the issue. Sounds almost exactly like my situation, I cycle 15 miles to work and eat breakfast when I get there (porridge and maybe a banana). Lunch at 11:30 then leave about 5. I used to have the same issue going home, bonking occasionally and frequently coming close. Especially if I ate something around 4 as it made my sugar levels peak then drop just as I left.
Everyone's different but what works for me is a Clif Bar or one of Winnipeg Cycle Chicks homemade hippy bars just before I leave (google the recipe, its superb and shes a good read too). Not had an issue since.
You're burning a lot of calories and need to replace some of them. I burn between 700 and 1000 on each leg of the trip, that's a couple of flapjacks worth each way.

Long_Time_Lurker

I'm the same - I slowly chew through a home-made flapjack or a couple of slices of buttered soreen (other malt loafs are available) in the hour before I ride home.

iPete

Eat everything you can lay your hands on, no really.

I would consider trying to eat a banana before your ride, surely that's manageable to get down in a rush? I then carry an emergency gel or energy bar with me incase. On arrival its cereal and coffee but that's not enough (20 miles each way), so its onto the snack draw (I try and buy lots of fruit/flapjacks every Monday but usually end up with multi packs of chocolate!).

Its only 10am, snack draw is empty and I'm starving, off to Tesco!

rubertoe

As iPete says.

Eat everything you can get your hands. Failing that, see what your colleagues have and steal that....

I tend to eat alot, all day, it seems that i dont go more than 30 minutes or so without eating something or other.

chris_bass

If you get in to work ok then breakfast shouldnt be an issue. Make sure you eat properly in the evenings and then at work just it smaller amounts more frequently.

The problem some people make is that that eat more because they exercise more but over do it and then start piling on the weight!

edhornby

I find that going long periods without eating, especially with some big rides during the day, is the killer, if you can get a banana down you before you leave in the morning, this will help because otherwise all your eating is catch-up

have fruit on your desk also for mid morning and mid afternoon

andyrr

In case anyone else looked but had a little trouble finding them here is the link for the aforementioned Hippy bars
http://winnipegcyclechick.com/?p=4657
Look rather good - will have to try the recipie.

jimmypippa

andyrr wrote:

In case anyone else looked but had a little trouble finding them here is the link for the aforementioned Hippy bars
http://winnipegcyclechick.com/?p=4657
Look rather good - will have to try the recipie.

From that link:

I am also consistently appalled at having to shell out ridiculous amounts of cash for energy bars – money that would be far better spent on life’s necessities, like carbon fiber bottle cages.

Apart from the fact that Americans and Canadians can't spell "fibre" it seems quite an amusingly written blog.

Initialised

Dekodawg wrote:

You could eat breakfast... Or you could rewire your body to use ketones for your energy source a bit more. Very often I go on long rides (30 plus miles) without any food and only water and electrolytes. It is difficult to just jump into that if you are totally reliant on glucose as your energy source. Getting fat adapted takes about 2 weeks.

Curious, tell me more

revolutionedi

I would recommend having a bowl of porridge an hour before you go to bed each night before you commute. That way, you are building carb stores and replenishing these daily. Also, I find a snickers or peanuts late afternoon and fruit help give me a boost for the cycle home.

Some competitive amateur cyclists swear by having a cold jacket potato on a long ride. You could take one to work and have in the arvo. It will look odd but its cheap and will work as good as the expensive energy bars.

Dekodawg

Initialised wrote:

Dekodawg wrote:

You could eat breakfast... Or you could rewire your body to use ketones for your energy source a bit more. Very often I go on long rides (30 plus miles) without any food and only water and electrolytes. It is difficult to just jump into that if you are totally reliant on glucose as your energy source. Getting fat adapted takes about 2 weeks.

Curious, tell me more

Basically your body can use fat or carbs as an energy source. Carbs turn into glucose which gets stored in the muscles as glycogen. If you are totally used to glycogen utilisation then you bonk if you run out. If you could tap into the fat you have stored (most of us have got plenty ) you don't bonk. In order for you to get your body fat adapted as quick as possible you would have to go on a Atkins style high fat medium protein low carb diet. It would take about 3 days to totally deplete your body of glycogen and push it into converting your fats into ketones which fuel your body. During this time your body will basically be in withdrawal and headaches and lethargy. Once into ketosis you will stay that way unless you eat too many carbs (as the body wants you to keep your fat reserves). Too much protein can effect it aswell as protein can turn into glucose in high volume.

dilemna

antfly wrote:

Eat breakfast. Problem solved.

^^^^^ Wot he said.

dilemna

barrybridges wrote:

I'm a regular road rider, but recently have moved office and have decided to ride to work, rather than get public transport.

It's around 15 miles each way and I've been riding it in just under an hour. It's actually a really tough ride though; in the first couple of miles outbound I've got a long, steep climb (Titsey Hill) which hits 19% in places. The route overall is undulating and not great road surface.

What I wanted to know is what to do about nutrition. Obviously I don't need to eat on the ride, but around this I need some advice.

I don't eat breakfast before I leave, because I'm out of the door early, but that's not a problem - I'll grab a coffee and something when I get to work (8am). But despite that, I'm normally absolutely starving by around 11am and will end up getting lunch at 11:30am before I pass over with hunger!

On the way home, I really struggle and yesterday I felt hunger knock coming on!

It's not fitness - I completed a 120 mile sportive just over a month ago and have plenty of energy in the legs - but I just can't work out what to eat during the day. I don't want to put any weight on (ironically, I started cycling to work to try and lose weight) but am struggling on the amount I eat at present.

You only ride 15 miles each way, hardly a huge distance. If you don't eat breakfast even if you didn't cycle you would still be running out of energy mid morning. The problem is not cycling but your inability to feed yourself properly during the day. You need to be eating breakfast without fail and a proper one at that not just a coffee and a cigarette .

bakerstreet

I do 15 miles each way and all I have before leaving in the mornings is a pint of squash. When I get to work, I have my shower and then have two wheatabix (SP?) with a banana and some milk.

I can usually survive till lunchtime and have either sandwiches or a salad along with a yogurt and some fruit. I usually have a cereal bar around 4.30 and this means I'm good for the cycle home. I'm sometimes a bit hungry on the way home, so I might have a handfull of nuts when I get in and then dinner an hour or so later.

I tried eating breakfast before the cycle in, but it really didn't work as I was starving by time it was 11am.

I should be eating less as it would help with the weight loss, but I need some energy to get me home in the evenings!

Initialised

I'm a 30 miles a day rider most of the time.

Protien/Carb shake for breakfast.
Apple and Tea at 10:30
Flapjack for Lunch (toward the end of an hour long ride)
Banana 15:30
Another Shake when I get in around six.
Evening meal a bit later and snack a fair bit through the evening.

I'm always hungry so will demolish biscuits or whatever's going at work on breaks alongside the fruits.