Tiredness after short commute
katiebob
Posts: 208
Hi all,
Hoping for some advice - I currently commute 3 or 4 days a week (5 miles each way) and have done for a couple of years. I’d like to do 5 days but after a couple I am really tired and don’t have any energy.
My rough daily food/drink intake is: porridge when I get into work, either yoghurt/banana/crisps as morning snack, soup for lunch with crisps or pitta, yoghurt/banana/crisps as afternoon snack and then a proper dinner when I get in. I also drink loads of squash and tea through the day. Surely Im no burning THAT much energy on a short commute? I dont get hungry.
Why am I so knackered? I don’t think I am anaemic (I take an iron supplement).
Am I doing something wrong or do I just need to battle through it and WTFU?
Ta
Hoping for some advice - I currently commute 3 or 4 days a week (5 miles each way) and have done for a couple of years. I’d like to do 5 days but after a couple I am really tired and don’t have any energy.
My rough daily food/drink intake is: porridge when I get into work, either yoghurt/banana/crisps as morning snack, soup for lunch with crisps or pitta, yoghurt/banana/crisps as afternoon snack and then a proper dinner when I get in. I also drink loads of squash and tea through the day. Surely Im no burning THAT much energy on a short commute? I dont get hungry.
Why am I so knackered? I don’t think I am anaemic (I take an iron supplement).
Am I doing something wrong or do I just need to battle through it and WTFU?
Ta
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Comments
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Are you still tired even if you don't cycle in to work?0
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No, feel better after a day off (usually wednesday!).0
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If you have been doing it for two years and cant ride 5 miles for two days in a row then something is wrong. The diet seems fine, although I dont know how much is loads of sqaush but its nasty sugary stuff if you have alot and personally I would switch to water.
Are you pushing particularly hard or is there a huge mountain on that 5 mile route? Make sure you are not pushing hard in too high a gear or this could cause fatigue - try spinning faster in a lower gear if you are not sure.
You dont say how much you weigh, or what your body composition is. If you dont have much fat and your evening meal is early (you say "when I get in" but that could be 5pm or 9pm?) then your morning ride is on a fasted stomach and will rely on your bodies glycogen stores which could be depleted. You could try the porridge at home before the ride?0 -
It also depends on what you're doing when you're not on the bike - busy rushing around at home before/after riding, on your feet at work? That all adds to the stress on the body.
Also, what other riding are you doing? 5 miles isn't much and it is barely enough time to warm up - perhaps you should give yourself a rest from riding to work for a few days and go for a longer ride at the weekend - or even in the evening for now - just ensure you've had some food before you go.
Loads of tea could suggest a caffeine dependency? Cut that out? Squash - no added sugar is fine - dunno what you drink.
You shouldn't be knackered from a 5 mile commute unless you're riding hard, so your times would've reduced over the last 2 years ... but it also depends what you're riding and over what terrain ... 5 miles on a mountain bike over rough tracks in a hilly would be far worse than 10 on a road bike on the flat ...0 -
Investigate a supplement called co-enzyme Q10 . If you do try it, I suggest starting at low dosage - 50mg per day. A side effect can be trouble sleeping - if so reduce to every other day.
I use it because I had a feeling of general fatigue - it seems to be working for me.
Jay Kosta
Endwell NY USA0 -
Hmm... we do et our evening meal fairly early (about 6) I'll try to have a snack before leaving as I've tried the porridge and find it a bit heavy to have before. Several pints of squash through day (No added sugar if thats any better!)
I have been going for it over the lst couple of months - new bike and increased times - so I am seeing results :-)
Morning are a bit of a rush but starting to do longer weekend rides too so should improve further. pretty flat route so will give above suggestions a go.
ta chaps!0 -
Could your squash and tea be giving you a sugary spike? Insulin kicks in and you get a big low leading to fatigue. If you're taking in sugary spikes try taking it just before your ride home where rapid rise in blood sugars stand a chance of being used by your body.
I have similar fatigue and that's due to sugary tea. The water at work tastes funny so I shovel sugar in but that means I need to spread out sugar intake throughout day. If I miss my last dose I fatigue badly. I only do 7 or 8 miles so not a hard commute.
They say eat a little and often. Try low or medium glycemic index foods you'll last longer in them. The common belief is breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Simply put it's your break of an overnight fast. However some ppl find their stomach does not take food kindly first thing. I'm one such person and eating breakfast within 2 hours of getting up results in it only being brought back up. Nutritionists actually say that's not a problem just eat when you're ready, at work. Try a light snack if you can. Banana that's fairly ripe is one of the most easily digested snacks.
I'm not an expert but food intake for me is critical for a mix of medical, lifestyle and performance reasons so I've had to learn a few things that work for me in similar situation. Namely fatigue despite not doing anything physically hard.0 -
I find porridge heavy to eat without a lot of sweetening. That leaves me with a high GI meal with a sugar spike and rapid low/crash. Probably only me like that but I find muesli easier or oatibix.0
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Katiebob wrote:Hmm... we do et our evening meal fairly early (about 6) I'll try to have a snack before leaving as I've tried the porridge and find it a bit heavy to have before. Several pints of squash through day (No added sugar if thats any better!)
I have been going for it over the lst couple of months - new bike and increased times - so I am seeing results :-)
Morning are a bit of a rush but starting to do longer weekend rides too so should improve further. pretty flat route so will give above suggestions a go.
ta chaps!
Depending on what time you leave in the morning, if it were 8am then think about it - you have fasted for 14 hours and then ask your body to come up with some energy for exercise. I do this when trying to lose weight as it is very effective but I have trained my body to metabolise fat well and there is still a fair bit of it to use!
Can you have your banana before leaving in the morning?0 -
apreading wrote:Depending on what time you leave in the morning, if it were 8am then think about it - you have fasted for 14 hours and then ask your body to come up with some energy for exercise. I do this when trying to lose weight as it is very effective but I have trained my body to metabolise fat well and there is still a fair bit of it to use!
Can you have your banana before leaving in the morning?
14 hours of fasting followed by a five mile bike ride? Really shouldn't be an issue for anyone, unless you are seriously untrained, or have some kind of medical condition...0 -
I would visit the doctor.
I push fairly hard on my 4 mile commute but I don't notice any lasting effect at all.0 -
How many hours are you working?0
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Everyone is different. I sometimes liken my food requirements like a fine balance between OK and running low. By that I guess I mean my body runs low of blood sugars, glycogen stores and resulting fatigue very quickly. Fast metabolism I think. I can be OK one moment then feeling shaky 10 minutes later and without exercise just at work (office with some factory activity nothing strenuous). Not helped with sugary foods. For me I find fats such as in cheese or salamis seem to work better with pasta to prolong energy. But everyone is different of course.0
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Do you enjoy your job? Maybe it has nothing to do with the cycling, but is related to just being at work? Can you cycle 5 miles on a Saturday morning without feeling tired for the rest of the day? Just a thought.0
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Thanks for all the suggestions. Ill try having a snack before I leave, if that doesnt work Ill pop to the doc and just get checked over.
If that doesnt work then I will WTFU
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Imposter wrote:apreading wrote:Depending on what time you leave in the morning, if it were 8am then think about it - you have fasted for 14 hours and then ask your body to come up with some energy for exercise. I do this when trying to lose weight as it is very effective but I have trained my body to metabolise fat well and there is still a fair bit of it to use!
Can you have your banana before leaving in the morning?
14 hours of fasting followed by a five mile bike ride? Really shouldn't be an issue for anyone, unless you are seriously untrained, or have some kind of medical condition...
Have to agree, I used to quite often get up in the morning and go out and do 15 miles, without feeling particularly tired. So a 5 mile pootle into work shouldn't really be a serious issue.0 -
Eat more....I do a 8 mile commute 5 days...and eat double what you .0
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I'm fixed - iron supplement has sorted me out.
Ridden 4 days this week and could have done 5 easily (if I didnt have car based errands!)
Sorted.
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