Can't eat after a long or hard ride.

[HorTs]

For example after 57 miles of the South Downs Way we were at the pub and I couldn't force down more than half a burger and a few chips. I don't feel full as such, I just feel sick.

It annoying because I needed to eat to recover and for the following morning's energy.

Does anyone suffer the same and/or have any idea how to combat it?

 

[S-Express]

Does anyone suffer the same and/or have any idea how to combat it?

Not trying to eat burger and chips half way into a ride would be a start. Seriously, what were you expecting?

 

[CanucksTraveller]

I can only nibble on little bits during a ride... about 30 mins after finishing I can eat a whale on toast. How are you feeling after a ride?

 

[Dan B]

Sounds perfectly normal to me. Hard exercise reduces blood flow to the intestine/gastroenteromonomanicalal[*] system so it's perfectly normal to have to wait a while after you stop before you can face eating complicated foods. Try a recovery shake or something maybe, if you have a time-critical need to refuel


[*] not sure how to stop spelling that

 

[Bimble]

I get a similar "sick" feeling if I push hard for a period or do a lot more miles than I usually do. I can't eat a full meal, only nibble on a few bits, and even then I sometimes have to force it down because I know I need some energy to complete the ride. Once I've finished the ride, about 30-45 mins later I usually feel quite hungry and will trough a good bit of food.

 

[Lee_M]

more practice required. I have been known to eat a full english in the middle of a ride :-)

 

[Banjo]

On an all day ride I have porridge before setting off then a big cooked breakfast about 3 hours into the ride.Later in the day I find full cooked meals hard to eat so nibble on biscuits etc or something sweet at a café such as cake , apple pie etc.

Talking to long distance cyclists many find getting nutrition right is difficult.

Beans on toast or pasta seem to be popular as easy to eat and digest.

Like others at the end I prefer to wait an hour then the hunger returns big time.

 

[Welsh wheels]

I have had this before. I was once bonking badly and needed to eat but found eating very difficult. I think it was something to do with being dehydrated and not being able to chew/swallow the food properly. I would suggest eating little and often and drinking a lot. Were the burger and chips the first thing you had eaten after 57 miles? I normally try and having something to eat after 25/30 miles.

 

[HorTs]

Not trying to eat burger and chips half way into a ride would be a start. Seriously, what were you expecting?

I was judging by how others who had just done the same and scoffed down their whole and similar meals.

 

[HorTs]

I seem to have given the impression this was mid ride, this was at the end of the day. I had eaten regularly on flapjacks and the like during the day and a lunch before heading out.

 

[HorTs]

Like others at the end I prefer to wait an hour then the hunger returns big time.

Maybe I am just trying to eat too soon after.

 

[Crackle]

Yes, relatively recently: I've been experimenting with various hypotonic drinks, mainly to help my sleeping after a ride but also to be able to eat or not feel ill. Too soon to say but I feel they are making a difference but I haven't done a longer ride yet. I had pretty much put my issues down to needing to replace salts/electrolytes and drink more than I was. Once upon a time, it was not an issue but it seems my body is changing as I get older.

 

[ianrauk]

Obviously everyone is different.
I am a complete gannet, before, during and after a ride. Mrs Ian has to physically restrain me from jumping into the fridge and staying there until I have eaten everything I can get my mitts on.

Yet one of my regular riding buddies has a real problem eating before, during or after a ride.

 

[Fab Foodie]

I was judging by how others who had just done the same and scoffed down their whole and similar meals.

Burger and chips after 57 miles is enough. Maybe eat a bit later?
Find your own eating stylee not that of others.
Like @ianrauk I can eat anything anytime and cycle. 70 mile night ride, full english, couple of pints to wash it down and then another 50 or 60 miles... practice makes perfect. :-)

 

[mjr]

Not trying to eat burger and chips half way into a ride would be a start. Seriously, what were you expecting?

What do you eat for lunch when touring, then? I had a very nice burger, chips, salad and onion rings on Friday, halfway through my ride.

I have had this before. I was once bonking badly and needed to eat but found eating very difficult. I think it was something to do with being dehydrated and not being able to chew/swallow the food properly. I would suggest eating little and often and drinking a lot. Were the burger and chips the first thing you had eaten after 57 miles? I normally try and having something to eat after 25/30 miles.

^^ +1 to this. When I've struggled to eat, it's usually been that I've not drunk enough. It's not just the chewing and swallowing that's a problem, but the food seems to travel along very slowly. Drinking a fair bit and waiting 5-10 minutes helps - now I try to guard against it by drinking more as I near the lunch stop and drinking about 250ml of soft drink (or sometimes not so soft ) before the food arrives. Once I've been unable to eat mid-afternoon when temperatures had gotten rather high and I feel I'd left the lunch stop at a rush too soon after eating.