Food Intake, What, When and How Much?

[MacB]

So, journey home last night the last 6 miles saw my energy fall to almost zero, I really laboured the last 3. I know my preparation is appalling:-

get up, dress, can of pepsi max, cycle 20 miles to work, no stops, no food , no drink. Arrive 0820, shower, drink water, cola, all morning, eat lightish lunch at 1200hrs. More fluids through afternoon, depart 1830hrs cycle 20 miles home, no food or drink en route. Get home drink some water, have bath, then eat some grub.

I'd love some help on what to consume/avoid and the timings.....thanks....Al

 

[Twenty Inch]

You're completely depleting your body of energy throughout the day and you'll have a lousy time of it and probably get sick. You're not giving your body the carbs for energy or the protein to repair itself. Your work is going to start suffering too.

You need to eat little and often, especially with that sort of cycling, and ditch the soft drinks, which will rot your teeth and give you diabetes.

I have porridge with yoghurt before leaving, a ryvita with cottage cheese and a bit of pepper or tomato mid-morning, lunch, usually carbs, protein and salad and veg, ryvita with cottage cheese mid-afternoon, supper when I get home, fruit several times throughout the day. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are reasonable portions, not huge. This gives me the right amounts of energy and mental alertness to function, stops me getting hungry for junk, and still helps me to lose weight.

 

[Twenty Inch]

I suppose it's good that you've identified an issue and want to rectify it though.

 

[Bodhbh]

You're looking to drop 1/2 a stone a week or something?

I'd have something when you get in to work and something half an hourish before you leave. Chip buttie, bacon sandwich, pint of milk and a mars bar, don't think it matters too much just to get some energy and some protein so your body can recover.

 

[Ravenz]

strewth.......! I think deep down you know what to do.. and don't p@@@~ me off further by saying you average 20mph+ doing ya ride..!:?:

 

[HF2300]

Food Intake, What, When and How Much?

In my case, anything, too frequently and too much...

 

[snapper_37]

In my case, anything, too frequently and too much...

+ 1

A hard lesson learnt - cycling does not always mean you can stuff yourself full of bacon butties, crisps and curries!

I have a herbal tea before starting off. 7 mile-ish commute. Get to work for 6.45 and have fruit. Have a bit of cereal around 8-ish and a yoghurt at mid morning. Jacket spud or something for lunch then an apple or something before I set off for home. Lots of water/herbals during the day.

BUT I am trying to lose weight so the above is probably not typical - certainly not for men and those riding a lot more miles.

Diet pepsi in the morning urrgghhh!!!

 

[MacB]

strewth.......! I think deep down you know what to do.. and don't p@@@~ me off further by saying you average 20mph+ doing ya ride..!

Nah, you're safe on that one, my best so far is about 11.8MPH, I want to improve to about 15MPH by the Summer. Plenty of scope there as I spent a heck of a lot of time not pedalling through exhaustion

Ok, so this morning hurt a bit, first time I've done it 2 days running. Have had muesli for brekkie, jacket spud with bolognaise sauce for lunch and will be eating some pasta in a cream sauce about 90 mins before I leave. Plenty of water and a couple of fruit juices. Will see how much difference this makes.

 

[BADGER.BRAD]

I have done exactly the same when I started my new job last year ( previously a HGV driver) Cycle to work, run/walk/jog 10 to 15 miles and then cycle home 2.5 ish miles either way with very little food/drinks in between. I started to get aches and pains in various joints then started feeling generally like crap and had a succession of colds and what not. I soon realised the error of my ways and started to take Breakfast before work, I took a good variation of food with me, apples, bananas, sandwiches,nuts anything I could grab on the move really and plenty of fluids, ate larger meals at home and generally eat better quality food. After a week or so I felt myself improving to the point I started to enjoy the physical aspect of my work .You need to eat little and often, from my own experience I would say keep away from the sugary crap before taking the journey to or from work,It seems to kill my energy levels completely. If you drink much on an evening this also seems to kill you energy levels the next day, anything more than a couple of cans of beer and every thing seems more of an effort.
My needs are probably a little different to yours as I need a continuous supply of energy all day but hopefully the advise is still sound.

Good luc

 

[Ravenz]

THATs BETTER!!! also eating proper in the morning will slow ya 'get ready to ride' time that in another thread, people take peverse pleasure in getting out of bed and onto bike in 5minutes flat and cant understand why it takes the likes of me the good part of an hour to get ready for a ride!!

 

[Twenty Inch]

Nah, you're safe on that one, my best so far is about 11.8MPH, I want to improve to about 15MPH by the Summer. Plenty of scope there as I spent a heck of a lot of time not pedalling through exhaustion

Ok, so this morning hurt a bit, first time I've done it 2 days running. Have had muesli for brekkie, jacket spud with bolognaise sauce for lunch and will be eating some pasta in a cream sauce about 90 mins before I leave. Plenty of water and a couple of fruit juices. Will see how much difference this makes.

#

Better, but where's the fruit and veg?

 

[MacB]

#

Better, but where's the fruit and veg?

couple of fruit juice bottles, meant to be real stuff, they cost enough! The pasta also has peppers, peas, grean beans and carrots in it(bit of a leftover hodgepodge my wife made up for me).

 

[allen-uk]

My acupuncturist (pretentious, moi?) reminded me of the often repeated maxim:

For breakfast, eat like a king;
For lunch, eat like a prince;
For supper, eat like a pauper.

She swears by it, and claims to have lost two stone in a couple of years by switching her meals around so that she eats the bulk of her food in the morning.

Not that easy, but I am trying to switch, if gradually. (Mind you, she is loopy).

A.

 

[Twenty Inch]

couple of fruit juice bottles, meant to be real stuff, they cost enough! The pasta also has peppers, peas, grean beans and carrots in it(bit of a leftover hodgepodge my wife made up for me).

Pasta sounds good, can I have some?

Fruit juice can cause blood sugar spikes and subsequent slumps because the sugar is digested really quickly. You're better off eating it.

Sorry, I'm starting to sound preachy, and this is a reflection of my own current weightloss battle.

 

[BentMikey]

You need to eat little and often, especially with that sort of cycling, and ditch the soft drinks, which will rot your teeth and give you diabetes.

AFAIK this bit is boll0x (tm).