Breakfast advice

[dinkygreg]

Hello friends.. I am new here and this is my first post. I have a question and hope someone can help me with. Well, I usually start my riding day at about 6AM. I only take a cup of coffee before heading out. I take my power bars and water with me. My question is: should I eat a good breakfast before I take off? I read somewhere that most riders eat before heading out. Can anyone confirm this? BTW I ride 100+ miles twice a week.

Thanks..

[malkin]

I always feel better when I eat. You could try it and see how you feel.

[warneral]

I'm jealous! It's so cold here I don't want to ride anymore...

Yes why not eat some REAL food before you go? Power/energy bars should only be used when you are in a bind and not as a daily meal. This is my humble opinion of course!

My go-tos are

Whole wheat bread, pita, etc with peanut butter + a drizzle of honey
Greek yogurt + fruit & nuts
Oatmeal with almond butter (I use old fashioned oats or steel cut oats)
Whole wheat pita & egg sandwich

Get in some whole grains and protein and your body will be thankful :)

[kacie tri-ing]

I agree. My nutritionist has me always eating before a workout, particularly in the morning.

I stick to carbs, carbs, carbs. English muffin and honey, oatmeal and honey, bagel and honey. There is a trend here. I should raise my own bees...seriously!

[OakLeaf]

I posted a link a while back to an article that said that women really need to eat before a workout, men not so much.

I know I do. And carbs aren't enough for me, either. I really need healthy fats and protein.

[kacie tri-ing]

Now, I never ever eat carbs without a protein/fat UNLESS I am about to go out for a workout, and then I eat carbs alone (even the super long stuff). That was my nutritionists advice when I saw her during ironman trainin. Been doing it for a while, and it works for me!

[alpinerabbit]

I need some quick sugar to get out of the night-time low, and something that calms my stomach acid because otherwise I get a heartburn (tried running w/o breakfast and needed at least a cup of warm water with some gel).

Ideally I would take a piece of bread or two and some cheese, maybe philadelphia and some honey might work. Also one egg could work for me.
I have done this on early morning starts.

No more than maybe a cup of liquid though.

[Owlie]

I need to eat before riding. Cereal (with nuts) or PB&J and a glass of orange juice for long rides, with some kind of bar or chew in my pocket.

[warneral]

I just thought I'd add that breakfast is my favorite meal of the day :D Sometimes I eat breakfast and lunch and dinner too!

[jessmarimba]

I'm a big fan of second breakfast as well :)

I need my coffee when I get up, usually with a bowl of granola, but all bets are off for breakfast #2.

[Melalvai]

I'm a big fan of second breakfast as well :)

I need my coffee when I get up, usually with a bowl of granola, but all bets are off for breakfast #2.
D'you think he knows about elevenses?

[ny biker]

I need to eat breakfast every day, but especially before a long ride. I like 4 waffles with margarine and syrup, plus a cup of tea. It is easy enough to digest.

I usually eat at least a couple of hours before I start riding. It's been a while since I got on the bike closer to breakfast time, but I seem to recall feeling too full when I used to do that, in which case I would have a smaller meal (3 waffles instead of 4, which is my normal non-cycling breakfast).

When the weather is not too hot, I sometimes don't start riding until lunch time. In this case, I'll have the 4 waffles for breakfast and then eat something really easy to digest right before I start my ride. Sometimes I'll have a Stonyfield smoothy (basically liquid yogurt), but lately I've been eating a pop-tart or two (frosted, of course).

[spindizzy]

Welcome to TE!

I would be one cranky individual without food in the morning. Breakfast is also my favourite meal.

One of my goals this year is to get some of my workouts done before work, which necessitates a very early start (up at 4:45 ugh!) I get the coffeemaker on the timer the night before. Before shorter workouts, I have been using a small cup of unsweetened applesauce and I've been mixing in a bit of organic protein powder. That, along with coffee and water will get me throught the short ones. Then it's breakfast; an egg, 2 egg whites and a pile of fresh fruit, & some fat with the eggs. That breakfast usually does me well a couple of hours before a long ride as well.

I think you definitely you need to eat. You'll need to do a bit of experimenting to find out what works for you.

[crazycanuck]

Why are we all replying to an obvious spam post???

[colby]

Why are we all replying to an obvious spam post???

Clearly we like to chat and have opinions on this matter. :)

[jessmarimba]

I'm always game to talk about fooooooood

[crazycanuck]

K..I like foooooooooood mmmm..fooooood as well and have an opinion too..BUT I just think replying to spam spam spam spam green eggs and ham is egging on the spam spamm spammers..

Off to see Sam i am..

[warneral]

I could talk about breakfast (and coffee) for miles :D

[OakLeaf]

Why are we all replying to an obvious spam post???

Because we were so taken aback by her command of the English language and the relevance of her post, of course! ;)

[Catrin]

Because we were so taken aback by her command of the English language and the relevance of her post, of course! ;)

I would choose another word than spam...possibly one that starts with a tro...but breakfast is an enticing topic :)

[Owlie]

Know what makes a good breakfast?

Spam, spam, spam, spam, baked beans, spam, spam and spam!

[OakLeaf]

But I don't LIKE spam! :D

[Catrin]

But I don't LIKE spam! :D

Just for you Oak! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anwy2MPT5RE)