Commute food

[Puffin]

I have recently started commuting on the road. Twice a week only - it's a long way: 18.5 miles each way. I'm loving it and hope to become a "real roadie"! Biggest issue is I'm not sure what to do about nutrition. As you can imagine, my cravings have gone through the roof. I was always a grazer but now I'm constantly eating - and it's mostly chocolate because that's what's in the tuck shop. What should I be eating for top performance - ie what to have the night before, breakfast, post-ride, snacks, lunch, pre-ride, etc.... I tend to feel very heavy legs in the morning (it is a very gradual climb) but feel great in the evenings.
Thanks

[Kimmyt]

I found that two small breakfasts did me well while commuting. Pre-ride I eat a piece of fruit, nothing heavy at all. After I get into work and shower I have a larger meal (but still not large), usually with some carbs like a bagel or something. I have to bring a bigger lunch, with bags of snacks so that I can spread the lunch over a few hours. I'll bring yogurt, carrots, nuts, a sandwich, an apple. I'll usually eat the fruit or yogurt around 11, then the rest during regular lunchtime, i'll eat whatever is left around 2 or 3 to give me some fuel for the ride home. If it's hot out, I buy a gatorade or mix up some cytomax (I have a container in my drawer at work) and start hydrating a few hours before riding home. I do feel like I'm constantly hungry when I commute, though. I guess it jumpstarts my metabolism.

K.

[uk elephant]

I'm no expert on nutrition, but my recommendation would be to have a good breakfast before heading out (I would opt for oatmeal personally) and carry some healthy snack for when you get to work (banana, yogurt, fruit) and a good lunch (sandwich, fruit etc) and another decent sized snack to get you home. I used to commute home once a week and that worked for me. A good breakfast and lunch and then before heading home I'd have a banana and a granola bar and I'd stop half way home for another granola bar. Then I'd have a hearty dinner when I got in (lots of vegetables and carbs). Seemed to work for me and my commute home was 40 miles. Whenever I've done longer riding, the most important thing to keep me going through the day has been breakfast. A good bowl of oatmeal with dried fruit seems to give me enough energy to keep me going.

[HappyAnika]

Unlike UK Elephant, I can't ride after a big meal, unless I sit around digesting for over an hour, which just isn't practical for commuting. My commute is 20 miles each way. Before heading out I have something small, usually a small glass of oj and maybe half a bar or a couple of fig newtons. Any more than that and it will feel most unpleasant in my tummy. It takes me 1:20 ride time (uphill into work) and I get really hungry after an hour if I don't have anything on the bike. I will either bring a vitamin water with me to drink, or pop a couple of blocks, that keeps me from feeling bad. When I get to work, I eat a bar on my way down to the shower and wash that down with a bunch of water. Then after shower I have some oatmeal and coffee. I drink a ton of water all day long. Lunch is the same as a non-commute day, then about 1.5 to 2 hours before leaving I have another snack, maybe another half bar, some blocks, cheese and crackers, fruit, whatever I have available. I can make it home in about 1:05, so I don't eat on the way home, just drink water. When I get home I have a lot more water, then typically I eat a little more than usual for dinner. For my meals in general, I try to strike a healthy balance between protein and carbs, and I find the fats take care of themselves. I make an extra effort to eat lots of vegetables, otherwise I don't get enough. My best athletic performances have followed previous night's dinners of tofu, vegetables, and brown rice, one of my favorite meals, but that's just me.

As far as cravings, I know when I started commuting last summer, I was constantly ravenous. I think this was more related to my training intensity. I'm no expert, but this is based on what I've read both here and in cycling and fitness magazines. When you're working at a high intensity (zone 4, 5), you're burning up all the glycogen in your muscles. This is replaced by carbs, and your body will develop a fierce craving for them if its not getting enough. If you're training at a low intensity (zone 1, 2), you're burning a lot more fat along with some glycogen. When you're done working out your glycogen stores are not as depleted, and therefore you're not as hungry. When I first started riding, I felt like I had to be working really hard all the time, otherwise I wasn't getting any benefit, WRONG! This year I've discovered base training (zone 1, 2), and I do a lot of that now, keeping the high intensity stuff limited to short workouts. I've found that not only am I not as hungry now, I've been able to shed some pounds, whereas when I started cycling I gained weight despite all the high intensity training. Hope this helps. Sorry so long.

[Geonz]

First thing I had to learn was that my appetite increase was greater than my calories burned and I'd pile on the pounds even though I was riding more. I don't get hungry 'til after, though, and can't ride on a full stomach.
Mainly I try to put something in to give real nutrition that makes sense... for me that's carbs - bagels and cheese help - and then stay away from temptation and have the water bottle handy to fill up the space (usually with tea).

[RoadRaven]

I have recently started commuting on the road. Twice a week only - it's a long way: 18.5 miles each way. I'm loving it and hope to become a "real roadie"!

Seems to me that qualifies you as a "real" roadie...

If you ride...
If you like it...
If you look forward to it...

You ARE REAL

Re food: I usually eat a sandwich or a fruit filled bar after commuting to work and have a warm milo as well.
I have something like subway for a late lunch - about 1-2pm - and head home about 2-3 hours later

my commute is 24km each way

[Puffin]

Thank you, Ladies, for your advice.
I'm a petite person who eats loads and doesn't really gain much weight. (1m62 and 50kg). The extra hunger hasn't (yet) gone to my hips but it may if I keep it up. I worry that if I start eating the recommended amount of calories for my size I would probably lose weight and be really skinny - not sure I would have the energy to exercise on your diets but maybe that's what I need to do to be a healthier biker!
It think I might start having just a snack bar for breakfast because I only eat about 20mins before I ride. I'm hungry when I get in anyway! I'm also trying to have the right snacks to hand at my desk - oat bars, bagels (and bagels and bagels mmmmmmm), nuts, grapes, chicken breast...
Anika, you raise a good point about training intensity. I don't know much about it, but one of my mtb buddies mentioned the other day that girls tend to push a harder gear than they should. I certainly do that. The only time I move down from big ring is to tackle a long steep climb in middle ring on the way home. I like the feeling of power that big ring gives me.
I'm picking up a road bike today thanks to generous dh (currently on a heavy hybrid with flat bars) and its coming with a cadence computer. Will that help me monitor "zones"?
Sorry for the long speel!!

[Kimmyt]

hah, srsly? i've always noticed the same (mashing pedals unnecessarily) but in the guys that I ride with...

[HappyAnika]

I don't necessarily correlate my training zone with my gears, it all depends on the terrain. I monitor my zones with a heart rate monitor. You can do a search on the forum for those terms and come up with a lot of great info on zones and heart rate training. I hear that newbies, male or female, tend to push too high a gear (whether or not they are actually working hard). Generally you want to keep up a high cadence (anywhere from 80 to 110) to avoid mashing your pedals (and knees), so your new cadence monitor will help with that. Do a search here for cadence and you'll also come up with a lot of great info. I myself don't have a cadence monitor, but I've heard people say that when they ride by cadence in a lower gear they can go faster than trying to mash in the big chainring. Congrats on the new bike! How exciting!

Oh, and you rock for commuting 18.5 miles on a hybrid!