post-training craving for salty/fatty stuff

[latelatebloomer]

This is a little different that the other post-training question. I'm doing a long, hard indoor training twice a week. It's on spin bikes but focused on race training. I do it 'cause I like the challenge, I'm not a racer. I do chocolate soymilk for my recovery drink. But on the 1/2 hour drive home, I've started to crave, and I mean voraciously crave, salty fatty somethings such as chips or fries. Sometimes I win the battle, sometimes not. I want to be substantially lighter by the spring, so these foods are definitely WHAT NOT TO EAT. My questions are 1) What is my body really asking for? 2) What is the least harmful pacifier?

[Zen]

What your body wants or what your mind wants?
Can you take another route home and bypass Temptation?
Stick with your chocolate milk but maybe bring some trail mix to munch till you get home?

[KnottedYet]

you're hungry. You worked hard, and chocolate milk isn't enough for your body at that point.

Pack a nice healthful and filling mini-meal to eat before your drive? How about a salad? Raw veges and nice salty (not fatty) dip? Dry roasted nuts? Rice cakes and thin sliced cheese? A sandwich?

[Starfish]

Those sound like good ideas. A few, pre-measured almonds? What about a small amount of whole milk for the chocolate milk, just to get that rich smoothness & fat, but in a small amount?

Or, maybe some kind of packaged drink that also has a good helping of soluble fibre with its protein? Wonder if that might help fill you up until you got home?

Don't do what I did all spring and summer. I managed to not lose one pound, and even gain some, even doing 80 mile training rides up to 8,000 feet of climbing, in the rain. It SEEMED like I should have earned a whole pizza every Saturday after my long ride...

Speaking from experience, it is possible to gain weight, even doing long, hard workouts, including distance and intervals, eating the wrong things.

Good luck!

[RoadRaven]

Its probably the salt you are wanting after all the sweating... salty nuts are probably a good option.

[DirtDiva]

Yeah, I think it's the salt you're really after. It's pretty easy to sweat a lot at a spin class, eh... Do you drink an electrolyte drink as you spin to help replace some of the salt you're loosing? If you're not already it might help. Probably the easiest thing to help deal to the cravings though is to find something salty but lower in fat (and, let's face it, most things are lower in fat than fast food fries) to munch on after your ride. A Vegemite and cheese sandwich would be perfect.