hi there mandachris, and welcome to the board

I think you need to stay away from supplements and such until you get a good feel for how your body feels on a bike.

I would suggest that an hour or two before your ride have a nice sandwich or small lot a pasta.

Take with you a muesli bar, or some fruit like a banana (some of the gals here swear by dried figs if I remember rightly).

A 12 mile ride is not long enough to warrent loads of power gels and supplements. IMHO it is a waste of your money.

You are better to eat sensibly before hand, and when you get home to have something sensible too... alot of us here swear by chocolate milk as an excellent recovery drink.

I am not a nutritionist and have never eaten according to a weight loss plan - I don't even know how to measure calories or kilojoules etc.

What I do do is cut out or limit foods that are high in fats and sugars (cakes, cream, butter, pastry based products etc).

I suggest you visit a nutritioist or dietician if you want to adjust your current plan to your new sport.

You do need to listen to your body because your demands will increase. Also remember one of the perplexing things that many of us have mused over here... your changing body shape is not always reflected on the scales - many of us have changed shape and dropped dress sizes, with little or no initial difference on the scales.

Well done for persevering - once you find the thing that works for you, cycling will be so much more of a pleasure