Commute food

[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).