[Canyon48]

Hi all,

I’ve started commuting longer distances now that I’ve returned to uni following placement – this has left me feeling REALLY hungry though, I’d like some advice about nutrition.

I’m 21 and 67kg – fairly fit and, until recently, I’d usually cycle 100 miles per week – 2 x 25mile round trip commute and 2 x 25mile punchy/fast road rides.

I’m gradually upping my cycling to 3 x 35mile round commute and subsequently reducing to 1 x 25mile punchy/fast road ride on the weekend (occasionally to be replaced by a longer 50/60 mile hard road ride).

I eat healthily, generally following a Mediterranean diet. At 67kg and 5’11, with a fairly lean physique, I look scrawny enough as it is, so I don’t want to lose much (if any) more weight.

My problem comes because I don’t want to add any more starchy bread into my diet (about 2/3 slices a day average), but I know I need carbs to replace what I will have burnt cycling. For what it’s worth, my Strava/Garmin are estimating I burn somewhere between 1200 and 1600 calories each day I commute (my perceived effort would make me think it’s less than this).

I’m not overly concerned about a huge amount of protein intake either, as my commutes are taken at a steady pace, my muscles don’t feel like they have been worked very hard.

So I’m looking for a food that is reasonably filling, replaces carbs (not sugars) and maybe has a little bit of protein – easy/cheap to home make is a big bonus too! I know bananas fill this criteria (yes, I know I don’t have to make them), but I eat enough of them already!

I was thinking of rice cakes or possibly oatcakes – any suggestions (preferably not expensive energy/recovery bars)?

 

 

 

Topic

[Canyon48]

Jimmy Ray Will wrote:

From what I’m picking up from what you written, my suspicion is that you are excessively controlling calories. Relax a bit, your body is still maturing, give it sufficient fuel to do that as it requires. 

I also agree that fats and proteins are important for you, potentially more important than managing carb levels. 

This I’d say is demonstrated by the sore legs you are struggling with. OK, to a degree, we all get accustomed to having a bit of fatigue in the legs, but really, you should be recovering from the mileage you are describing, especially if you are taking it easy. 

On the commutes, are you going at both ends equally, or are you riding say the morning hard and the evening easy? A word of warning would say that battering yourself twice a day at either end of the day will quickly dig you into a hole. 

I don’t pay much (if any) attention to actual calorie contents. Generally, I just try to choose healthy meals (usually with lots of veg) and I eat til I’m full. I’m also partial to a greasy sausage roll from the bakery if I’ve had a tough cycle/day.

When I was commuting to placement (half the distance, so 9 miles each way) both my commute rides were pretty full on – 3 days of that in a week was pretty punishing including the 9 hour working days. Three rides into commuting longer distances regularly, my average is 15mph and I’m taking it pretty easy both ways, to be honest, I haven’t noticed it too much – it probably also helps that uni work hasn’t ramped up yet so I have a lot of free time to relax.

I intend to up the effort a little next week and see how I feel – I doubt I can get a much higher average due to traffic, traffic lights and navigating the city.

Still feeling hungry though! Although, a tomato and sweet chill Focaccia turns out to be a very satisfying post-ride snack.

[Jimmy Ray Will]

From what I’m picking up from

From what I’m picking up from what you written, my suspicion is that you are excessively controlling calories. Relax a bit, your body is still maturing, give it sufficient fuel to do that as it requires. 

I also agree that fats and proteins are important for you, potentially more important than managing carb levels. 

This I’d say is demonstrated by the sore legs you are struggling with. OK, to a degree, we all get accustomed to having a bit of fatigue in the legs, but really, you should be recovering from the mileage you are describing, especially if you are taking it easy. 

On the commutes, are you going at both ends equally, or are you riding say the morning hard and the evening easy? A word of warning would say that battering yourself twice a day at either end of the day will quickly dig you into a hole. 

 

[simonmb]

Simboid wrote:

Grinding stuff yourself is exactly that, a grind! The time it takes and the extra washing up makes me not bother. 

 

I have a little single-speed coffee bean grinder. Always grind fresh. Chia one day, flax the next. Barely needs wiping out from one day to the next. Unless I’m actually grinding coffee beans in it.

[Simboid]

il sole wrote:

Can I just say, don’t ever buy ground seeds – chia, linseed (flax) or any others as their nutrients  deplete rapidly once milled. if you want to have ground seeds, buy them whole and grind them yourself in a pestle and mortar. you don’t need to grind them completely, just crack open the outer ‘skin’ so they can be readily absorbed. 

I can’t find any evidence to support this for chia. Flax has a very short shelf life and quickly goes rancid, but ground chia actually has a higher absorbtion rate of micronutrients than whole and keeps for a long time, it should come vac-packed and resealable. Whole chia does have 3x the fibre, but if you wear bibshorts that’s the last thing you want! Oxidation lets the nutrients start to decay but proper packaging and dilligent resealing will stop that, or at least drastically slow it. https://www.verywell.com/chia-seeds-ground-or-whole-2223478

Grinding stuff yourself is exactly that, a grind! The time it takes and the extra washing up makes me not bother. 

 

[StraelGuy]

Dottigirls’s right on this

Dottigirls’s right on this one (and madcarew). Since I switched to a more balanced approach to long rides instead of the usual ‘carb’s, carb’s, carb’s’ thing, I feel a lot better. If I eat a fish finger butty before a long ride for example, rather than a bowl of pasta, I feel much stonger and for much longer.

 

* And yes, I know a fish finger butty is hardly haute cuisine but I’m a single bloke and don’t really ‘do’ cooking .

[Judge dreadful]

Eat a balanced diet, and

Eat a balanced diet, and increase your protein intake. A couple of years ago, I was pretty much the same weight and height as you are now (I was 65 Kgs, at 5’11”). It did make me appear a bit ‘gaunt’, so I just increased my portion sizes a bit, and increased amino / protein intake a bit, as I was moving from ‘short sharp’ rides to Long slow distance’ ( zone 1-2 maximum, up to 200 miles at a time ) type rides. A Mediterranean type diet is superb for cycling, lots of ‘good’ fats in there, and plenty of vitamins. If you want an energy boost, and a hunger killer, try espresso with clarified butter / coconut oil, and a California roll, with crab meat. That’s a very nice combo ( as long as you’re okay with caffeine / seafood.

[madcarew]

As for upping the mileage and

As for upping the mileage and sore legs, they won’t be ‘permanently’ sore, that will subside over a few weeks as you get used to the increased work load. However, what will help is after about 3 weeks have a week off or with significanly reduced mileage. This will allow that magic called recovery. ALso, for the first 4 weeks it’s probably a good idea not tot ride at the weekend to get some recovery in and help you legs adapt. Hope this helps.

[Canyon48]

rnick wrote:

rnick wrote:

Porridge on a school day. Kebabs and beer at the weekend, or a pot noodle if you’re feeling healthy :)

I do fancy a kebab, haven’t had one in ages.

I made myself some oatcake type things based on BBC Good Food’s Scottish Oatcake recipe. I cut right back on the salt and added a little extra sugar, along with sultanas and some mixed seeds. They are somewhere between sweet and savoury, plenty of carbs, enough sugar and a bit of protein.

Took barely any effort to make, really cheap and goes well with a cup of tea.

Back on the bike tomorrow and Friday for commutes, hopefully these oatcake-flapjack things will keep the hunger at bay.

[rnick]

Porridge on a school day.
Porridge on a school day.
Kebabs and beer at the weekend, or a pot noodle if you’re feeling healthy 🙂

[Canyon48]

kil0ran wrote:

(can help to warm the peanut butter on the hub to speed up the mixing process)

Will my Mavic Cosmic Pro Carbon disc hubs satisfy, or do I need rim brake specific 😉

[kil0ran]

I use oats, peanut butter, a

I use oats, peanut butter, a small amount of golden syrup and one of raisins/choc drops/nuts/dates to prevent boredom.

Just combine all ingredients (can help to warm the peanut butter on the hub to speed up the mixing process) and freeze. Prep them in a baking tray on parchment paper and pre-cut them before freezing. They’ll be slightly sticky so will need to be in a ziplock bag but will last for a long commute, even in summer.

Very cheap ingredients and certainly get me through to lunch without snacking

[sergius]

wellsprop wrote:

Again on the legs, after a longer ride (particularly if I’ve ridden a few times in the previous week or so), I’m noticing my quads feel fairly tight as well as lumpy. I’m guessing a foam roller and stretching would help this a lot.

 

Practise makes perfect for me, add in a few gentle jogs or legs sessions in the gym (with stretching!) to keep things fresh.

 

I’ll find if I ride for 3+ days in a row then I certainly feel fatigue, but one day off is generally enough for me.

[madcarew]

wellsprop wrote:

Again on the legs, after a longer ride (particularly if I’ve ridden a few times in the previous week or so), I’m noticing my quads feel fairly tight as well as lumpy. I’m guessing a foam roller and stretching would help this a lot.

Foam roller and stretching, definitely, as well as one or 2 rides a week being gentle spins (95+rpm, HR 60 – 65%) Lunges will also probably help

[Canyon48]

Again on the legs, after a

Again on the legs, after a longer ride (particularly if I’ve ridden a few times in the previous week or so), I’m noticing my quads feel fairly tight as well as lumpy. I’m guessing a foam roller and stretching would help this a lot.

[madcarew]

nniff wrote:

I rather suspect I eat garbage, but my 40 mile round trip commute is fuelled by a bowl of shreddies/fruit and fibre in the morning.  During the day, a ham sandwich and a cupasoup with some cheese, a few chocolate digestive biscuits and a big Belgian bun with icing.  Seems to work. I carry a boccadillo in case it goes wrong. The return trip is significantly uphill and that can go badly wrong if I haven’t eaten enough or get involved in the ‘races’.  If I start to get that dreaded clammy feeling I eat the boccadillo quickly or stop for coke and jelly babies. 

You’re quite right. You do eat garbage 😉 , but you have that in common with much of the population. Just to say, if you were to add in a bit more cheese and meat / fish, or nuts, egg etc, and didn’t start the day with shreddies, more like a bacon sarnie or something, that clammy feeling that you get in the evening on the quicker days wilol become a distant memory. Your diet spends the day rocketing your insulin levels up and down, and is really high in carbs / sugar as a %ge of your diet. Evening that out to more fat, and a bit more protein will level out the energy levels across the day, and leave more in reserve for the evening. If you were to ride into work and have breakfast after you get to work, the effect would be magnified. 

[Author]

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