Commuters: what do you do about breakfast?
Discussion
As per the title really - what and when do you have for breakfast if you're riding to work?
I'm not really a breakfast person, but I keep hearing all this speil about the most important meal of the day and so on, which is prompting me to consider it. The thing is I reckon eating any sort of quantity immediately before hitting the morning commute is likely to be counter productive. Presumably a cereal bar or something once you're done is the answer?
I'm not really a breakfast person, but I keep hearing all this speil about the most important meal of the day and so on, which is prompting me to consider it. The thing is I reckon eating any sort of quantity immediately before hitting the morning commute is likely to be counter productive. Presumably a cereal bar or something once you're done is the answer?
Rolls said:
Nothing before setting off, then cereal once i'm in the office, and showered etc..
edit to add - commute is 13 miles..
+1 Mine is 13 miles each way and I wait until I'm in the office, showered up before I have breakfast.edit to add - commute is 13 miles..
Edited by Rolls on Monday 15th March 12:40
It does you good to train pre-brekkie anyway
Chris71 said:
Mine's only 7.5 miles, but there are plenty of hills and I'm really quite unfit!
Has to be said I don't feel particularly hungry without breakfast - I don't usually eat until after 2pm. Perhaps it's not worth bothering?
Not having brekkie is bad. The idea of breaking the fast means you're getting out of the more slumbering state of your metabolism and kicking it off with brekkie.Has to be said I don't feel particularly hungry without breakfast - I don't usually eat until after 2pm. Perhaps it's not worth bothering?
Look at it this way - your body will not burn anything effectively until it has breakfast to kick start the metabolism, it's slumbering along not really bothering to do much. Have a bowl of cereal with skimmed milk and a nice cup of coffee and that's enough to wake all systems up. From there your body will burn much better meaning your lunch will be burned properly rather than the lazy slobbering metabolism just turning more of it to fat.
You'll notice you get hungry more often as well once eating properly, you'll burn far more calories a day.
1. Have you tried them for breakfast? Euk!
2. They're no nutritionally balanced
Can see why you'd suggest it Rich but you don't even really need them for most rides - a banana or flapjack would be better. I only use them for intensive training and racing, but they're not suitable as a food replacement as they're pretty much all carbs and nowt else.
2. They're no nutritionally balanced
Can see why you'd suggest it Rich but you don't even really need them for most rides - a banana or flapjack would be better. I only use them for intensive training and racing, but they're not suitable as a food replacement as they're pretty much all carbs and nowt else.
dubbs said:
1. Have you tried them for breakfast? Euk!
2. They're no nutritionally balanced
Can see why you'd suggest it Rich but you don't even really need them for most rides - a banana or flapjack would be better. I only use them for intensive training and racing, but they're not suitable as a food replacement as they're pretty much all carbs and nowt else.
I have never tried them. I was at the TCR show last month and every 2nd stand was a food related one. Not surprised they are a bit sugary though and not so much fun to eat. 15 years ago it was a Chocolate or Berry PowerBar or nothing 2. They're no nutritionally balanced
Can see why you'd suggest it Rich but you don't even really need them for most rides - a banana or flapjack would be better. I only use them for intensive training and racing, but they're not suitable as a food replacement as they're pretty much all carbs and nowt else.
9 mile commute each way
Alpen and semi skimmed milk with a glass of green tea
water when I get there.
no ill effects so far...I do buy into the whole "you should kick start you metabolism asap rather than 'fast' until lunch" thing. I tried it the other way thinking less food is good... but it didn't work well as come lunchtime I was so hungry I was stuffing myself and looking for added crisps/choc in the afternoon...
Alpen and semi skimmed milk with a glass of green tea
water when I get there.
no ill effects so far...I do buy into the whole "you should kick start you metabolism asap rather than 'fast' until lunch" thing. I tried it the other way thinking less food is good... but it didn't work well as come lunchtime I was so hungry I was stuffing myself and looking for added crisps/choc in the afternoon...
I only do about 5 miles each way now, and I have an early start, so generally I hop on the bike an deat porridge or cereal once I'm at work.
When my commute was longer and Very early (5am get up) I used to drink about 2/3rds of a pint of Orange juice mixed 50/50 with water, and perhaps a small banana just to get me going, and then have cereal once I was in work and showered.
I could never cycle hard after breakfast - made me want to hurl.
When my commute was longer and Very early (5am get up) I used to drink about 2/3rds of a pint of Orange juice mixed 50/50 with water, and perhaps a small banana just to get me going, and then have cereal once I was in work and showered.
I could never cycle hard after breakfast - made me want to hurl.
Agoogy said:
Come lunchtime I was so hungry I was stuffing myself and looking for added crisps/choc in the afternoon...
I must admit I don't have a problem with that. I don't get hungry until late-lunch sort of time, but there again I eat quite a substantial lunch and usually a pretty huge dinner. That's why I need to combat the calorie intake with lots of cycling. 
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