Your lunch. What are you eating? « CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum

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Your lunch. What are you eating?

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Started 8 years ago by Darkerside
Latest reply from wingpig

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Darkerside
Member

My longer commute is starting to play havoc with my previously laissez-faire approach to calorie intake. I'm starting off the day with a big bowl of porridge, but some kind of takeaway sandwich meal deal at lunch is leaving me low on energy for the return commute and I've ended up having to use an emergency energy gel the last two commutes back.

What are people eating at lunch to keep them going?

At this rate I'm going to be taking in some oats for an afternoon bowl of porridge too, and there's only so much stodge one digestive system can take...

Posted 8 years ago #
gembo
Member

@ darkerside's my commute home will be between ten and fifteen miles dependent on route. I completely bonked on Monday as I had done a lot of cycling uphill during the day on a couple of visits and then ended up down in Musselburgh. Then the wind which had been easterly All day on my various trips heading east switched to a westerly and I really struggled home to Balerno despite LIDL version of Mrs Tilly's fudge which I believe has magical properties. If consumed preventatively. Once you bonk gels and the like don't work

So I advocate calorie intake through the day, elevenses, lunch slightly later, afternoon cake and then an apple before heading home. Other strategies include, eating your tea at lunch time. For definite a standard sandwich Is never going to be enough.

Posted 8 years ago #
stiltskin
Member

I snack on nuts and dried fruit. Gives you plenty of calories (too much if you don't watch it)

Posted 8 years ago #
CycleCommute.CC
Member

Usually a couple of sandwiches with a bowl of soup for lunch. But I also have a 2nd breakfast when I reach work (porridge) and snacks of biscuits in the morning. Then more biscuits or cake through the afternoon and usually a banana an hour before leaving. Oh, plenty of coffee also helps keep me going.

Posted 8 years ago #
wingpig
Member

I keep myself topped-up with oatcakes throughout the day. Lunch is usually apples and bread, though very occasionally I feel the urge for a filled sandwich. Less occasionally I feel the urge for something cakey or biscuits.

Posted 8 years ago #
Min
Member

Sounds like you may be over-carbing and need more FAT. Because you know how you have been told all these years to eat carbs all the time? It turns out that is wrong after all..

I get hungry about an hour after eating porridge but find that a good dollop of peanut butter with it makes all the difference. (In my ultra endurance days a cooked breakfast was the only possible thing but it is not very practical to do all that before you go to work, unless you have a slow cooker).

Likewise, adding olives or cheese or something to your lunch can make it last a lot longer.

I personally don't find the newly-sainted nuts to be very filling but nut butter does it (maybe you are getting more nuts in a serving?).

Try it and see what happens. Everyone is different so what works for me may not work for you. Obviously avoid processed fats.

Posted 8 years ago #
Edinburgh Cycle Training
Member

Usually I "make do" with a rather tasty thai/indonesian/indian curryesque thing with rice and chips from the chargrill van on South Gyle Crescent. I'll start watching my diet when I'm in my 60's. Or 70's.

Posted 8 years ago #
Wilmington's Cow
Member

"I get hungry about an hour after eating porridge but find that a good dollop of peanut butter with it makes all the difference. (In my ultra endurance days a cooked breakfast was the only possible thing but it is not very practical to do all that before you go to work, unless you have a slow cooker)."

Interesting... I'm going to give it some thought about getting some more fat into the during-the-day diet and see if it makes a difference.

Posted 8 years ago #
wingpig
Member

"...more fat into the during-the-day diet..."

Stir a few sausages into your porridge, or substitute olive oil for milk.

Oatcakes have fat in.

Posted 8 years ago #
spytfyre
Member

Sushi for lunch but an unhealthy breakfast as I was in stupid o'clock this morning after being called out at 4:30 :(

Posted 8 years ago #
jdanielp
Member

I had soup and bread today, which is about as minimal as it gets, although I have a box of Border dark chocolate gingers and a bag of mixed nuts and raisins as back up.

Usually I dunk a couple of biscuits into my morning and afternoon tea, have a filled baked potato with salad, a pizza, a wrap or a reasonably large filled roll/sandwich for lunch, and then maybe some nuts or a banana a little before I set off home again if I'm in much later than 5.

Posted 8 years ago #
Min
Member

Stir a few sausages into your porridge, or substitute olive oil for milk.

Lol, I can't see that catching on too much!

Oatcakes are pretty good though. Bread is just calorific air and is rubbish as food.

Posted 8 years ago #
minus six
Member

28 mile round trip commute

no breakfast, just coffee

lunch = three tablespoons of peanut butter

late afternoon = fairly large pasta pesto meal optionally with salmon or tuna

couple of beers mid evening

Posted 8 years ago #
MediumDave
Member

Pot of homemade curry (or stew/soup - can be hard to tell the difference sometimes), box of salad bits and raw vegetables, oatcakes or bread, large lump of cheese, apple, coffee. Cake if I've made any for elevenses.

Mine is not a particular long commute but an hour of swimming in the morning does tend to make me hungry.

Posted 8 years ago #
Min
Member

WC Interesting... I'm going to give it some thought about getting some more fat into the during-the-day diet and see if it makes a difference.

Have you heard of the bulletproof coffee trend? It is where you stir coconut oil and butter into your (fresh brewed) coffee. Having tried it, it is a pretty impressive way to keep the hunger pangs at bay all morning, or if not the hunger then at least the shaky MUST EAT NOW type pangs. Wouldn't want to do it too often though the proponent of it seems to drink it every day!? :-/

Posted 8 years ago #
Wilmington's Cow
Member

That sounds weird (but in a way that makes me want to try it...)

Posted 8 years ago #
Min
Member

Yes, that's what I thought. ;-) But as I already use coconut oil and butter (and coffee) it was easily tried! 20g of each and NO SUGAR! Tastes pretty good and coconutty.

Posted 8 years ago #
PS
Member

Sounds like you may be over-carbing and need more FAT

I'd agree. "Normal" porridge (each to their own, but I'd define this as consisting of oats, half milk/half water, salt) is one of the least filling breakfasts I know. Invariably leaves me hungry by 11am.

This can be countered by adding double cream to the porridge, which has the added bonus of improving the flavour no-end. I'd imagine adding butter might have a similar effect (and, as we all know, more butter will improve any foodstuff). A former colleague/polar explorer used this to fuel sledge pulling - he had a lot of butter in that recipe.

Otherwise, I'd go with meat and cheese on bread - the German breakfast of sliced sausage and cheese (plus honey mustard) regularly keeps hunger locked up til lunch (unlike Shreddies, which fail dismally in that regard).

Posted 8 years ago #
gembo
Member

marks and spencer do a mega porridge with millet and various other seeds grains and roughage. It is awesome. I have it with honey and greek yoghurt. Can get to 12 noon without eating anything else (should i feel like lasting that long)

oats definitely still slow release, that has not been debunked has it?

Posted 8 years ago #
Min
Member

oats definitely still slow release, that has not been debunked has it?

I think it has been refined. They seem to be slow release for some people but not for others (such as PS and myself) unless combined with something fatty. It is actually quite a relief for me to find someone else who doesn't find porridge the magic fuel it is cracked up to be.

Posted 8 years ago #
mercury1and2
Member

ok out from 9-10 to 3.15pm cycling- morning beetroot juice 500ml appx- organic stuff. 2 coffee semi milk. Before 9am raw porridge with semi milk. After 9 but before 12- 2 bananas and one nectarine . 12-1300 two whole wheat rolls with light mayo and slices of beef. After 1300 I pack of belivtas biscuits.

Posted 8 years ago #
acsimpson
Member

My go too breakfast is 2 wetabix with swiss muesli and a banana. When I cycle in (13 miles each way) I normally have some nuts around mid morning and then a sandwich and cereal bar from boots keeps me going for the afternoon.
Occasionally I'll have another snack before jumping on the bike home.

Posted 8 years ago #
neddie
Member

Fat contains a high density of calories.

Carbs* contain a high density of calories.

Fat releases calories slowly.

Carbs release calories slowly.

Calories are energy.

For cycling you need a slow and long lasting trickle of energy.

It doesn't matter if you eat fat or carbs or both, either will consistently power you over time.

Anyone that tells you not to eat fat, or not to eat carbs is talking about a fad diet.

*By 'carbs' I mean pasta, bread, rice, etc (not sugars)

Posted 8 years ago #
Min
Member

Carbs release calories slowly.

If you find this to be the case for you then great, if you don't you need to adjust your intake. We are all individuals. Although I'm not..

Agreed that anyone who tells to you give up one or the other is talking about a fad diet though. Although again that may well happen to work out well for some people.

Posted 8 years ago #
steveo
Member

It must be the large helping of cream I add to make the office porridge palatable but I find it more filling than a cooked breakfast.

Posted 8 years ago #
Darkerside
Member

My idea of porridge is a bunch of oats microwaved with whole milk, so there's a reasonable amount of fat+carbs in there. Definitely not doing enough though.

Cheese+meat appeals.

Also clearly need to add in more meals during the day...

Posted 8 years ago #
acsimpson
Member

I'm sure some of the long distance commuters on here have commented that after the first few weeks of regular cycling they find there energy levels stabilise and they can go back to a diet closer to what they ate prior to cycling.

Posted 8 years ago #
Wilmington's Cow
Member

"We are all individuals. Although I'm not.."

You are number 6.

I didn't grab breakfast at home this morning, completely forgetting that the work canteen is useless for gluten free. There's usually a cheese and meat selection, but I was too late (one type of meat, one type of cheese), so I am subsisting on chocolate topped rice cakes until I can get an M&S lunchtime salad (and sneaky GF pork pie...).

Posted 8 years ago #
Min
Member

You are number 6.

But who is number 1?

Sometimes you just have to take what you can get with regards to food. It horribly difficult to get something decent to eat when you didn't make your own.

Posted 8 years ago #
ivangrozni
Member

A particularly relevant subject right now! Clock watching - waiting for a reasonable time to run for lunch - absolutely starving!

Ashamed to say that I stuff my face with fried chicken and wedges from the hot food counter at Morrison's. More than sufficient calorific value to fuel the cycle home in the evening although I'm not sure this is doing my cholesterol levels any good! A copious amount of tea (anti-oxidants and all that) is usually how I drown my cholesterol concerns.

Posted 8 years ago #

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