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not resolvedI am suffering somewhat these days from hunger attacks at about 9am. As a result of which I east my lunch inappropriately early. These attacks seem to be periodic - some weeks I am okay.
I am cycling quite a bit these days but have put on rather than lost weight.
Any tips?
Muesli or porridge for breakfast
Piece of fruit and a wee handful of nuts mid-morning if you're struggling.
Drink plenty of water and/or tea
"Muesli or porridge for breakfast"
+1 to this.
I tend to find that plenty of excercise the day before leads to your body repairing itself overnight, which in turn means that by the next morning you are seriously lacking in blood sugar - and this manifests itself as the munchies by the time you sit at your desk. I used to get exactly the same thing, and have found that a big bowl of porridge with a teaspoon of honey keeps me happy until lunch.
I really CANNOT understate the effectiveness of porridge in this situation!
If you are concerned about putting on weight, can I suggest a body fat monitor (about £5 - £10 from a chemist), as you may note that as your muscle builds your core fat (the really nasty stuff sticking to your organs) drops, but no weight is lost.
Remember that it's not just about what the scales say - it's about how you feel about yourself, and cycling only affects that one way...
(Although if you ABSOLUTELY want to see the scales move, the biggest difference you can make is to cut out the booze. Sorry.)
I eat huge amounts of muesli in the morning. But that is at 6.30am. Then I have a ride of about an hour or more. I think if I continued to cycle I wouldn't feel quite so hungry but I have to sit at a desk.
Thanks both - must get a battery for our body fat monitor.
Amir have you tried having a smaller snack at 6.30, then Muesli after your cycle? I have a banana before I head to work (40 mins or so), then cereal at my desk.
Your Strava stats show you burned 635 Kcals this morning. A bowl of porridge with milk and a table-spoon of syrup is only 450 Kcals. If you're burning 50-150 Kcals per hour working at a desk it's not surprising that you're hungry.
However you could embrace the hunger - it's supposed to be good for you.
I usually ate my lunch hours before lunch-time when I cycled to work.
Bring out a minty version, call them Mintola and then rebrand as Mint Munchies… ahhhh problem there… further rebrand as cuboid After Eights.
And yes, porridge all the way. None of that fancy pants stuff with flavours and sugar on it. I like Scott's lumpy variety but any porridge is good. Three mins zapped in the microwave, three mins sitting time. Scoff.
Phew - nobody has suggested tape over mouth yet
"However you could embrace the hunger - it's supposed to be good for you."
Yes: I was a bit surprised that no-one mentioned Horizon yesterday.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-19112549
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01lxyzc
New thread?
I have reached a valley with my weight drop. I don't drink so thats no a problem, or something I can cut out. I can only think I'm burning fat and replacing with muscle but my waist disagrees.
Thanks for the info on how much energy we burn at the desk Tom, I didn't know that.
Cycling after eating makes me want to puke so I do my ride in the morning with just coffee or water (maybe a banana if I'm riding all the way from Fife) and have breakfast at work - around 7.30am so it's about 11am before lunch gets eaten. Generally after that I'm fine.
I assume you're also watching total calories? Over time cycling becomes less good at burning calories as you get fitter. When I started last October I was using around 60 calories / mile but now it's only about 40/mile. The run in used to get me 700 calories and now it's only 500. Between that and losing weight, the number of calories I need to eat to continue losing weight has dropped by about 1000 a day.
If you're watching the totals and putting on weight, you're maybe just building legs. Ignore weight and measure your waist and chest.
You need a second breakfast. If I am doing more than an hour exercise after breakfast, I have second breakfast. Banana and a chocolate milkshake are good. It might look like extra calories but if you have had your lunch by 9, what else are you eating through the day to catch up?
amir: "Phew - nobody has suggested tape over mouth yet"
Or staple your lips together and ask a colleague to hide the staple removers until lunch-time.
I tried a 600 kcalorie day yesterday. I was working from home. I didn't cycle anywhere, just took the dog for a walk. It was actually quite easy. I felt a bit light-headed and it was difficult to get to sleep but that was all. I wouldn't like to try it when cycling for a couple of hours. Hunger knock is horrible.
It's maybe also worth adding that calorie estimates that don't come from something connected to your heart are often woeful. An estimate based on averages for a person of your weight travelling at that speed will generally be too high. When I don't wear the chest strap for my Garmin, its estimates of calorie expenditure are approximately double what it calculates based on my heart rate.
Strava doesn't seem so bad but still over-estimates. My run into work yesterday was recorded as 380 calories on the Garmin but Strava estimated it as 442 - 16% too high.
I realise it won't help with the hunger question but if you're using Strava's estimates and eating those calories, that might part of the slowing of weight loss.
Funny I find Strava massively under what my HRM suggests.
"what else are you eating through the day to catch up? "
Not saying !
Some more anecdotal evidence from me!
Pro : I can drop an inch off the waist in about 1-2weeks by doing around about 20 miles high intensity a day and at least one core strength session every 2 days.
Con: I have to massively change *some of my habits* - No beer (sorry - but this generally constitutes a massive portion of calories per day), big breakfast (after exercise) smaller lunch, salad/veg and protein dinner.
I don't lose weight but fat, waistline strips off stupid fast.
The main thing is to restructure your food intake to reflect the exercise you have done. I did 1 hour of intensive exercise this morning based on a bowl of cous cous I had last night - felt fine. It's all less about thinking for 1/2/3 meals per day and more about eating what you need.
Must admit too I really enjoy my light dinners now. Get to be creative!
Plus hate to say it but I also use a protein/carb drink for directly post training - it's around 300kcal and 30g/protein and it really works for stopping me craving food and stops me needing to buy so much food if I'm training away from my kitchen!
*NOTE I realise that this is more for training rather than just daily commuting - but might be something that works for amir there!
**NOTE 2 - I also swap whisky in for beer sometimes- only have maybe 2-3 whereas I'd have had 4 beers. (difference is 150kcal to 1000Kcal)
I haven't seriously been following my calories. I am alway paranoid about the weight going on my waist since that is how my body type works. I must monitor my waist measurement (can be difficult) and body fat.
I am a little sceptical about having putting large amounts of muscle on since I have been cycling for some years now, though the mileage is still creeping up.
"chocolate milkshake"
That may be a good idea - protein can stave off hunger, no? And you can get low cal versions.
"Plus hate to say it but I also use a protein/carb drink for directly post training - it's around 300kcal and 30g/protein and it really works for stopping me craving food and stops me needing to buy so much food if I'm training away from my kitchen!"
Aha - cross-post!
Just go full hobbit and have breakfast, second breakfast, elevenses, pre-lunch, brunch, lunch, second lunch... That should sort you out!
Be careful about the "milk" in the milkshake - Milk = fat unless you've just rode a huge amount. Then it's a good recovery and rehydration drink. Too much milk = waistline.
I measure this using the "belt hole test". I put a new hole in my belt a few months ago. Need another one now.
"
I put a new hole in my belt a few months ago. Need another one now.
"
Been doing that for years - every time the belt has stretched enough...
In defence of milk it also = protien and sugar!
A 200ml bottle of Yazoo will give you 140 calories. Don't get hung up on the terror of FAT just because milk has a bit in it.
That may be a good idea - protein can stave off hunger, no? And you can get low cal versions.
Yes it can! I have just discovered the joys of the protein shake having previously thought they were for gym nuts only. Wish I had discovered them sooner, they really prevent the bonk on my runs home from work.
Though I do feel like a muppet buying the jars of powder in the shop..
I had a chalky experience with the early protein shakes, so instead adopted the hobbit diet as described by Kaputnik.
I'd be amazed if they aren't much more palatable now.
@Min - Yeah I still get that too. Especially as I have to be really specific about types of protein as Whey really screws up my guts.
@chdot - You have to put a new hole in your belt every month? I've been wearing that belt every other day for 2 years before I had to put a hole in it after training properly (without booze) for the first time.
@Uberuce - for sure - strawberry FTW. Until you get a big chunk after not shaking it enough then it's BLEURGH.
Presumably the protein shakes are very low in Carb calories?
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