This isnt really related to cycling as i have my eating habits sorted for that. I have started going to the gym twice a week doing circuit training. It tends to be either finishing at 7 or 8pm so by the time i start/finish i am not hungry. But by 10pm i am a bag of raging hunger. I cant really eat before as i will be chewing chunks all through the session.

If i eat something light i am starving by the morning and usually spoil the hard work by eating all day the next day. If i eat something filling, i end up spewing it back up at about midnight when i go to bed 🙁

Last night i had a few slices of toast and i have had the raging hunger all day today.

Anyone got any suggestions.

What time are you going to bed?

Personally you might exercising too hard and not cooling off enough.

Try a recovery shake or 2 with protein (whey isolate-easy to absorb) like Rego -Strawberry.

Take an energy drink before and during the workout.

I take a protein drink/ meal within 30 minutes to reduce catobolism and aid recovery by 10% and cause anabolic affect.

Taking nothing after a workout? I think you need to do some study as it what you out of the gym that counts too after cns stimulation in the gym.

lots of jam and honey then it's as sweet coming up as it was going down

zaskar – what do you mean 'aiding recovery by 10%?'

If you're exercising enough to make that happen you're effectively making yourself ill 🙁 I think all these techical foods are a complete con.

You can speed up healing and glycogen storage by 10-15% if you can get the proper nutrition within 30 minutes compared to leaving it longer and incorrect nutrition.

I was reading the American sport science studies when I was kid and now England is finally using them in their sports…I studied sports science and biochemisty at University so it helps to apply knowledge.

It amazes me that so many ppl are training and not know what they are doing outside the gym/off the bike.

You don't have to know all the detail but look at the basics on bike radar for the basics and you'll find you can train harder and recover faster and gain more in a shorter time.

I find rego is gentle on your stomach-cheaper than promax.

Sbarnes-if you are eating properly in the first place you will be fine but not everyone has time!

never had a problem… you must be busting it too much, how do you feel after the session, wiped out with eyes glazed or alright ?

Must admit when I used to do BMF I'd reach the point of dizzyness sometimes during the session, especially after shuttle sprints, but never had a problem afterwards I always felt fine. Never really felt especially hungry after but still eat a full cooked dinner. Your body needs repleneshing after strenuous exercise. I tend to cook chicken, chopped peppers and cous cous with vegetables. takes ten mins and is nourishing.

Keva-whats that recipe? sounds good!

there is very little clear evidence that supplements work in real world exercise and sports situations. most of the % improvement is dubious especially when compared to eating normal food. the only advantage is possibly convenience, other than that it's a waste of money

Depends on the supplement and sub cats I tend to focus on protein as I don't want to consume loads but readymade chicken in the fridge helps!

50g protein after any workout apparently. Ask Wiggins.

I have found that simply swapping round the meals that day can help. by that i mean have a normal meal for breakfast then i have my main meal at lunch time, usually a reheat of a meal form earlier in the week or week before that's been frozen then finnish work and hit the gym and have a sandwich or so in the evening. This is not performance enhansing but it gets the same amount of food into you so should prevent the rageing hunger the next day.

Thanks for the tips guys.

I go to bed about 12pm. I cant really calm myself down for at least a few hours after so no point in going to bed. I cant really get food into me before as i leave work at about 5-6pm and its not enough time to eat something and digest it before exercise.

In terms of over training. Well its just different imo. Yes i am tired and last night i couldnt even wash my hair in the bath because my arms were so tired, but next day i feel great (Physically) so i dont believe i am over training. I just need to get the balance of food before and after sorted. Oh, and even though i am drinking all the way through the exercise and after i find i am extremely dehydrated. It takes at least an hour or so after for me to get enough fluids back in to be able to remove my contact lenses as they dry up on my eyes. Have had a few uncomfortable nights trying to remove them 🙁

I was hoping for some tips on foods that are quickly digested for before exercise or suggestions for foods that will not come up so easily after exercise. The spicy dominos pizza was a major mistake that i will never be repeating.

I have avoided the rego stuff but if its a case of drinking sis whilst i exercise and rego after then i will try that.

Rusty, thats something i have tried as well. Trouble is i am quite a big eater. I will still be hungry come 10pm wether i eat a big lunch or not. Its just the way i am.

I have also tried drinking so much water to try to dampen the hunger, but i just end up peeing every 5mins through the night and waking up hungry the next day.

See what works on your stomach and tastes good.

Otherwise Plain chicken breast is easy to digest but I wouldn't want to eat loads before bed but I do have a protein shake 2hrs before bed as Growth hormone is sky high at night and will make use of the protein.

I would suggest a good warm down-stabilises the stress hormones that give you the workout-but if they are still high-keeps you alert, knackered and acts on the muscle fibre types on your stomach.

10-15 mins cool down. Then get a protein shake recovery into you before you shower and by the time you've walked around, had a shower got home it will aid to digest it and stop you feeling bloated.

Investigate what works for you as we're all different.

Ask the gym instructors or even a sports nutritionist to give you pointers and add to knowledge in/out of the gym.

Train like a nutter but not dangerously!

I think that the recovery 'shake' seems to be the common suggestion. Will buy some today with some SIS GO for when exercising.

I dont think its anything to do with the level of training. If anything i come away thinking i should be doing more. Its the fact that i cant get the food i do eat after to digest properly before i go to bed. It sits there in my stomach and after a few hours it makes a comeback.

i couldnt even wash my hair in the bath because my arms were so tired

listen to yourself, that's crazy!

I think that the recovery 'shake' seems to be the common suggestion.

For me, 30g-50g whey protein mixed with 300ml fruit juice & 200ml water consumed within 20 mins of ceasing exercise seems to make a big difference to the way my muscles feel the next day.

Will buy some today with some SIS GO for when exercising.

Hardly needed for circuit training. You carry enough glycogen in your blood for a good 90 minutes of hard exercise, so taking on extra sugar is not needed.

What do you eat for breakfast the day after an evening of heavy exercise? I tend to find that if I bulk up my brekkie (larger portion of porridge with more milk), this seems to slow the hunger.

A pint of milk with High5 Protein Recovery really helps. If I train late in the day I tend to just graze on apples, bananas, nuts and raisins, yoghurt, etc.

Training after a day at work, you need to make sure you have a decent snack about 3 or 4pm and drink plenty of fluids.

"Trying to be good" in terms of calorie intake is nearly always counter-productive. If you just eat toast you are just delaying recovery until the next day, and reducing the benefits of the training. Quit worrying about calorie intake, but restrict yourself to really good quality fresh food, and eat as much as you want.

simonfbarnes – Member

i couldnt even wash my hair in the bath because my arms were so tired

listen to yourself, that's crazy!

In what way?

I am out of shape at the moment and want to get back into shape. I am exercising to do that but its nothing i havent experienced before. I have seen me with jelly legs after a long ride or football training. Last nights circuits were based heavily around upper body and i ended up with 'jelly' arms. No different and absolutely no pain at the time or today. Probably increased by the fact i was in a red hot bath (I got in after the wife and she has the water waaay too hot) and it makes me lethargic. Do you never exercise to that point? It can feel extremely good.

Tried the grazing thing Shandy. 2 bananas, a box of raisens and whatever other nibbles i can get my hands on and i am Hank Marvin by 10pm. Best one i had was the ham & leak risotto i cooked at 10pm but i felt like i had defeated the point in exercising by eating so much.

It kind of depends what you are trying to achieve, but why would you feel bad about eating risotto?!

If you are looking to lose weight and want to calorie-control your diet then you are always going to struggle with tiredness/hunger/poor recovery. If you stay disciplined the weight will come off, but it can be very draining mentally. Its also frustrating being tired for training.

If you are training for fitness/strength/endurance you need to get over the hang-up about eating. If you train hard, have a recovery shake and a decent meal like risotto, you have had a good day and you should be pleased with it. Your metabolism will get a boost, you will recover quicker, you will gain more strength, endurance etc. Most importantly, you will feel like training hard again, sooner. You won't drop weight as quickly but you will get significantly fitter and learn to eat in proportion with the fuel you are using up.

Do you never exercise to that point? It can feel extremely good.

No. Way.

I just ride for fun. Exercise is well boring.

A pint of milk with High5 Protein Recovery really helps.

Isn't there a view that the protein in milk (casein) slows down the uptake of whey protein just when you need quick absorption?

If I drink milk, it's before bed as a means of topping up my protein intake for the day.

Whey protein is a popular commercial product not because it has any particular nutritional benefit but because it is available cheaply in large quantities as a by product of cheese production.

There are absolutely no non-medical conditions where a 'sports supplement' will be of any extra value than 'proper food'.

You may well find one or the other tastier/easier to carry/more convenient etc and the perceived benefit of dedicated sports products is not to be ignored.

Eating a balanced diet with a high carb/low GI basis is the best way to maintain energy levels.
Meals should ideally be high calorie in the morning and taper to low calorie in the evening, before exercise try some carb rich food like cereal bars and afterwards have a low fat milk based drink……

Isn't there a view that the protein in milk (casein) slows down the uptake of whey protein just when you need quick absorption?

a curious statement given that whey is part of mik…

a curious statement given that whey is part of mik…

It was a question, dear chap.

Zaskar is the one holding himself out as an expert – I'm just an uninformed consumer relying on hearsay and witchcraft.

My simple analysis is that if I consume no specific "extra" protein immediately after a hard ride, my legs ache more the next day (all other things being as equal as i can make them) than if i had gone for whey powder or milk, with whey powder seeming to have the most positive effect.

Since it's all done on "how I feel", rather than anything deliberately measured, I can onl;y rely on "how I feel" to determine whether anything I do or don't do is beneficial (for example, if I don't expect to ride hard the next day, does having legs that ache more than they might make any other difference to me? No.).

Since it's all done on "how I feel", rather than anything deliberately measured

so long as you realise there's a huge margin for error when you 'experiment' on yourself 🙂

I'm sure a proper square meal is much more beneficial than a protein shake alone but sometimes you don't have access to good food quick enough. Having a protein shake within 30 minutes of finishing training really seems to reduce soreness, it also stops me getting the munchies and necking anything I can lay my hands on, so it improves my diet overall.

Have you thought about asking a doctor? I've pushed myself to the point of exhaustion on more than one occasion and not any problem stuffing down food afterwards, and I've certainly never been sick during or after intensive exercise.

Vomiting is IMHO quite a serious problem, though perhaps it's psychosomatic in your case.

+1 for eating staright after excersise. Your body is much more effiecient at turning it into usefull stuff.

Your body is much more effiecient at turning it into usefull stuff.

if you believe in magic 🙂

Thanks for the advice guys.

This is kind of what i wanted to hear

I'm sure a proper square meal is much more beneficial than a protein shake alone but sometimes you don't have access to good food quick enough. Having a protein shake within 30 minutes of finishing training really seems to reduce soreness, it also stops me getting the munchies and necking anything I can lay my hands on, so it improves my diet overall.

The comments on actually being sick. Well i put that down to the fact i dont eat untill i have got home, bathed and then settled down which can be up to 1hr after exercise. By which time its 9pm and i havent digested the food by 12pm so it sits on my already stressed stomach. I am gonna try the cereal bars before and protien drink with the nibbles after and see if that works. Shouldnt be as heavy on my stomach.

Again, thanks for helping

so it sits on my already stressed stomach.

stressed ? Perhaps that's what you need to address ?

Stressed/exercised

Stressed/exercised

overexercised ? I always feel deeply chilled afterwards…

You seem like a guy with a lot of time simon. Maybe you can spread your exercise out over a few rides per week. Some of us dont have many oppertunities throughout the week to get more than a couple of hours to attempt to improve our fitness. Ok i accepts i am trying to make the most of the 1hr i get. Sorry.

ignore barnes, he's clearing doing a TJ

I know what he's doing

I do wonder by people ask forumites for medical advice.

I didnt. I was asking what kind of foods people managed to eat before/after exercise. I explained that it wasnt really biking related but i deemed the fact that biking is exercise it may be relevant. If i wanted medical advice i would have gone to the doctors.