Riding before work for fitness and weight loss (only about 1/2 stone i hasten to add)

Do i eat before riding? At the moment – out of bed, dress, ride, protein shake and porridge

Porridge, oj, ride then poo. Job done. Would imagine that riding without breky would make you loose the pounds quicker but can't be too healthy.

I don't / haven't and I've lost a fair bit of weight since I started commuting by bike. It's get up, 15+ miles followed by shake. Then porridge a couple of hours later. I think you'd be better off looking more closely at the type of riding you're doing and trying to optimize that for weight loss. I'm sure the STW 'experts' can offer decent advice on that = something like 60-70% of max output for an hour is best (can;t remember exactly)

But then I'm up and out the door by 4:30am so don't really have a lot of time for digesting before I ride and dont think I could do any distance on a full stomach.

(Apparently caffeine before riding aids weight loss – don't have time for it personally though)

You are better off eating after your exercise…30 or 40 minutes later. If you want to use a protein recovery shake do it immediately once you're off the bike, not before.

You must eat something soon after waking otherwise you're running on empty and risking heart problems.

You must eat something soon after waking otherwise you're running on empty and risking heart problems.

😯

I used to have a banana and a drink, then ride, then porridge and morning snacks for energy if needed.

When I'm looking to shift a few pounds, then yes, I do the coffee-and-out-the-door thing and have brekky at work. This does work, to a point – I do lose weight, but don't really have the energy to ride very hard on the morning commute (it's about 15 miles each way).

As a general rule, I'll have tea, OJ and cereal within 15 mins of heading out the door. Don't seem to have a problem keeping it down even though there are three 'big' (well, at 6:30 they're big!) climbs in the first first 15 mins and defo have more energy.

You must eat something soon after waking otherwise you're running on empty and risking heart problems.
Double 😯 !

Get up, ride to work, have breakfast and a cup of tea while the PC fires up and I start working, get changed after half an hour or so when I;ve cooled down.

Have been commuting for 12 months or so, lost 2" off my waistline and about a stone off my weight within the first there months. It's usually considered better to eat soon after exercise rather than before, but I supose it depends how long your commute is – mine is 6 miles, so I can do that without eating first, if yours is 20 you may need to fuel up.

I can't cope with anything in a morning until I've had my 3 Weetabix with muesli. Then I eat something after riding into work as well. Then 11ses usually keep me going until lunchtime (full meal in the works canteen).

😉

Water, Porridge then ride…HARD!

Come on fatty, move it 😉

"Skipping breakfast may do more than cut time and calories from the morning routine. People who shun breakfast, compared with those who enjoy a hearty repast, may spend their mornings at higher risk of heart problems, including heart attacks"

Loads of info online. Google it if you don't believe me 😉

that's completely different to what you said previously though. I have a hearty repast, just after a ride rather than the second I get up. 🙂
You're also only 'running on empty' if you've completely depleted your glycogen stores overnight, which is unlikely.

who enjoy a hearty repast

That might gives you a clue 😉

I'd eat before unless it's say an hour's ride or less. If you want to lose weight I'd be looking at doing so more sensibly than riding before breakfast – look at your overall diet/calory intake. 7lb ain't much and if you're older may be harder to shift (I'm certainly not bothered about mine!)

You are better off eating after your exercise…30 or 40 minutes later. If you want to use a protein recovery shake do it immediately once you're off the bike, not before.

WTF?

All articles I have read state that recovery is better (in that glycogen is taken up by muscles) if you eat ASAP after finishing exercise.

simon1975 – Member

"Skipping breakfast may do more than cut time and calories from the morning routine. People who shun breakfast, compared with those who enjoy a hearty repast, may spend their mornings at higher risk of heart problems, including heart attacks"

Loads of info online. Google it if you don't believe me

I am not skipping breakie just having it after a quick road blast pre work. So today was up at 5:45 and out straight away, home at 6:45 – protein shake then a shower, porridge and coffee at 7am – done.

scotts oats yummy, best b 4 any wk out

IMO I'd recommend you at least eat something and let it digest (say 30mins or so) before heading out, e.g. banana, oats, toast. Then have another chomp within 30-45mins of finishing. Depends on the distance/time though.

IME, I have to eat before any kind of biking. I'm also a "breakfast person" therefore inclined to eat anyway.

If you want to burn some calories then vary your home-leg by making it longer and/or adding interval sessions (sprints).

depends did i get up late or on time…feel it if I have not eaten though

The heart thing is that your platelets are stickier. Eating appears to reduce their stickiness. I guess most of us dont have clogged arteries but who knows

It now appears that platelet stickiness is lowest during the night and climbs to its highest levels in the morning. In healthy individuals, this may not pose a problem. However, in someone whose arteries are narrowed by atherosclerosis, the clumping of platelets could very well trigger an early morning heart attack.

.

1/2 glass of prune juice + cod liver oil tablet.
1 weetabix + 5 prunes + SS milk.
1 glass of orange juice.

12 miles commute into work leaving the house at 06.15.

banana at 08.15 with lots of water.

works for me 😀

Before I ride to work I don't tend to eat. But then I fuel up on coffee and cereal when I get into the office.

I run most mornings
up @ 6, out the door by five past, breakfast when I return around 7

Works well for me, I couldn't run on a full stomach & I don't have the time to wait

I've heard that if you don't eat breakfast your body goes into 'starvation' mode and won't burn fat as much as if you have something. I usually have a wee bowl of porridge (microwave portion to save time) just to 'break my fast' then something more substantial when I get to work.

lol

Or…… 6 pints of Guinness, curry, bed. Up, cup of tea, glass of water then out on the Sunday morning Inverness roadie "chain gang" it certainly shifts something. From both ends!

1 weetabix + 5 prunes + SS milk.

I use geared milk on my Weetabix…

My coat? Why thank you…

I never do, it just makes me feel ill if I eat and jump on the bike, even though my commute these days is pretty short and low intensity. I just drink black coffee until lunchtime around 12.30.

yer it is call break fast for the reason – have something to eat – bit of porridge and some juice

don't do a bacon sarnie though as they take a bit of effort for your stomach to deal with

LOL at Crazy legs – good spot!

You must eat something soon after waking otherwise you're running on empty and risking heart problems.

Is that really true? Just that pretty much everyone I've known who swims hard does it early before breakfast, as that's the usually the best time to pool swim.

I eat breakfast proper before riding to work, but then often have some milk or something once I get in (it is about 16 hilly miles), so I'd be in both the before and after camps.

I think whether you need to eat before is a matter of how long and how hard you exercise. If it's just a 45 minutes of easy riding on the flat, then I would be fine on an empty stomach, whereas an hour of hilly riding (or of riding very fast on the flat), I'd want something inside me.

Really though, what you need to do on this is listen to your body – if during exercise, you find yourself feeling weak and feeble suddenly because you run out of energy, that is your body telling you that it might make sense to eat something beforehand. The same afterwards – if you feel broken after rides, maybe your body needs something in afterwards too. Similarly, if you find you feel like vomiting on a post-breakfast ride, then eat less before the ride and more after or during it.

Joe