Anyone got any thoughts on whether it is better, in terms of trying to lose some weight, to do my morning commute (11miles/45ish mins) on an empty stomach and then eat when I get to work, or to fuel up with some carbs before I leave the house?

I’ve heard conflicting theories. Some suggest you need calories to kick things off and to make sure you exercise hard enough. Others suggest exercising on empty gets you burning fat faster.

e.g.

If you’re exercising within an hour after you wake up, eat around 200-300 calories.
— http://exercise.about.com/cs/nutrition/a/exandnutrition.htm

If your goal is to lose weight, exercising on an empty stomach may help.
— http://www.livestrong.com/article/396780-should-you-eat-before-or-after-exercise-to-lose-weight/

What sayeth the hive?

what you eat is way more important than when you eat.

pro tip: almost everything written on the livestrong.com site is complete bollocks

I’m going to stick my neck out and say Yes

The calories in>out brigade will say it doesn’t matter.

People who believe in hormones and the endocrine system will say it does.

My take is that taking in carbs/sugar will make your body burn those first. Not eating will make your body use stored fuel, which will mainly be fat.

I am not a doctor, but I am skinny and I don’t eat breakfast before big bike rides.

I ride to work (7 miles) on an empty stomach and eat when I get there.
partly because I read that it teaches your body to burn fats and partly because there’s more choice of breakfast at work.

well surely from a recovery point of view you really want to eat something when you get to work ?

I find i need to have “something” in my gut before i go or i end up getting really cold really quickly and the energy drains from me.

usually a cup of strong coffee & a yogurt or a banana

then breakfast at the office

Never eat before my 15 mile commute, exercise and a full stomach doesn’t work for me, will drink though.

what you eat is way more important than when you eat.

I log my food/exercise and monitor my calories/macros via http://www.myfitnesspal.com

But I don’t particularly eat “healthily” – breakfast at work is usually a sausage and egg roll (for carb and protein, but mainly taste).

pro tip: almost everything written on the livestrong.com site is complete bollocks

I noticed a distinct lack of tips on doping 😀

Even some of the Livestrong articles that cite proper papers seem to contradict themselves – this one cites a study where men exercising before breakfast dealt with a high fat diet better, but then cites a different study where a carby but low-GI breakfast before exercise “actually increased beneficial fat burning activity during exercise”.

Confused!

Pre-ride breakfast is usually…

But I’ve recently packed in smoking, so I’ve effectively reduced my calorie intake by half. That’s how it works isn’t it?

“Event some of the Livestrong articles that cite proper papers seem to contradict themselves – this one cites a study where men exercising before breakfast dealt with a high fat diet better, but then cites a different study where a carby but low-GI breakfast before exercise “actually increased beneficial fat burning activity during exercise”.”

cant see the contradiction there – looks to me like the desired outcomes are different.

i treat papers with suspision having seen the process behind them , its possible to make the data say what you want in almost all respects – guess it depends whos funding it.

Haven’t commuted for 8 years now; but I would expire if I tried to commute on an empty stomach to be honest.

Breakfast has usually been the usual suspects – porridge, juice, coffee and toast – and I reckon that way you can control what you have, and set up the fuel for the commute. Otherwise it’d be tempting to arrive and pile a bit extra cereal and snack bar on your plate when you get to work.. Especially the porridge bit, would have the effect (I would have thought) of filling you up for a decent period so the risk of topping up when you get to work is small. Of course you may not like porridge :}

I am not a nutritionist though 🙂

17mile commute and never eat before it, i simply can’t face eating food at that time of the morning and at that state of awakeness.

Eat when i arrive at work, usually anything that isn’t nailed down. which at the moment happens to be a pile of rock. nice sugar rush to start the day.

I’m skinny and I eat like a horse before after and during rides

HTH 🙂

My current routine is ride on almost empty.

I usually have an espresso (to wake me up) and a pint of no-sugar orange squash (for hydration) then hit the trail. Breakfast at work is usually a sausage and egg roll (488kcal by my reckoning), 500ml bottle of flavoured water (5 kcal), and a pint of coffee (0 kcal) 😀 (not you Callum, the other type of kcals 😉 )

I have tried doing it the other way. e.g. a bowl of porridge with sultanas before I head out, or maybe a brioche and a banana.

That worked okay too – but meant a bigger gap till lunchtime and me chewing on a mousemat.

I’m skinny and I eat like a horse before after and during rides

Hay and sugar lumps?

I ate after. But that was cos they had sausage and bacon sandwishes, it was a big long climb, so i was always going to eat after it… resistance was useless…

Strong coffee, no breky and go at the morning commute like a mad man. Then plenty of fluids at work and a good feed. Cafine fueled morning rides will burn the fat. May not work for you but works for me just fine.

Why don’t you just test strategy A for a month, then test strategy B for the month? Then you will know if A or B works best, or whether it makes no difference.
Probably more effective than several pages of STW expert advice on diet.

see id ditch the sausage and egg roll for a soft boiled egg and a slice of whole meal toast but thats just me.

current breakfast of choice is all bran and natural yogurt

i do the bacon and black pud roll from the canteen as a treat on a friday.

your sausage and egg roll will be almost calorie neutral with your ride – hardly an ideal situation really ?

so really it is a case of move more eat less ….

I knew my username would come in handy eventually 🙂

My personal preference is to eat both before and after, I have a packet of oats so simple first thing in the morning before exercising, then a bowl of home made muesli when I get to work.

Doing anything else leaves me without energy for whatever exercise I am doing, or leaves me hungry through the morning and therefore more likely to snack. Although I tend to run or swim in the morning, I wouldn’t be so fussed if I was cycling to work, its a fairly easy 7.5km bimble along fireroads.

12 mile morning commute here, coffee before and brekkie when I get to work. Eating an hour or so later just makes me less prone to snacking through the morning.
Seems to make bugger all difference to my weight though.

the main mechanism for fat storage
-blood sugar goes high
-body releases insulin
-stores as fat

If you want to lose weight quickly then follow a diabetics diet, eat as much as you like, you will still lose weight.

When you eat non processed fat the body doesn’t need to store it and it doesn’t. You don’t gain weight.

Eat when you feel you need to but eat far less carbs.
Google ‘what if its been a big fat lie?’

But I don’t particularly eat “healthily” – breakfast at work is usually a sausage and egg roll (for carb and protein, but mainly taste).

Nothing wrong with (quality) sausages and (free range) eggs – although I suspect that’s not what you’re having 😆 It’s the roll that’s completely unnecessary – you’re not going to deplete you glycogen reserves during an 11 mile commute. If you do need carbs then IMO there are far better sources: white rice, (sweet) potatoes, beans/lentils/etc

As someone mentioned earlier, high fat meals are better for fat loss because they are less insulogenic and therefore promote fat-burning rather than fat storage. Carbs are still important, of course, but how much depends on the individual and your level of activity (and will no doubt need some personal experimentation).

FWIW I usually skip breakfast and don’t eat until lunch.

what is non-processed fat? what is processed fat?

see id ditch the sausage and egg roll for a soft boiled egg and a slice of whole meal toast but thats just me.

Good god man. Would that keep you going till lunch??
I’m just about to go for lunch and feel shaky as it is 😕

your sausage and egg roll will be almost calorie neutral with your ride – hardly an ideal situation really ?

Hmm.. I thought that was ideal? 😳 Not sure I’d want to spend the whole morning with a calorie deficit.

My MFP calorie goal is 1920kcals a day. (I’m 188cm and 92kgs).
I usually award myself another 450kcals each way for the commute (overruling the 750-odd that MFP reckons I earn).

I rarely eat all my calories on a commute day.

I’d suggest you need to reduce your calorie goal.
2,000 calories is a normal intake.

“Not sure I’d want to spend the whole morning with a calorie deficit.”

not sure you’ll lose any weight then.

you eat lunch late.

i get up at 5.30 , ride at 6.20 – get to work about 7.30 , shower , eat breakfast about 8.30 a banana or apple the back of 10 and lunch at 12. Peanut butter sarnie the back of 3 and ride home at 4.30

I’d suggest you need to reduce your calorie goal.
2,000 calories is a normal intake.

For who? he already stated he is above average height and weight.

also its not all about calories , yes its a guide but the types of food we eat are more important than the calories.

I’d suggest you need to reduce your calorie goal.
2,000 calories is a normal intake.

Hmm… by how much do you reckon?

1920 was the recommended value that MFP set, for me to lose about 1lb a week. I’ve lost around 15 lbs since starting it in June so that seems about right?

My macros are also set at the values MFP recommended:
55% Carb / 30% Fat / 15% Protein

I’m loathe to change too much as it seems to be working so far.

eat when I get to work so that I get paid to eat

Ridign on an an empty stomach ****s up my blood sugar levels and leads to binging afterwards. NOt good, for me.

you eat lunch late.
i get up at 5.30 , ride at 6.20 – get to work about 7.30 , shower , eat breakfast about 8.30 a banana or apple the back of 10 and lunch at 12. Peanut butter sarnie the back of 3 and ride home at 4.30

Blimey! My day is a bit later.

I’m awake around 6:30, shower, get toddler ready, coffee, out the door 8ish, arrive at work 9ish, breakfast, lunch at 1ish, head home about 6, home at 7, eat, get toddler ready for bed, hour of tv/reading, go to bed.

I just have some porridge before i cycle in (13 miles), otherwise i’m restricted to unhealthy breakfast options.

I eat after.

If I eat before I will still eat afterwards.
Have a mug of tea or squash before you set off instead.

i think food type is more important than timing.

in an ideal world, black coffee, ride in, quality breakfast.

in reality, porridge, ride, work – as the alternative is to get breakfast from the shop, so haribo or an overpriced sandwich

When you eat, insulin is released into the blood stream. If you consume something which is high GI, or has a high glycemic load. Then more insulin is released than if you eat something with a low GI value. Higher insulin levels will take longer to return to normal. I’ve read that while there are elevated insulin levels in the blood, the fat cells will not release fats into the blood stream (thats the basic description).

Your body is usually burning a bit of carbohydrate and fat, but depending on intensity of the activity and what you have consumed. The amounts of carbs and fats being used for energy will change.

I commute on a glass or two of water. Therefore, so long as I keep my pace at easy to moderate. My body will use its glycogen stores and fats to provide energy for movement. If I got dehydrated during the ride, or if my commute was further. I’d take a water bottle as I do for my longer weekend and evening rides.

At the moment I do not take breakfast, but if I did, it would be something like eggs, meat, etc. I don’t want to induce a higher insulin response after the commute as I still want my body to run on as much fat as possible.

If you’re one of those people who can only ride at maximum, then I’d suggest some carbs for your WR attempt for getting to work.
😉

If you’re one of those people who can only ride at maximum, then I’d suggest some carbs for your WR attempt for getting to work.

Pffffffffffffttt.. I think you missed the bit where I said an 11 mile commute took me 45 to 50 minutes! I’m not exactly Wiggo here 😀

“If you’re one of those people who can only ride at maximum, then I’d suggest some carbs for your WR attempt for getting to work.”

waving 😀 – thats me ….