beezaur

I bike 18 mi to a class and then another 25 on my way home, which is about 2.5 hrs of ride time. If I don't eat enough I get so wiped out the entire rest of my day is pretty much ruined.

I bake huge batches of low-fat oatmeal cookies for energy and usually take a quart of milk (protein source) with me to eat at school. That keeps me going for a fairly low cost.

What do you guys do for the extra calories you burn commuting?

erileykc

Fage greek yogurt with frozen blueberries, a teaspoon of blueberry preserves all mixed together & topped with food co-op granola! OK, so I'm a hippie it still tastes mighty fine. It's my favorite breakfast after some very memorable scones that I'll never have again.

Chalupa102

For breakfast I have a bagel with egg and cheese, oatmeal, V8 Splash, and a banana. As soon I get to the college (~20 miles one-way), I have 1/2 cup of mountain trail mix. I usually drink warm apple cider during the ride in.

For Tuesday and Thursdays, I have a granola bar and a box of raisins after my first class about 2.5 hours before lunch. On MWF when I get to go in later, I usually eat the granola bar before I leave to school.

For lunch I mainly take leftovers. Depending how many carbs are in the meal, I'll take a bag of pretzels. If there aren't any leftovers in the frige, then I'll make myself 2 peanut butter sandwiches. I always take greek yogurt and an apple for lunch.

Monday I have a late class, so before I leave I'll eat an orange and crackers. For the other days, I leave pretty much an hour after lunch. On the ride home (~20 miles one-way), I always eat a small granola bar about 1/2 way.

As soon as I get home on my earlier days, I have an orange, a cheese stick, and sometimes some chips and other things depending how hungry I am.

paperbackbiker

Funny subject for me. Yesterday I tell my wife the very same thing and she says, "So the $$ we're saving on gas is going to filling your tank?" Kinda true. But I find leaving food around is the best policy. Today for lunch (at work): spinach salad, burrito with meet sauce, two bananas, one yogurt, and two granola bars.

91MF

the most effective natural food way to get carbs into you during your ride is to eat raisins. couple handfuls of raisins in the jersey pocket goes a long way.

ObjectAgnosia

Heavy cereal in the AM (something with a lot of whole grains and nuts, not cheerios or the like). When I get to work I have a small snack (yogurt or granola bar) For lunch I pack a sandwich with the works. About an hour before I head home I eat a peanut butter sandwich. I drink a lot of water throughout my work day too. When I get home I have a snack with some protein in it, nuts, yogurt, or crackers and hummus. My gas money is going to fuel for my body, but it tastes so much better that way. I find I have more energy in the evening if I eat a lot of healthy snacks throughout the day.

Chilidawg

She should be thrilled. You're keeping fit, lowering your carbon footprint, and you'll be around a lot longer.

ItsJustMe

Nothing. My normal commute is 11 miles but I've been intentionally stretching it to 15 to 17 lately. I get up at 6:10, get in to work around 7:30, and generally eat breakfast between 9:30 and 11:00, then lunch around 2PM or so, ride about the same distance back, and have a light dinner, usually just a fish or chicken sandwich or something.

I used to be wiped before I got in shape, and especially when I was still drinking soda with HFCS; I found that after switching to a diet soda and therefore losing the HFCS, I no longer have massive blood sugar crashes that leave me wiped out and useless and shaking. I can eat or not, whatever.

bhop

I eat after I ride. Sometimes a bowl of oatmeal because it's easy, sometimes I get a McDonalds breakfast combo.. just depends how I feel. That's the mornings.. in the afternoon I have a cup of coffee about an hour before quittin' time and that's about it.. dinner when I get home and my day is complete.

MVclyde

11 miles one way for me. I eat breakfast after I shower and change. Usually oatmeal and coffee. For the pm commute, I'll sometimes grab a snack about an hour before I leave depending on how I feel.

I_like_cereal

10 miles one way up hill.
5am wake
Bowl of Granola or whole grain cereal with skim milk
shower
3 egg whites, salsa, cheese, OJ, toast with butter, coffee, banana
Plain Greek yogurt with Optimum Nutrition Protein and oatmeal (1 cup non-instant) or Protein shake with frozen fruit, skim milk, and 1 cup ground oatmeal.
Leave at 7 a.m.
Arrive at work 7:45
8:00 Eat Oatmeal plain with a little sugar
10:00 Small snack lately its been 3 hard boiled egg whites with 1 ounce of cheese and fruit
Lunch leftovers
3:00 small snack today is a roast turkey wrap on whole grain tortilla with mozz cheese and a granola bar, however the granola bar will probably be eaten around 4:30 before I leave.

Lots of water at least .75 gallons a day.

I have a really high metabolic rate and eating like this tends to make it higher, plus riding makes me hungry. I burn about 1000 calories to and from work and I need a minimum of 3000 for the day. I basically burn my breakfast off on the ride and have to start over at work. Dinner is scarf time.

ItsJustMe

Cereal: wow, that's a ton of food. Way more food than I eat, more water too.

I find that I actually eat far less when I'm getting regular exercise than when I'm not. I have no explanation for this other than I assume my digestive system gets more efficient. Also I think that since I tend to not eat for a while in the morning, my body switches to fat burning, and I do currently carry probably a good 20 pounds of fat that I could stand to lose. Perhaps if I ever do lose it I'll have to switch to eating more again.

bluefoxicy

Clif bars. CamelBak Elixir or Nuun (I actually really like Nuun).

I don't get the "Low fat" thing, I pile butter onto my food before I leave (breakfast includes lots of food). Energy, burn lots and lots of fat cycling.

Why the egg whites and not the whole egg? I eat the egg specifically for the freaking yolk; the whites are crap, they're worthless.

MTBerJim

I'm only commuting 3 1/2 miles, so it's a cup of coffee and a Clarinex. Shower, make lunch, pack, drink some water and off I go. I can't imagine eating heavy and then riding. I am hungry by the time I get here, a yogurt normally does the trick.

I_like_cereal

Check this site

Whites are higher in protein, potassium, and sodium. Yolk has more fat and if you can cut that then do it. Some fat is healthy, but too much is not good. Remember good fat v. bad fat. Everything else you can get from a MV or other nutrition sources

yoder

That site is good for explaining some of the benefits of the yolk. Giving up the yolk is dumb. In fact, the whole low fat obsession is not helpful to our health at all. Eggs are a super food. Fat is generally a great way to get energy, and is necessary in other ways. (Yes, avoid trans fats, seed/"vegetable" oils, and maybe watch the Omega 3: Omega 6 ratio). Dietary fat is not what leads to fat accumulation either. See Gary Taubes' "Why we get Fat" (or "Good Calories, Bad Calories").

I_like_cereal

For me I eat the white. Eat the whole thing if you want. The site has the table to make your own decision and a link to the USDA website. Research and then eat what you want. For me its what I eat. The protein in the egg white is a complex protein that is absorbed slowly and combined with cheese and fruit you fill up and stay full longer. You also feed your muscles better.
Also I respect your POV re the yolk, but could give me a quantifiable definition of "dumb"? I do not eat low fat. I limit my fat intake to what I need and am aware that you need fat for ligament and tendon repair and growth as well as "greasing" your joints. There is more fat in other parts of my diet that are healthier than egg yolk.

For my purposes, protein feeds my muscles, sodium keeps my electrolytes in balance, and potassium keeps my from cramping. If that's all I need then why take in other things that the rest of my diet will take care of?

I now return you to the OP. Apologies to Beezaur for answering the OP.

yoder

The site (https://www.cholesterol-and-health.com/Egg_Yolk.html) may say to make your own decision, but it is about as hardcore pro-yolk as you can be; that's the whole point of it. By "dumb" I mean something like "ironically counter-productive" since it is using extra effort/money (thrown out food) done specifically for health reasons. (One time I witnessed a guy I know buying eggs infused with Omega 3s (which cost extra), but then throw out the yolk (the part with the O3s))! You may have other sources of fat in your eating, but the egg yolk is one of the most nutritious things on earth, so its hard to imagine a much better way to get the stuff. And there is almost no worry of getting too much good fat, even if you are getting 85% of your calories that way. The yolk has a truly amazing vitamin profile along with the DHA (Omega 3) and AA without the EPA, along with protein.

themothman421

Cereal at home before I head out, followed by a banana at work. Then I graze on Honey Roasted peanuts till lunch. My commute is 16 mi out and back, and this seems to suit me.

Ipedaltahoe

Remember the more you exercise the hungrier you are, its the bummer of trying to lose weight by running. I have such a short commute that I eat whatever I feel like for breakfast, this morning a bagel while I was riding in, then I have a snack at about 9:00, lunch at 11:00 which is leftovers or frozen lean meals, then a snack when I get home after track practice at 4:00 then dinner at 7:00. I run in the morning right when I get up, I try not to eat too much before I ride as it makes me sick.

rex_kramer

^This.

I head out on an empty stomach and grab a bowl of oatmeal and small coffee most days. Because I start my day at 6:30 am, take lunch at 11:30 am and then leave at 2:30 pm, I have to eat really light at lunch or suffer a really crappy ride home. But when I get home...yarrrrrgh. I have a habit of eating everything in sight or snacking uncontrollably until dinner. The only "bad" snacks are the tub of Red Vines sitting on my counter. Generally I limit my snacking to greek yogurt and peanuts. Sometimes a Sam Adams and kettle chips.

garagegirl

I'm a late riser and am always running behind. My commute is 17 miles/ 1:15.
I have a fruit smoothie (usually rice milk, a banana, berries, and hemp protein.) and iced coffee. I can suck this down really quick, and it's easy to digest. I'll have oatmeal too if I have the time.
I always bring a clif gel in case I bonk, but I rarely use it. I can snack all day at work but I can't take a real lunch, so usually I make another smoothie before leaving (yes I can make smoothies at work) I'm often lured in by pizza or ice cream on the way back if I haven't eaten much that day, so I like to have an emergency clif bar around to save me from myself.
I also do the thing of eating everything in sigh when I get home.
Hard boiled eggs are awesome, I should eat more of them.

531phile 

Cereal or oatmeal for breakfast. Fast and simple. I try to boil some eggs beforehand since it takes too long to do so in the morning.

I recently been eating whole wheat bread with peanut butter and apple butter just before I ride. It is like rocket fuel.

During a fitness ride I eat bananas and lightly salted cashews.

For lunch I eat a salad or left overs from dinner. I make sure to drink green tea during the daytime for my caffeine fix. Maybe snack on more nuts: cashews, almonds, or walnuts.

Post ride: Protein fest of low fat chicken or fish with sun dried tomatoes and garlic eggplant spread, garlic, onions, some spices, low fat yogurt, veggies like broccoli, eggplant or zucchini. Maybe some starch like whole wheat pasta with tomato sauce or brown rice with some curry. I'll treat myself to an apple or orange afterwards.

I've been eating so much better and riding more and the results are amazing. I am in the best shape of my life. Lost 50lbs. 20 more to go.

I really should eat a bigger breakfast and don't eat so much at night after a ride, but so far this lifestyle change has been working. Once I hit a wall with my weight lost, I'll follow the recommendation of eating a big breakfast, a medium lunch and a small dinner.

mhifoe

I have porridge or cereal normally.

Cycling commuting does give you a larger appetite though.

My daughter said to me last week:
"Daddy, why are you always so hungry?"

scroca

Before my 10-15 mile ride I eat yogurt with granola cereal in it and a hard boiled egg. When I get to work I eat oatmeal with raisins and cinamon -- easy to store and prepare.

Since you are in school, if you don't have a way to store things, you might be able to carry something microwaveable to eat once you get there. I guess if I were you I'd put a serving of oatmeal with the raisins and cinamon in a ziplock bag and take it. That would be very light and not take up much real estate. Maybe you'd need a container if there isn't something to use at school. Either way, add hot water and enjoy.

Bananas and apples are easy to carry and deal with too.