Commuting - Best Breakfast for a Commuter?

Hi guys,

Noob here as I want to get fit for 2010...

What would you recomend to be good fuel for my morning commute. I will be riding approx 13 to work.

As its very cold out would it be benificial to have a warm breaky or not? And is there anything to stay clear of?

Thanks!

J

Try oats and fruit.

Welcome.

Depends on how long your commute is. A little oat meal works for me (warm).

It depends how fast you ride and how hilly your route is. I generally eat two eggs (either fried or in a French omelette), some sort of meat or veggie meat substitute (bacon, sausage, or a Morningstar Sausage patty), and a piece of toast (usually dry).

I'm an oatmeal man, myself - with a little fruit like frozen blueberries, raisins or a touch of brown sugar and some milk. Most other breakfast options have me ready to eat my own hands by 11 am.

Another vote for oats. I switched from rolled oats to steel cut recently. I like them a lot. Very nutty, hearty flavor. I just nuke them, and stir in some skim milk, maple syrup, and dried fruit.

Try oats and fruit.


^This is good.^ My commute is 20.5 mi. Oats, wheat germ, milled flax seed, muselix w/soy milk. Mix and microwave for 1.5 mins. Add honey or molasses. My wife refers to my concoction as 'gruel'. :p Add fruit(banana for me) or eat separately. Also, I do a large cup o' java and carry a wb that I rarely use enroute. Yogurt, sometimes. Coming home's different. I'll drain the wb, usually. 28 oz.

Supplements, too. Fish oil 1500 i.u., b-complex w/C, multi, 1000 i.u. D, 1000mg calcium, 250 mg magnesium, iron, milk thistle, st john's wort...there're others, but I can't recall them.

13 mi one way is a good clip. Eat like an athlete. Lean meats, fish, chicken w/o the skin, salads, steamed veggies and BROWN rice. Plenty of water, too.

Satchel Paige said, "Stay away from fried foods, they angrys up the blood" Sage advice from a man who pitched in the Major Leagues at age 50. He threw 2 shutouts for the Cleveland Indians in September 1948. The last time they won the World Series.

Thanks!

Hoping to avg 12-15mph to start with and take just over an hour. The fried egg, sausage and Toast option sounds my cup of tea but might have to opt for the Oatmeal to help lose weight.

Is there anything in particular that gives stomach cramps whilst cycling? ie cup of coffee before ride or straight after.

Grease will give me cramps -- or worse -- if I have it right before a ride. Never had a problem with coffee, but I probably have a higher tolerance for it than most.

That's really for you to figure out - everyone's different. The only thing that makes me uncomfortable is a large meal just before riding. After 30 minutes, I'm golden, though.

One of these will do you.... better make that two. You'll need fuel for the ride home.

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Thanks!

Hoping to avg 12-15mph to start with and take just over an hour. The fried egg, sausage and Toast option sounds my cup of tea but might have to opt for the Oatmeal to help lose weight.

Is there anything in particular that gives stomach cramps whilst cycling? ie cup of coffee before ride or straight after.

I make a small omelette (one egg, veggies, cheese) and a can of V8 juice. My body does best when it doesn't get too many carbs. For me the best way to lose weight is avoid the carbs (toast, oatmeal, etc.)

I have porridge and then after 10 miles when I get to work I eat either cereal or sausages and bacon :D

You guys eat before riding to work?
I've tried doing this before and it gave me stomach pains. The only thing I can keep down is half of a cliff bar right before riding off in the morning. Anything more is just too heavy for me.

Lately a glass of water is all I've been consuming before the ride. Breakfast usually comes an hour after I arrive to work.

I give myself 30-40 minutes after breakfast before riding. I get up early and take my time. If I rode right after a meal I'd probably throw up.

First thing after getting up: a big glass of room-temp water. Then I eat some low fat yogurt, multigrain toast with low fat cream cheese or cottage cheese and have some sweet black tea (I like sweet tea, can't help it). I often eat oatmeal with hot milk too with some honey. I can't eat fruit with my meals, other than banana, my stomach doesn't like that.

Adam

I recommend black pudding (kidding)

I usually don't eat anything. I think this is a thing that is easy to overthink. Most likely it matters very little both what you eat and whether you eat.

Paul

No special eating or drinking is required for 13 miles.

I like Quaker Banana Bread flavor instant oatmeal and a banana. Lots of fiber and protein keeps me from snacking before lunch.

I make a small omelette (one egg, veggies, cheese) and a can of V8 juice. My body does best when it doesn't get too many carbs. For me the best way to lose weight is avoid the carbs (toast, oatmeal, etc.)

second this

I ride 11 miles one way to work. I don't eat or drink anything until after I get to work. In the summer if the temp is > 85 degrees or so, I will bring some water with me.

As has been said, if you do eat something, then you really should wait. I want to get the heck to work, because the sooner I get there, the sooner I can leave again.

Are you immediately eating before riding or waiting like a half hour or more? Also, are you trying to go fast on your commute or taking it easy? Some people prefer a piece of fruit and a tall glass of water or coffee (something light) right before leaving. If you have some time (15 minutes to half an hour) intant oatmeal is good as well. I like a bit of protien like a small protien shake or two hard boiled eggs.

Some of what you decide is going to be trial and error. You will learn how certain foods will interact with you on your ride. Sometimes it also depends on the pace your are going.

I have wheat toast with peanut butter and a couple of glasses of water right before leaving and usually drink a bit more along the way.

I usually have a bowl of bran cereal or some oatmeal, which stokes the fire during these chilly mornings. I usually add some berries and a little honey and I'm good to go. I always eat breakfast and feel much better. It also helps me eat less for lunch.

However, we're all different!

Another oatmeal fan here. I like to nuke mine with dried cranberries. Then I add brown sugar, margarine, wheatgerm, walnuts, and milk.

11 miles one way, and I have a cup of coffee and a can of V-8 juice before I leave. When I get there, I will go with a Nutri-Grain bar.

I eat pre-ride in the morning.

I'm an oatmeal guy- w/almonds, dried cranberries, maple syrup. If not that I'll do toasted wheat berries and hulled barley with maple syrup, yogurt and blueberries.

Add to that my morning "smoothie", which includes a banana, frozen mangoes, peaches, pineapples, acai berry, whey protein, milled flax seeds, one packet of "Emerge-n-C" and orange/tangerine juice.

It gets me through my 10 mile ride to work and right through to lunch at my job that is not a desk job.

My morning commutes have me leaving the house around 6AM which means I would need to eat breakfast well before 5AM to sit well for my 15 mile relatively hilly ride. Instead, I wash down a few dried apricots with some Diet Coke pre-ride and then fix my real breakfast while my computer boots up on arrival to work.

Real breakfast is oatmeal with raisins or (better) craisins, and extra cinnamon; plus a latte with nonfat milk and sugar-free sweetener. That's enough milk to provide protein; the hot oatmeal is low-fat and high fiber. I generally fix the espresso the night before and dump it into a water bottle and add cold milk in the morning to keep costs low. In the summer I'll drink it cold; in the winter I decant to a glass mug and nuke it.

Summers I need to take 2 24-oz water bottles for the hot humid rides to work. I'll be sweat-drenched even with a 7AM arrival and will chug most of that on arrival. I also keep a couple of power bars in the bike saddle bike in case of emergency; they have come in handy when I misjudged on cold rides home or forgot to get my 4PM snack.

Breakfast preferences are pretty personal. Some people can't even eat breakfast before they ride; some can't ride before having a hearty meal.

I personally tend to crave protein most of the time, so I'm an eggs person. A 3-egg omelette with some cheese and some kind of veggies (mushrooms, zucchini, tomatoes... you name it) plus a cup of tea works pretty well for me. Often I don't even have any bread with it.

My commute is 15km one way. I drink a mug of hot chocolate/coffee beverage (gotta be some fancier name than that!) pre-ride. Along the way I always keep myself hydrated every 10 mins. Once at the office, I will eat 2 slices of toast or equivalent for breakfast. YMMV.

18 miles one-way with about 1000 feet of ascent. I eat a bowl of Rasin Bran and skim milk with a bananna sliced on top and drink a glass of OJ. Perfect fuel for the morning commute.

Breakfast preferences are pretty personal.


That's what I've gathered thus far. I aim for a balanced diet regardless of my cycling plans (duh), but as for "feeding my ride", I feel like my body tells me carbs before the ride (with a little time to settle) and protein right after the ride. Protein before seems to sit heavy in me, whereas carbs have never kept me full for long. I might try to do a single hardboiled egg before a ride to see what happens, as I am kind of a fan of protein.

A reckon it depends on what you like and can stomach for breakfast and also how long it is before you are going to be able to get something to eat after getting into work.

I eat a small tin of salmon, some nuts and some fruit before heading out. I can go without anything to eat as well, but choose not to as when I get in at 07:00am the time I actually get to properly sit down and eat something is usually around 10:00am minimum, so with getting up at 04:30, that is a long time without food.

Mind you I get bored of stuff and swap my breakfast around a lot, so breakfast can be anything really

Man, I feel like i'm odd in that I eat a rather large bowl of cold cereal with milk (usually 2%). No coffee.

Course, my commute is a scant 6km, but I am up at 2am to get there...bloody baker's hours!

A bowl of warm oatmeal (200ml) works perfect for me. Only found out about that 4 weeks ago, never had oatmeal before that.

Oatmeal waffles with a little butter and syrup, coffee and fruit. A 13 mile commute will use all the energy you are eating. Just don't overdo it. Waffles are yummy. Ok, butter and syrup are yummy.

Hope I don't gross anyone out but I usually eat a bowl of chopped bananas, oranges and raw tofu with soja milk... my coffee is mixed 50/50 caf/decaf... :D

no commute, but i ride 15-20 every a.m.

banana, bowl of 1C skim, 1/2C granola (Mona's) and 1/2C of:

http://www.usmillsllc.com/stuff/contentmgr/files/fa3e4bf7a8a21ed44e8a770a7b749827/illone/usc_new_face_highres.jpg

(or sometimes half a plain bagel with some form of smoked fish [whiting, mullet, eel, or salmon])

Another vote for oatmeal. I seem to get less hungry later in the morning when I eat it. I make up a big pot at the beginning of the week and then nuke individual servings in the microwave with a half cup of frozen blueberries and a sprinkle of sugar under it. It comes out as this island of oatmeal floating on a lovely dark purple sea of blueberry juice.

I like whole hard boiled eggs. They tend to fill me up without the "weight" of meats and/or milk. I think the fat content helps as well. I can also make a protien shake with just water and be fine. I usually give it time (15 minutes or so) before I ride.

Like another poster mentioned you might also want to think about how soon you will eat after arriving at work.

I like something with complex carbs so I don't get hungry until later combined with some quick sugar for the actual ride. I find good, old fashioned cold cereal with skim milk works well (frosted mini-wheats). If I had more time, I might go with hot oatmeal with brown sugar or maple syrup.

I eat breakfast soon after getting up, but I get bored eating the same thing every day. So, some days I have milk and cereal (bunch of different brands), others oatmeal with dried fruit and pecans, others frozen waffles with yogurt and light syrup. I crave carbs when I get up, so I seldom have eggs, which also take longer to prepare. I have ridden to work with no breakfast when I've overslept, but where do you guys work where you can eat breakfast on the job?

For a healthy carb breakfast that will stick with you, try steel-cut oatmeal. I make mine the night before. Just bring the water to a boil, add the correct amount of oats, stir, cover the pot with a lid, turn off the stove and leave it sitting overnight. In the morning, all you will have to do is heat it up. I add dried cranberries, raisins and cherries to mine, along with pecans. Delicious with a small amount of brown sugar and milk, and it keeps me full until lunch time.

Oatmeal or a bagel here.. Shredded Wheat if my son hasn't snorfed the whole box :P

stick with foods you trust and that you know digest well. I like scrambled eggs and toast about an hour and 1/2 before I leave, and then a small box of raisins just before I leave

Lots of oatmeal eaters here. Every combination of oatmeal (steel cut, regular, with nuts and fruit added, etc.) I've tried leaves me starving after a couple of hours. Even worse when I eat cold cereal, regardless of whether I throw in fruit, yogurt or anything like that. Doing something along the lines of toast or a Nutri-Grain bar isn't even funny. Maybe my metabolism is weird.

But then again the two eggs, toast and meat thing tends to leave me gnawing on my desk by 10:30 or 11 am, unless conditions are such that I had to ride in like a granny. Luckily there's a good bagel place just around the corner for those times I don't bring anything and really can't wait. Normally I bring something snacky I can eat before and after lunch.

Right now I eat around 5:30 - 6:00 am, get to work at around 7:00 for the 7:30 start time. So yeah, it's good to wait a bit between eating and riding, but I really don't need that time. I've eaten a spicy Dante's Dog with everything then hoped on my bike and hauled ass for a few miles.

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This thread makes me want to go out and buy some oatmeal.

... where do you guys work where you can eat breakfast on the job?

I do software development. It takes my laptop forever to boot up and then there's all sorts of terribly important email / corporate website postings to sift through. That's plenty of time to nuke and slam down breakfast and coffee at my desk.

Oatmeal and frozen fruit.

Not much beats oatmeal for breakfast because it is "slow burning" so it keeps you feeling full for longer. Add the fruit for taste and nutrition.

It's really easy(5 minutes) if you have the boiling water ready for coffee or tea.

Hmm you all eat alot before work...

I guess it matters how early you wake up to go to work. Give your self at least 30-45 min after eating.

I try to get out of the house as soon as I can so I dont eat for my 15mi trip, then eat at work. Usually fruit, quinoa, oats, flax, dates, nuts and some vega powder.

I do either steamed oats and raisins with some flax seed and cinnamon thrown in; or a finely chopped salad with several kinds of greens, tomatos, peppers etc.