Today I did about 55 miles on my road bike in 3.5 hours. While on the bike, I had a stinger waffle and I downed some ribs when I got home (not the best choice for someone trying to lose weight, but they were around). I'm 6', 210 lbs and trying to lose 20-30 lbs.

My question is as follows: Should I be "fueling" while on my longer rides, or are the extra calories consumed just holding me back? Is there any benefit to eating some carbs while out on the bike? Wouldn't it make more sense to burn up all my glycogen stores, suffer through any "bonkiness" and just burn fat?

On a related note, how important is recovering with protein? Are the extra calories worth the muscle repair?

To give you an idea of my normal routine: I commute to work by bike, about 20-21 miles total roundtrip 2-3 days a week. I generally get in 2 longer (40-60) mile rides on my road bike on the weekends. Days I'm not on the bike, I generally run between 3-5 miles.

Thanks in advance!

TLDR- extra calories of mid-workout fueling and post-workout recovery "worth it," or merely hindering weight loss?