By "practical food", I'm talking about still eating things I like, but maybe adjusting what I eat the night before a ride (I start riding about 30-45 minutes after getting up) or possibly that morning in a hurry.

Eating stuff I don't like isn't fun - thus not "practical". I may later make adjustments to eat healthier, but not now (unless someone can demonstrate that eating a piece of broccoli will instantly increase my speed by at least 2 mph!).

So, here are the things I commonly eat at night, 2-3 hours before bed:

Subway sandwich (footlong tuna, roast beef, or meatball - I might consider some others).

Baby back ribs!

Lasagna (with meat)

Speghetti (with meat sauce)

Chili (canned - one of the few things I cook at home)

Steak (with salad, baked potato, bread - favorite is Outback steakhouse)

Soup (Tomato or chicken noodle)

Chicken - fried or some kind of chicken strips (McDonalds for example)

Cheese pizza

I sometimes fill in the corners with Cheerios, Wheat Chex or Corn Chex right out of the box.

So, would any of those things be particularly good the night before - particularly bad?

Next, what about the morning? I don't eat breakfast before I leave, partly because I'm going to eat breakfast at a beachfront restaurant in Waikiki after riding 12-40 miles.

Sometimes I do the cereal thing though - a few handfuls right from the box - just in case it might help me from wearing out. I also sometimes take a packet of GU for the same reason - and sometimes take one with me, but usually I don't use it.

Any comments on that?

Finally, I eat breakfast at a buffet so there are lots of options and I'd be interested in what would be good choices before I do the last 14 miles or so home - or possibly go on an even longer ride. Of course, also good to know if certain things are good for long-term benefit. Basic choices:

Omelets (I usually get two eggs over medium)

A couple types of bread (I usually get a couple slices of white bread if I get the eggs - I don't care for wheat bread usually)

Bacon and sausage (I usually get 2-3 strips of bacon with eggs)

Guava bread (really more like a cake - I get some of this)

Pancakes (If I don't do eggs, I'll eat this instead)

Bagels (I'll eat half of one if I get pancakes - I put cream cheese on it)

I also usually get sausage rather than bacon if I do pancakes.

Fruits (watermelon, pineable, cantaloupe, honeydew and sometimes grapes or other items). I usually eat a bout a half dozen bite-size (big bites) pieces of this assortment.

Dried bananas (haven't eaten these)

Cottage cheese

Rice (I haven't eaten this)

Some sort of seasoned potato dish (potatos cut up in little chunks - I eat a little of this sometimes)

Some cereals - don't recall what - I think corn flakes is one and maybe fruit loops for kids.

Lots of choices of juices - too many to remember. I actually get the passion-orange-guava. I know they have orange juice, tomato juice, guava juice, cranapple juice (maybe mixed with some other juices too like cran-apple), etc.

Coffee

That's all I can recall right now.

Bob

couscous. it's all about the couscous.

What no Papaya? I would have 2 of these gems and a muffin, then ride for hours before a muanapua stop. Might want to go light on the meat the night before, Thai take out, or a big bowl of samiin with pork or chicken would be fantasic (you live not far from Shiro's, right?). Stir fry lo mein at home would be good too, I getting hungry now!!

I would go lighter on the meats the night before and try to slip in some carbs.

Breakfast I normally have a muffin and some type of fruit.

Shifty: what is "muanapua" soup?

Oh yeah, they have papaya too - just couldn't remember!

I'm not into many of the asian foods - like samin, rice (unless overed with good brown gravy), etc.

As you can probably tell from my post, I'm a major meat eater! I could probably cut back the night before, at least sometimes, by eating lasagna (still somem meat, but not a lot) or getting a fish sandwhich at McD's.

Bob

I always have trouble with what qualifies as carbs. I gather bread and cereal qualify, plus potatos. I do all of those. The vegetable ones are an issue because basically I hate vegetables. Lettuce is okay and I'll get one in a salad with some meals. But broccoli, asparagus, peas, beans, etc, at the pits. About the only beans I'll eat are the beans in chili or baked beans.

Should I make a special effort to eat more fruit - since I only eat a little now but can have all I want on the buffet?

Yes hit the fruit hard since you don't seem to like vegatables. I tink you should rexamine them, maybe add garlic or something to get a flavor you like to at least some of them. I can't imagine eating anything from McDonalds.

Joe

I like the fries! (grin)

I have, periodically, tried to eat vegetables since I know they are good, but I just can't stand them. I can eat FRESH corn - usually right after it is picked - if it is young enough. If older, it is too starchy for me.

Lettuce is fine. Tomatos - okay on a sandwich. Already mentioned baked bean or chili. Anything else, I have never found anything I remotely enjoyed or even tolerated. Maybe someday I will, but it doesn't seem likely after all these years.

Bob

Dude-

Get thee to a registered dietician!!! McDonalds is a heart attack in a cardboard box, and half of the rest of your diet is eaither loaded with saturated fat or too much salt or both. Eating off a buffet is a big no-no unless your plan is to resemble Jabba the Hut. You need to completely re-evaluate what you are eating and exercise portion control. As for pre-ride, you need to eat SOMETHING. Skipping food before you ride is like driving your car with the gas gauge on E. You will eventually bonk. Grab a banana or a granola bar. You will still be hungry when you get to the restaurant. A multivitamin would be good too, especially since you don't like your veggies. And water, lots and lots of water.

As i said try changing the taste by adding spices. Yes fresh corn is great! I would rather eat my potatoes than store bought FF. Friy in olive or grapeseed oil with onions garlic, and itilian spices. Maybe some hot bpeppers sprincled in. If you like that add thin sliced squarsh or eggplant. I believe folks need to eat a varity of stuff to stay healthy. Vegitarin is an indian word meaning poor hunter. But mixing some in helps get the most out of the meat.

JOe

evening>> spagetti sandwich
morning>> 1/2 frosted flakes, 1/2 corn flakes

drink water till i pee every 3-4 hours.

carry one water & one accelerade on big rides.

I strongly suggest you go rent the movie Supersize Me. You'll never want to eat at McD again.....

Sweet potatos,with olive oil and cinnamin..at least 3 times a week
..... never the white ones, Salmon 2-3 times a week.......always keep an apple and P-nut butter at my putr to munch on ......... walnuts and raisins and figs, Does REAL ice cream count??, Broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus preferably raw, havent eaten red meat in Years, cept a few times I slipped off the wagon visiting in Houston and hit Jim Goodes BBQ on Kirby DR

Muanapua is a hawaiian bun of sorts (chineese actually) they take meat like BBQ pork, curry chicken, teriaki chicken, and stick dough all around it like a dumpling, then steam it to cook it. Yummm, I can do four or so after a ride, plus they ride really well in your jersey pocket if wrapped in plastic wrap.

You guys and your gravy, should I tell everyone what they eat for breakfast over there? Loco Moco

Loco Moco is a plate of rice, a hamberger pattie, fried eggs, all covered with brown gravy. I don't suggest riding a bike after that stuff.

Seems like a lot of food for the number of miles ridden. My 12 mile rides are usually supported by a Spicy Hot V8 OR a banana OR 2 pieces of toast. I sometimes add a bagel if I am to ride an additional 12 - 15 miles. Lots of water. My downfall is evening snacking. I do too much of that. I did quit smoking 2 months ago after 42 years. That has added to the dieting challenge. So far though I have more or less held the line on substantial weight gain. At least I haven't needed to replace clothes.

I saw that movie. I thought it was going to be nothing but a bunch of sensationalism. There was a bit, like makeing himself eat everything in a supersized double quarter pounder with cheese meal. But, I was SHOCKED at the medical problems (kidneys failing) that he was starting to have.

TheRCF, They have these really cool things called banannas, the cyclists friend. You should try some. They taste good, and the packaging is great.

> McDonalds is a heart attack in a cardboard box, and half of the rest of your diet is eaither loaded with saturated fat or too much salt or both. Eating off a buffet is a big no-no unless your plan is to resemble Jabba the Hut. <

Well, I intend to enjoy my meals. I don't live at McDonalds, nor to I pile on the food at the buffet. I make exactly two trips. The first typically has less food on my plate than others I see and the second trip is down right spartan. And I look nothing like Jabba the Hut. I have a little gut, but that seems to be more a problem with the muscles than with weight. Regardless, it is less than before.

> You need to completely re-evaluate what you are eating and exercise portion control. As for pre-ride, you need to eat SOMETHING. <

Like I said, I do sometimes eat cereal, especially if I expect to ride pretty far.

> A multivitamin would be good too <

I do that as well.

As for water, I drink some before I ride, but strangely, I rarely - at least in the cool of the pre-sunrise (below 70 degrees and no sun) - get even a little thirsty. I do drink some anyway, usually stopping at an outside fountain at 17 miles and hitting it again coming back (about 35 miles). Then when I get to the breakfast place, I drink again.

I've sometimes wondered if drinking a lot more than I feel like drinking would help anything.

Bob

> spagetti sandwich <

Never heard of such a thing - how about just spaghetti the normal way!?

> 1/2 frosted flakes, 1/2 corn flakes <

Well, that sounds possible. I don't normally eat such flakes, but it isn't like I dislike them. It's just that eating cherrios and the chex products are easier to eat straight out of the box for snacks so that is what I stock up on.

> drink water till i pee every 3-4 hours. <

Guess I'll experiment with this, even though I rarely get thirsty. I drink some just because it seems like I should, but I haven't done a lot of it.

> carry one water & one accelerade on big rides. <

I carry water - usually don't use it since I take advantage of outside water fountains. I'll look into the other stuff. What do you consider a "big ride"?

When I first started riding and people would ask how far I rode, I'd say to Waikiki (12.5 miles) and they would look shocked and then say, "Then you take the bus back home?" So they were really shocked when I said I rode both ways. But that certainly isn't a big deal to me now or probably to most people here.

> Sweet potatos,with olive oil and cinnamin..at least 3 times a week
..... never the white ones, Salmon 2-3 times a week <

Uh-oh, I hate sweet potatos, love the regular ones, and don't like salmon - though I do like some kinds of fish a lot.

> always keep an apple and P-nut butter <

I do usually have P-nut butter.

> walnuts and raisins and figs <

I like peanuts, but not other nuts. Raisins are good. Only figs I've enjoyed are in Fig Newtons!

> Broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus preferably raw <

Now you are getting into the things I really hate, though I'll admit that raw broccoli offends me much less than cooked.

Well, while I eat the buffet even if I only ride there and back directly (26 miles), I've usually been doing 40+ miles - as high as 76 in the past couple months.

I used to be really bad about evening snacks, but I've gotten a lot better at them - that's what the cheerios and cheks products are for.

I may well make other changes in my diet over time as others suggest, but I know I will not enjoy such a big change now and won't stick to it. So I'm focusing on making the best of what I already do. AFTER I do that, I may make other changes over time.

Bob

I like bananas okay, though I rarely have them. One concern is how long they last so I don't buy a bunch and have them spoil on me.

I've tried to do more fruit before, but found it difficult to eat them a lot and too much went to waste.

Just a general point I'd like to make. I appreciate the suggestions to change my diet in major ways, but I also know that isn't going to happen - at least not quickly. We all know people who do all kinds of great things - diet, exercise, whatever - to get healthier, but before you know it, they have fallen back to their old ways. That is a reality I'm going to deal with the best I can.

I figure this way, first step is to optimize what I already do. This would mean alterations to when I eat certain things and maybe adjust how much of each thing I eat (like more fruit at a buffet if that is good to do). Or maybe eat eggs more than pancakes (or vice-versa) depending on what I learn.

This way, I still enjoy what I'm doing and may improve in some ways.

Now, since we all know that a lot of these things are affected by psychology, it is quite possible that showing improvement in my biking may lead me to make more changes which I would not do now.

After all, that happened when it came to riding further. From almost the beginning, I road 24-26 miles. Sure, occasionally I pushed further to accomplish a goal. Even did two centuries - one to do it and the other to circle the island (thus two different goals really). But one day a few months ago, I was feeling pretty good after my morning ride, which was already a bit longer than normal, and I headed out again for another good distance and ended up with 59 miles. Since then, most of my rides have been 40 miles or more - mostly more. That sure beats 26 miles!

The key difference? As it turned out, I was able to ride at 15 mph for 11-12 miles without killing myself - just a nice steady cruise - and also keep a decent average (for me) even if going over 20 miles. It just happened that, for me, being able to do those two things removed the block I usually had about riding further.

Confirmation of that is the fact that when I do have a slow ride starting out, I don't want to do much extra riding.

So, one step at a time and we'll see how things develop.

Now, where did I put my french fries? (grin)

Bob

I guess that heartburn is not an issue with you?

Also looks like you can reduce your intake of meat-based protein and breads/grains/pasta.

Stop eating those fatty breakfast meats! (easier said than done, I know from experience)

- and one more thing I noticed missing from your list: vegetables ?

I remember watching one of those Chris Carmichael training documentaries during the TDF last year, and saw that Lance ate a plain omelet and/or plain spaghetti for breakfast. Protein and carbs- no fat, no acid (nixed the meat and tomato sauce)

Most folks will say that caffeine is a no-no, but Lance couldn't function without his cup-o-joe, like many of us...

Sushi anyone?

And something I get conflicting views on is Thai food.
Pad Thai.... Geng Gai.... Pad Seeuw... the usual suspects.
Anyone got the scoop on this?