What should I eat?
 

My wife and I don't share the same nutritional needs. I have always been thin. My heaviest has been 160 and I'm 5'10" but I've dropped probably 10 lbs since I started cycling again two months ago. My wife has always struggled with being overweight. She has recently started cooking more and she is trying to eliminate carbs from her (our) diet.

I eat cereal for breakfast; cheese, lunch meat and crackers for lunch (or eat out); we'll have meat and vegetables for dinner; I snack on various junk during the day; and often have a large serving of ice cream at night. I have about one clif bar per ride (rides around 1 hour currently).

Since I have started cycling again after a 6 year hiatus, I have found I've been hungry very often. I am 32 years old and riding 3 - 5 times per week.

Obviously, I do not have a wonderful diet. What can I eat to better fuel my body? If anyone is going to say pasta, it always seems that I'm starving 15 minutes after eating a pasta meal.

Thanks!

That doesn't sound like much of a lunch. Mix in some sandwiches and stuff.

Cheeseburgers, cookies, cake, and ice cream.

You should be eating much much more vegetable content and leafy greens. You're getting more than enough carbohydrate.

I've started to move away from three square meals, and towards about six mid-size snacks. Today my Food looked like this:



Right after I wake up, ~6:00am: Yoghurt, with granola, berries and a big glass of juice.

About 10:00am: Two egg omlette, with cheese, salmon, and some salt and pepper. (The additions change with what's in the fridge)

At noon, I'll eat a grilled panini, with ham, cheese, bacon, caramelized onions, tomatoes and some sauce. (The additions change with what's in the fridge)

Around 3:00: Big-Ass Salad. Lettuce, bacon, sprouts, cucumber, grapes, and some sort of dressing. (I've got a roughly weekly rotation for the toppings)

6-7:00pm: Rice bowl with roasted tofu cubes, bean sprouts, and a peanut sauce.

Just before bed, I make a smoothie with a little bit of dark chocolate.


That's what I ate today, but I'm built very similarly to you, (6'3, 170lbs) and I understand that the three meals leaves you hungry. On rides I'll take a home-made energy bar, with some chocolate, raisins, and all sorts of delicious.

Well, pasta and grains do spike insulin, so it makes sense you would feel hungry after.

Try adding protein and fat from natural, whole food sources. They are more filling. Use coconut oil for cooking and add butter to veggies for example. After an omelette cooked in lots of butter I feel no need to eat during a 3 hour ride.

Suggest reading "Sports Nutrition for Endurance Athletes" by Ryan. Legit science-based training and nutrition info.

Personally, what works for me, given the amount of cycling I do, is I eat my three meals a day, but supplement additional snacks at 10:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.

Morning - one cup of pressed fresh coffee and a Shakeology shake (kale, spinach, banana, parsley, cucumber, greek yogurt, grapefruit or pineapple, ginger, 1/2 scoop of Shakeology)

At work all day - eat whatever I want, which is usually tuna, turkey or PB&J sammiches, but can be a big salad as well.

Dinner - Morning shake minus Shakeology.

I had a serious carb habit - Mac n'cheese, Grilled chesse, crackers and cheese, pizza. Seems I also had a thing for cheese too. Since the change, it's like someone came in and cut the weight off of me while I slept and my energy level has normalized. Rides are much better. Saturday is cheat day, so that is pizza day.

I eat pizza two to three times a week. Pizza is good for you. It has all the essential food groups.;)

You preach meaningful and insightful counsel, my good man.

breakfast: cereal, non fat milk, yogurt
during the ride: 3-4 bananas
after ride: fruit
lunch: bananas and peanut butter
snacks: more bananas and peanut butter
Dinner: salad with grilled chicken, or a sandwich

fatty :P

<3

This is the 41, take that "legit science-based" crap somewhere else.

you make me look skinny at 6 1 and 155 :P now if i could just get back to 145 like in the good old days when i actualy trained/raced.

+1
I went low carb when cutting for years, then rectal-health became an issue. I'm a big fan of "balanced meals" and expending more net calories than you take-in.

IMHO, you're eating too much junk and not enough food.

Cereal is okay for breakfast, adding some fruit and/or yogurt would be a good idea.

Pack your lunch. Make a sandwich with whole grain bread and whatever you want in it. Be advised that cheese and mayo have a ton of saturated fat, so either cut them out or use a minimal amount. I use lunch meat and one slice of cheese, and only use mustard. Make a big simple salad (greens and tomato and whatever else you might want) and stick in it a reusable container. I use a quart tupperware container and have to push the stuff down to make it fit.

Snacks during the day should be fruit and/or veggies. I normally bring three pieces of fruit and a granola bar.

Your supper sounds okay. Make sure the meat is low in fat - trim all the visible fat before cooking. If you're hungry, eat more veggies.

You said your wife wants to cut down on carbs - did you mean cut down on starches (rice, pasta, etc.)? Carbs don't make you fat - eating more calories than you burn makes you fat. You need carbs - you can get what you need from veggies. Cut back on starches.

If you can eat a large bowl of ice cream every night and still lose weight...I HATE you. As does everyone else here. :)

Look up Paleo - avoid the cereal grains and low-fat stuff (read: chemical *****storm) and eat whole foods with high fat, moderate protein content and enough (unprocessed) carbs to help replenish your glycogen stores in between rides and help fuel the rides a bit as well. Simple stuff really :thumb:

There's a lot of good stuff about the Paleo diet, but there's also a lot of debate about whether its theoretical basis is valid. Going Paleo means eliminating ALL grain-based foods and ALL dairy. No bread, no pasta, no milk, NO BEER. :twitchy: That presents quality of life issues if nothing else. Having said that, maximizing unprocessed foods is definitely a good thing.

You're 32 years old and weigh 150 and getting advice from 50 years old that are fat! Eat whatever you like.

Seriously mix in some fruit with the morning cereal and maybe some yogurt, eat a healthy sandwich for lunch like others said, and have what your wife fixes in the evening with some extra veggies. Finish the evening off with some ice cream and beer.

I have no dietary rules other than to try to maximize the proportion of Real Food to Crap Foodlike Substances.