Day after riding, I want to eat everything in sight!

How should I cope with being hungry all of time? I usually try and follow a ride with a bowl of oatmeal or some other carb+protein mix. I'm usually not that much more hungry the rest of the day. But the next day, watch out, I'm hungry all day long. And I can't seem to eat enough. And then when I train 3-4 days in a row, the hunger perpetuates.

Granted, I pretty much stick with the good foods i.e. Oatmeal, beans, fruit, wheat tortillas, hardly any bread. No sweets.

Am I not eating enough after my ride? During the ride?

Possible on both fronts but the big symptom there would be difficulty in putting out power the following day with depleted muscle glycogen.

I know you've been dieting for a while now so I'm guessing you're trying to hold a caloric deficit. A couple of things that have helped me while I dropped weight have been to eat smaller meals throughout the entire day, up my water intake and to make sure I eat some protein or fat along with the healthy stuff you mentioned. For example I'll put some walnuts in the morning oatmeal or eat cereal with yogurt to make it last a bit longer. In the afternoon I'll put a bit of peanut butter on a bananna or apple rather than eat it plain. Just a bit of fat and protein makes this stuff go a lot longer and helps me avoid getting ravenous and over eating at the next meal.

Have you looked at: http://www.carbboom.com/education/recovery.php for suggested carb and protein amounts following exercise? That might help in terms of telling you whether you need more post exercise fuel.

-Dave

Neil,

Hunger is no fun, especially when you are training hard.

This advice is contingent, of course, on the power you are putting out (if you are experiencing a noticeable drop in power for an extended time, you probably aren't getting enough calories in). And if power is still staying high, or even improving, then roll with it.

So to answer your question, consider the foods you are eating and what times you are eating them. Some foods just stick to your ribs better than others (meats and other slower-digesting foods). And I would try to to eat them later on in the day when I'm not active. Or if I'm not working out that day, earlier on. This can help keep the hunger pangs in check and keep the calorie deficit you are going for.

Also, since you are dieting, here's another tip. An effective way to lose wait (I learned this directly from a pro buddy a long time ago) is to eat carbs in the day and protein at night. So dinner is meat and veggies. It isn't easy to hold off on the carbs early on when dieting this way. Sometimes, you just want to raid the rice bag! But it gets better as time passes, giving you something to look forward to!