Pre-Training Breakfast

[tugg]

I've joined a Bike Rally, and each weekend we are having training rides early in the morning.

On the last ride, I noticed I was starting to get hungry about halfway through (39k ride, got really hungry at 32k). I had some fruit / snacks on hand so nibbled on them, but just wondering what are some good breakfast suggestions to help ensure I'm well fueled for the ride, but not too 'heavy'?

Usually my breakfast is

* Bowl of Cereal (Bran Flakes) with Fruit on top
* Coffee
* Toast
* Eggs

Or is this fine, and I should just keep packing a few bits of fruit/etc to fuel up along the way?

 

[jflongo]

Oatmeal is usually the king. Or a Cereal with lots of Fiber, like Fiber One or similar. You could also try adding a quarter cup of almonds in the mix as well.

 

[Wlfdg]

Eat more fat! Carbs are fuel for short anaerobic output. Fat is the fuel of endurance.

Grains, bread, dairy = garbage

Try eating 4 whole eggs fried in coconut oil, walnuts, almonds and raspberries/blackberries.

 

[jflongo]

Eat more fat! Carbs are fuel for short anaerobic output. Fat is the fuel of endurance.

Grains, bread, dairy = garbage

Try eating 4 whole eggs fried in coconut oil, walnuts, almonds and raspberries/blackberries.

You are crazy if you think that stuff is garbage. Having a big bowl of oatmeal lasts in your system for a long time. Plug adding in a handful of almonds is great as well.

 

[Wlfdg]

You are crazy if you think that stuff is garbage. Having a big bowl of oatmeal lasts in your system for a long time. Plug adding in a handful of almonds is great as well.

It's not a matter of "think" it's knowledge now. Fat provides a whole lot more energy for a longer period of time than any grains. Grains contain anti-nutrients that are detrimental to health.

You are crazy if you believe eating neolithic foods are better for your paleolithic body. You are missing out on the greatest fitness improvement in your athletic life.
Yes, you are still walking around with paleolithic DNA.

I eat 8 whole eggs fried in bacon fat, bacon, avocado and raspberries before backcountry splitboarding. I can break trail for 4,000 vert.ft. without a snack. My grain eating partners must snack every hour or so to keep up. I am by no means built for endurance activity. I'm a big, lean, fast twitch dominant beast.

Try the Paleo diet for 90days and you will NEVER eat grains, legumes, tubers or dairy again.

 

[bubsy]

Eat more fat! Carbs are fuel for short anaerobic output. Fat is the fuel of endurance.

Grains, bread, dairy = garbage

Try eating 4 whole eggs fried in coconut oil, walnuts, almonds and raspberries/blackberries.

lnteresting.
I hear a few knowledgeable people speak of coconut oil as being a beneficial fuel source during endurance training as well as having some other health benifits despite the high sat fat content.

So what is your take on the ever popular choc milk as a recovey drink?
Is everyone really hindering their recovery by consuming this after hard training on a regular basis?

 

[Wlfdg]

lnteresting.
I hear a few knowledgeable people speak of coconut oil as being a beneficial fuel source during endurance training as well as having some other health benifits despite the high sat fat content.

The biggest benefit coconut oil has for athletes is medium chain triglycerides. MCT's are a fat that burns like a carbohydrate but with more than twice the energy. MCT's can't be stored as fat. Can't say that about carbs.
MCTs, Coconut Oil and the "Lipid of Choice" - Marty's Strength Column
Not all saturated fat is created equal. Saturated fat from factory farmed, grain fed livestock has a poor Omega6:3 ratio. That's not good. On the other hand saturated fat from free range, grass fed or pastured animals is very well O6:3 balanced and is very good for you.

So what is your take on the ever popular choc milk as a recovey drink?
Is everyone really hindering their recovery by consuming this after hard training on a regular basis?

Lets start with the FACT that excessive consumption of dairy leads to osteoporosis.
How Dairy Actually Causes Osteoporosis - Associated Content - associatedcontent.com
Since I am devoted believer in Paleolithic nutrition, dairy consumption is absurd to me. Adult lactose tolerance is considered to be a mutation.

There are a lot better choices available than chocolate milk. Just the fact that it's sweetened with sucrose or worse yet HFCS.
Chocolate milk is like oatmeal, near and dear.

 

[cyberlegend1994]

I eat 8 whole eggs fried in bacon fat...

Dude, you're well on your way to your first angioplasty...

 

[Wlfdg]

Dude, you're well on your way to your first angioplasty...

Actually that's a myth.
Heart disease isn't related to the consumption of saturated fat. It's caused by triglycerides from excessive carbohydrate consumption. Study fails to link saturated fat, heart disease | Reuters

 

[jflongo]

Actually that's a myth.
Heart disease isn't related to the consumption of saturated fat. It's caused by triglycerides from excessive carbohydrate consumption. Study fails to link saturated fat, heart disease | Reuters

Again just to comment, the stuff I mentioned above is NOT garbage. They help you feel full, help lower blood pressure, and cholesterol. A good mixture of GOOD fat, is good for energy and diet as well, I agree on that.

Question for you though, eating that much fat. Have you had your good and bad cholesterol checked?

 

[Wlfdg]

Again just to comment, the stuff I mentioned above is NOT garbage. They help you feel full, help lower blood pressure, and cholesterol.

Grains contain lectins, which are anti-nutrient proteins. Lectins also block the release of leptin which is the hormone that triggers the satiety signal.

Question for you though, eating that much fat. Have you had your good and bad cholesterol checked?

Yes and all is better than good.

I'm a hunter, the majority of my meat is wild game. I supplement it with free range beef, pastured pork, free range chicken/eggs and wild caught fish. My "bacon" is locally made. It's just brined and smoked pork belly from pastured pigs. I render my own tallow from grass fed beef fat and I also render bear fat. I use coconut oil.

 

[bubsy]

Thanks for the links Wlfdg
I went looking for coconut oil to use in some recipies and my post training meal for the added slin spike, but the supermarket didn't sell it so will try somewhere else.
l'm also a hunter/fisherman (freshwater) and hunt mostly deer and a few game birds
though not keen on harvesting wild pig from here too many diseases.
Still not giving up dairy or pasta though life's too short

 

[Kathleen Forero]

Oatmeal is usually the king. Or a Cereal with lots of Fiber, like Fiber One or similar. You could also try adding a quarter cup of almonds in the mix as well.

After you eat, how long do you wait to cycle? Is the portion regular sized?

 

[TKOS]

Rather than the prepackaged oatmeals with high sugar content look at less processed oatmeals like Steel Cut Oats. They contain more protein and I find last longer in the system.

But if you are eating all the things you mentioned - cereal, egg, toast etc... that is probably great.

What you may need to do is make sure to refuel up more often on the ride. An electrolyte drink with calories, a protein/carb bar or even a granola bar or banana. Just make sure to get the fuel in before you are hungry or it is already too late.

Don't go too crazy with your diet, or you may find those group rides a little uncomfortable (ie too much fiber increase too quickly).

Grains are not garbage nor evil. Paleo is a new attempt at the protein fat diet fad that pops up every so often. great short term results. But seriously I think we have evolved a bit since the paleo days. (and I am sure this post will be torn apart - so have at it).

 

[quenya]

I can't believe I get to be first to mention Quinoa. For breakfast before a long ride (4+ hours) I love a cup or more of quinoa, mashed banana, granola, rasins, and almond milk all mashed up together. This is a lot of calories so it works best if you eat a couple hours before you ride. For shorter rides anything under 3 hours I put 2 tbsp of peanut butter and a banana rolled up in a tortilla.

As far as the paleo diet argument, if it works for you that's great but that is not the case for everyone. I certainly don't model my health or nutrition on populations with average lifespans below my currant age. While we certainly haven't evolved much since the last 100,000 years, we have learned to control fire. If you want to 'eat like a caveman' have fun with that but unless you're willing to give up cooking meat then it's just not paleo.