"Fueling the work" without stuffing my face

I think “fueling the work” has two aspects: what you eat on the bike and what you eat off the bike. In my experience, fueling during workouts would really help me keep my eating under control after the workout. I tried workout out fasted for Z2 workouts, but I was ravenous afterwards.

On the bike it is very hard to consume the calories you expend. I take in about 400–420 kCal/h (or about 90–100 g carbs per h). Our calorie expenditures seem quite similar, for me a typical workout requires about 700 kCal/h (Z2)–1,200 kCal/h (sweet spot, etc.). You’ll have a hard time to replenish the calories you expend working out on the bike. You are already doing that, so this will to lessen food cravings right after a workout. 100 g per hour are at the upper end of what you can consume during the bike.

The second aspect is eating habits off the bike, and without judging, it seems you have work to do here. I second/third what others have said here: avoid pre-processed foods, e. g. buy raw meat instead of sausages, avoid cheese and store-bought salad dressing, etc. Just don’t buy them and don’t keep them stocked in your pantry. Replace ice cream with yoghurt. Try to cook for yourself. The closer you are to primary ingredients the better. Secondly, give yourself one cheat day per week or so. We are not robots that follow instructions blindly without thinking. Don’t try to follow diets, try to build better habits.

Another big one is beer. I love beer. I’m German. But I’ve gotten used to sharing 1–2 cans per beer per week with my wife. Drinking for taste and pleasure. Of course, if there is a wedding or a BBQ, I will indulge further. But alcohol is another big one. (You didn’t mention alcohol in your post, but it is an important point.)

My food cravings and preferences shift quite a bit across a year and over the years. In January, I want more chocolate, which is a left-over from all the chocolate and candy I have had in December. When I train less, my cravings shift towards less healthy food. When I am training well, I don’t want fatty and fried foods anymore.

Speaking from my own experience regarding food cravings: after December (where I eat more-than-usual and more chocolate and sweets), I always have cravings in January for things like chocolate. Know that they will go away with time. During most of the year, I buy 1–2 chocolates per month. Also, things like muesli and oat meal might taste bland at first, because they have much less or no added sugar. After a while your taste buds rewire and regular cereal tastes impossibly sweet.

Lastly, learn to deal with discomfort. I’m trying to lose 2 kg now (probably nothing for you) without it impacting me. This is just the weight I have gained over the holidays and a consequence of a forced 5-week training holiday (due to illness). It feels a bit weird to go to bed slightly hungry. In my case I also don’t want to impact my training negatively.

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