What to eat to suffice hunger/cravings

I am just wondering what others are doing or eating to suffice their hungry/cravings. Some days I don’t just eat enough on the bike and end up hungry during the day and trying to resist binge eating all day. Whats your tips?

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That sounds very familiar, I was often the same before I started fueling my workouts properly. The best thing is to eat and drink enough on the bike. Period. Aim for 100 g of carbs per hour. Also, drink enough. I sweat a lot indoors, so hydration is not a problem. Drinking as much as I do has the nice side effect that my stomach feels quite full at the end of a workout.

I train in the morning and have breakfast afterwards. When I fuel properly, my breakfasts are normal, i. e. I eat close to the same amount as if I hadn’t done a workout that morning.

When I feel peckish in the afternoon, I eat a piece of fruit or a high-protein yoghurt. In my experience, it is not a good idea to try to resist, if I do that, I eat tons for dinner. Instead, I found it is much better if I just have a snack.

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What helped me with this is making breakfast my biggest meal of the day. Depending on my workout I burn between 3500-4000 kcal per day. My breakfast consists of 1600 kcal. 85% of that is carbs (oats, fruits), 15% protein. After that I’m so full that I only need lunch (800 kcal) and dinner (600 kcal). Rest is either on the bike fueling (when doing high intensity) or caloric deficit (when doing Z2).

I work out before breakfast but I’d stick to this schedule even if working out at another time.

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I would try to see the eating as fuelling, and not bingeing! :slight_smile:

But, that would also force you to see the benefit och the food you’re eating, and selecting the food based on that.

With that said, eating a lot is good, if you’re fuelling the work. But if you’re eating Ben N’ Jerry, then of course it doesn’t prove a benefit.

Binge is fine, just make sure you’re bingeing on carbs! :spaghetti:


Personal example: I do my 90min commute without any food on the bike, the second I get to the office I get a big coffee, overnight oats, and a sandwich. Making sure I get those into my system fast is key to not overeating for the rest of the day.

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If I’m hungry and actually need calories then I’ll snack on something fairly calorific as well as filling. Nuts, crackers or rice cakes with nut butter, dried fruit, yoghurt with fruit and granola, that sort of thing. Maybe cereal or granola bar if out and about and limited to what’s easily available.

If on the other hand I’m hungry but don’t really need calories but just to stave off hunger until next meal, then more likely to go veg or fruit which I find filling but without a lot of cals. Raw carrot or broccoli, apples. Probably a coffee as well.

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I try to fuel the ride, but make sure I’m not going way over on processed carbs. I’ll do as high as 100-120 g of carbs per hour on the bike - Maltodextrin/Fructose Mix with added sodium. Helps tremendously. Easier rides I may drop down to fasted, 30 g an hour, middle of the road rides 50-60g an hour.

Off the bike, I prioritize protein first and personally aim for 120-150g per day spread out in multiple servings. After that, drink a lot of water and eat a ton of apples / pears. For protein - that’s usually at least two scoops of protein powder at different points during the day.

Helps control hunger and cravings and to be honest, I never have a problem getting enough carbs this way.

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Cravings and bingeing are a pretty significant sign you’re either not getting something or getting too much of something in your diet. That being said, having calorie dense stuff like cheese, whole milk, and nuts around can help a lot

Ben and Jerry’s is full of carbs! :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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Fuel on the bike improves performance and recovery.
Refuel immediately after being on the bike, depending on what time of day my ride was this might be a normal meal, cakes, donut or my daily snack of high protein yoghurt with nuts and fresh fruit
Eat 3 normal meals a day, plenty or protein and fresh vegetables.

I found cutting out sweet (doesn’t matter if its sweet because of sugar, natural or artificial sweeteners) food and drinks, between meals drastically reduced my desire to snack.

I always try to eat something healthy like a piece of meat, cured sausage or a bit of cheese. All high in protein and healthy saturated fats and low in tooth rotting carbs

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I would re visit your diet, a balanced diet with the appropriate amount of calories should negate the trigger of hunger pains.

If it’s more physiological and your mind is the source of the cravings, have a drink of water. It fills the void and for me is remarkably effective.

We always have cashews on hand. It’s a good snack as it’s healthy and filling, but not crave-inducing like some foods can be for me. I know I’m actually hungry and not just feeling snack-y if cashews sound good to eat.

Two things I would focus on that both help with satiety, but also efficient from a calorie perspective are protein and fiber. Both will help deal with hunger. Also, try an electrolyte drink, like LMNT or something like that. Often hunger reflects a need for sodium, not a need for calories.

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When i was racing a lot and averaging 16-20 hrs on the bike i was constantly hungry. I found that eating some beans and rice helped a lot as it seemed to take much longer to digest.

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I went through this before, what helped me; eating even on endurance rides up to 100g an hour ( some people are completely against it), eating big satiating meals with carbs fat and protein.
I’ve also heard if you don’t eat enough protein it can cause you to feel hungry. Maybe it’s bro science, but for me what helps is fueling rides and eating at least 3 large meals a day, maybe even a small snack in between meals.
I also have to eat like 4k calories a day to put it into perspective.
All that has made my binge episodes disappear but somedays especially holidays turn into eating a lot. I wouldn’t call it bingeing but enjoying the time with family and friends.

Assuming you are fuelling your rides properly and the rest of your meals are all on point;
what i found was I was getting 3pm hunger pangs super bad, prime snacking time.

Two go-to solutions now;

  1. 250g cottage cheese, 100g of frozen berries
  2. Adult lunchables; 6-10 triscuit crackers, 6-10 pieces of cheese, 2 pepperoni sticks
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If you are not vegan, try a boiled egg as a snack. Eggs are great at satiating hunger, offer a nice protein and fat hit. I drizzle a little Sriracha on top for a kick.

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Such an overlooked/underrated snack!

my solution is salty popcorn, a lot of it ::slight_smile:

If I was only allowed to eat cottage cheese when I am hungry, I could look like Michael Rasmussen. If I don’t starve to death from never eating, that is!