Hungry during training

How long do these workouts take you?  How soon are you doing them after you eat?

You shouldn't be getting hungry for these workouts in any case.  You really shouldn't need to take in any calories at all for workouts under 1 hour.

ETA:  I'm not an expert -- that's just my experience and what I've head others say.  I personally do not take in any calories for workouts under 90 minutes.

Edited by Experior 2009-07-16 10:12 AM

Try to eating some protein with your breakfast to help keep you fuller longer.  I've noticed that eating Cheerios in the morning (which is my fav cereal) makes me even more hungry.   I usually like to drink a protein shake for breakfast or eat eggs & a piece of toast with  peanut butter so I don't get as hungry. 

I usually don't take a gel unless I'm going to be training continuously for an hour plus.  And sometimes I can go longer than that without a gel if it's an "easy" paced workout.

Unless you you didn't have enough energy in your system to start.  You can use up the energy in your breakfast pretty quickly if you didn't eat very much late in the day before.  

Another thing, if you are finishing your last bite/drink and heading out the door, your body may not have converted the food to energy and the digestive system doesn't work as efficiently while you are exerting yourself. 

The workouts usually take an average of 1.5 hours. I am doing them right after eating, so maybe my body doesn't have time to covert them to energy yet. I think I will try the peanut butter idea and see how that works.

That breakfast (especially the orange juice) is a recipe for being hungry after an hour (regardless of whether you're exercising or not)

Your blood sugar is spiking up (mostly from the juice) and then crashing... which will usually make you hungry.   Try scrambled eggs and/or some turkey bacon instead, and skip the juice.  And do it an hour or so before you workout.

At the very least, skip the juice.  It will help.   There's better ways to get VitC and folic acid. (without all the sugar)

FYI, I'm not a nutritionist, but a recovering carbohydrate junkie!

I agree with Moondawg, I don't think I could sit at my desk at work for 1.5hours and not be hungry after a breakfast like that.

This is something that I don't think very many people take seriously (I know I didn't when I was younger) but making sure that your nutrion is adequate for your training load is really important (not just what did you eat before or during an event).

I would recommend you look at what your total cal intake is each day (average) and what your cal outlet is with your training  (average).  Then I would make sure that you are getting a balanced blend of carbs, protein, and simple sugars.

As a side not, it is far more important what you have eaten the past two days, than what you had for breakfast right before your training. 

Michael

Take a banana with you in your cycle shirt if your hungry.

Anything under 1 hour I won't eat anything, usually 1.5 hours I'll take a banana or muelsi bar. Always better to take too much food than not enough.

Well, everybody's different, I guess.  I drink juice every morning, eat no more than OP for breakfast, and don't get hungry that quickly.  (Not to say I don't get hungry a lot during the day -- I eat 5 meals a day, but that's a different story.)

I also often do 1 hour or more working out first thing in the morning after eating ZERO breakfast -- maybe just a glass of juice or some water.

Honestly, unless you are malnourished, your muscles store MORE than enough glycogen to get you through an hour-long workout.

I eat Oatmeal w/blueberries, one egg beater on wheat bread, banana for breakfast every day, and will let that digest for 30-45minutes. That breakfast will hold me on a 50-60 mile bike ride or 10mile run. I do not get hungry.
I do have one bottle of sports drink on the bike and in my fuel belt for the run.
My overall diet consists of whole grains(pasta,rice),fruits, veggies, beans, minimal sugar (just natural in fruit) and that eating lifestyle keeps me energized through my workouts.

^^^^   Look here for a nice, balanced diet with lots of protein, fiber, and complex carbs.

i think the issue here is more when you are eating rather than what.

that juice alone if enough to fuel you a good way through that length workout.
i think the problem arises in that you are eating and then heading out the door, so the food is sitting in your stomach and not really doing a lot of good.

regardless of what you are eating, try and eat it an hour to two hours before you head out, or dont eat at all. in some cases if you are not doing a long wokrout, and you cant eat well ahead of time this may go better, your body wont be diverting blood to your stomach to try and cope with what is there, and you will not have to worry about thigns sloshing around, etc.

most mornings i just have a banana before i head out for my first two workouts of the day, and it goes fine.