How to fuel up quickly right out of bed and before ride?

[Teresa A]

@KLizotte 154643 wrote:

Hi y’all, due to a crazy schedule at new(ish) job I’ve been getting up extra early* to do 45-60 minutes hard workout on the trainer before heading into work.

I eat a bowl of cereal (with berries/raisins) or yogurt (with granola/raisins/berries) about 15 minutes before I hop on to the trainer. Unfortunately my body does not have time to digest the breakfast before I start pedaling so I am exercising without having effectively eaten anything for 10-11 hours and this causes me to feel sluggish and non-zippy.

Are there any fast acting, healthy foods that will provide a quick boost of energy but not break the bank calorie wise? I know high glycemic simple carbs are bad but is that what I should be consuming anyway? I really don’t want to eat a bagel every day. Do I really need to get up even earlier so my body has time to digest a healthy breakfast? (This latter option may just kill me so I doubt exercising in this instance would be so healthy)

Thanks for your tips!

*Yes, Hell has frozen over.

You could try an energy gel 15 min before. At 100 calories it doesn’t break the bank. I can’t eat that early so gels are my go to before early races or more intense trainer sessions. Then you can eat a real meal afterwards.

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[Vicegrip]

Instant breakfast in warm milk. Fast absorption and easy digestion*. Room temp water during. Eat the real meal after and enjoy it even more as a good workout makes food taste better.

*For most folks YMMV.

[Tim Kelley]

Banana! Very high on the glycemic index for fast energy to get you through an earlier morning ride.

[KLizotte]

@Vicegrip 154648 wrote:

Instant breakfast in warm milk. Fast absorption and easy digestion*. Room temp water during. Eat the real meal after and enjoy it even more as a good workout makes food taste better.

*For most folks YMMV.

Do you mean instant oatmeal or the powered stuff?

I’m wondering if I could have something by my bedside that I could quickly eat then nod off for 45 more minutes before getting up. Kinda dangerous though since it may screw up my sleeping schedule even more.

I can’t stand energy gels. Augh. Nasty. Maybe pure maple syrup? I’ve heard that is the “new cool thing” on the block.

I wish I could telework more. It would “buy” me some morning time.

[ImaCynic]

@KLizotte 154659 wrote:

Do you mean instant oatmeal or the powered stuff?

I’m wondering if I could have something by my bedside that I could quickly eat then nod off for 45 more minutes before getting up. Kinda dangerous though since it may screw up my sleeping schedule even more.

I can’t stand energy gels. Augh. Nasty. Maybe pure maple syrup? I’ve heard that is the “new cool thing” on the block.

I wish I could telework more. It would “buy” me some morning time.

Have you tried chocolate milk? Throw in a shot of espresso for that extra kick.

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[anomad]

You could just have a cup of coffee and go for it. Burn some fat (if you have any). I have plenty!

I get up about 530 and if everything is smooth I’m at my desk at 730. I’m not ravenously hungry after the hour ride with only a small coffee in me. Takes a while to train your body to do that, but I find that morning workout with no food before helps me keep the weight off better than many things. Come to think of it, when I was young and into going fast I would do 20-30 minutes on the rollers right out of bed and then out the door for the ride to work. Didn’t need to eat first back then either.

Consuming gel or sugar water during your workout would be my suggestion if you must eat something. Follow it up with real food within 10-15 minutes after completing the workout. Going to bed well fed and fully hydrated should have all your muscles fueled up and ready to go in the morning after a good nights sleep. (I glossed over where you said you don’t care for gel when I first read through. Sugar water might be your thing? Maybe a home made savory rice bar?)

[KLizotte]

I should have added that I’m restricting calories and eating low carb since I’m losing weight so am already somewhat hungry by the time I wake up. Actually one of the reasons I’m exercising is that I get an add’l calorie allowance!

I think I’m going to try Tim’s idea adding a banana or fruit (fast carbs).

[dkel]

Perfect solution: cocaine. Zero calories, effective stimulant, fast-acting.

[anomad]

If you’re reducing caloric intake and eating low carb that makes me think you want to burn some fat. How far are you going? Do you weigh your daily food intake? You can do that to run around a 100-200 calorie daily deficit to trim up. It takes a little work to weigh everything and write down the calories/gram for your favourite foods. Surgically effective though, i used to do that…back when I had a 32 inch waist instead of a 36! haha

If you just “need” to eat something before your morning trainer session and can’t mange with just a coffee, then fruit is probably a good bet. I like pineapples and mango. Toast and jam has a lot of simple sugars and is easy to prepare. If you’re compulsively cutting carbs maybe skip the bread and eat peanut butter or a fried egg?

Everyone is different. Try different things for a week consistently and see what works and what doesn’t.

Some pros are going for a later long ride with little or no food and then going to sleep with sleeping pills, without eating. To get absolutely lean. I don’t suggest doing that, I won’t even give up beer!

[vern]

I personally prefer to ride on an empty stomach, but if I want a quick shot at the start, I’d go with Tim’s suggestion of a banana, or, a piece of Java Gum, which has the equivalent of one cup of coffee of caffeine, which produces its magic in very short order.

[KLizotte]

Wow, I’m amazed so many people can do a long workout without eating esp in the morning. I have never been able to but then again, I rarely eat much for dinner (lunch is my big meal of the day). All the articles I’ve read this evening say it is really important to have some carbs (short and long acting) in you about 60 minutes before exercising and then protein/carbs after the exercise (pref within 30-45 minutes) to help your muscles recover quicker. Both meals can be rather small so you don’t overdo the calories.

I’m using the MyFitnessPal app. Makes calorie/carb counting easy and links automatically with Strava. It’s remarkable how little 1,200 calories gets you for the entire day. Anyway, my average mph and endurance are up, I’ve gained some muscle, and I’ve dropped nine pounds. Still have a long way to go though. If the work hours weren’t so long I’d be further along but nothing I can do about that right now…

[hozn]

I don’t eat before AM exercise, though I am not saying that is the healthiest option. Mostly it is because I don’t want to get up any earlier than I have to. For a 6am ride that starts 15 minutes from home, I set the alarm for 5:30. In the “on” season when I do longer (40-50-mile) rides once or twice in the morning before work, I would typically eat a snack (e.g. yogurt and fruit) after dinner. That usually gives me enough energy for 3 hours of riding in the morning, though on the hard rides I feel pretty depleted by the time I get to work. I eat a bagel with peanut butter for breakfast at work. I’ll add almonds or cashews if I need more calories (e.g. after the longer rides). That system seems to work pretty well for me, though I find it easy to overeat especially during race season when there is so much volatility in exercise levels. Really to lose weight or stay at a particular weight I do need to track calories. (I also used MyFitnessPal a couple years back and that was a really eye-opening experience.)

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