Calorie Deficit

Foster

Yeah you will have hunger pangs until your body gets used to the deficit you are doing.

Cronus70

As a side note, if you do feel hungry then try drinking some water. The body's water need can have the same feeling as the body's food need (hunger pangs) and oftentimes people think it's hunger and start eating. Drink first, eat second [emoji106]

inzaman

So commuted to work today (just recovering from a cold which might explain my abysmal race performance at the weekend).
Would normally do a fasted ride to work but as i am still recovering from a cold i though i'd drop that this week so had porridge for breakfast with a homemade fruit smoothie consisting of Banana, Apple, Pear, frozen Berries, and Kiwi, blended with water.
According the the British Cycling site i should now have a mid morning snack so forced myself to have some yogurt with a handful of nuts (i say forced as i didn't feel hungry).
Will have pasta for lunch and then i am supposed to have a mid afternoon snack so will see how this goes. As my commute home tonight is sub 90mins and i am not going to totally push it will not need any fueling on the bike but will see if i feel full of energy cycling home.
I am going to commute tomorrow also so will follow the same plan. I am hoping to push it harder and for 90-120mins on my way home tomorrow depending on if i am still feeling the after effects of this cold.

jacjon

you are saying you "feel" like you ate less and you probably did but when it comes to losing weight or gaining weight it is important and effective to write down and objectively track what's going on that way you have a base from which you can make necessary adjustments (removing more food, increasing cardio/lifting for caloric expenditure).

djpaulc247

Something doesn't read right here with the cals you are consuming and your weight / weight loss.  You say some days you're only eating 800cals but are you counting EVERY calorie?  Sugar in your tea / coffee, soft drinks, fruit, snacks, etc?  Do you drink alcohol at the weekends and get takeaways and have a bit of chocoloate, sweets, ice cream, etc?

mooperman

blimey this thread has some shockers in it...

just do what booyaka has said!!

Rcfman

How many Kgs of eggs in your scrambled eggs? Small regular macro calculated meals every 2.5hrs and the right amount of hydration. That's all.

inzaman

So three weeks in of changing my in the week diet to increase calories;
Commuting on bike:
Breakfast: Same as pre-diet whether fasted commute or not. Sometimes have a Protein shake if i am planning on a big cycle on the way home.
Mid-morning snack: Natural or Greek yogurt with a handful of nuts and/or dried fruit.
Lunch: Tuna Pasta
Afternoon Snack: Small chocolate bar or Soreen or Power Bar.
Commute home - if under 1 hour then nothing on the commute, if over one hour then some fig biscuits and/or energy gel.
Post commute Protein shake if commuting next day and evening meal (as before diet), if not cycling next day then usually drop the shake.

If i am Mountain biking straight after work (and therefore in my car as opposed to commuting by bike) then i will still follow the mid morning/afternoon snacks above but switch the pasta for light lunch and have the pasta about 17:00. Always have a Protein shake after mountain biking as we finish about 21:00 so good evening recovery.

The days i do not cycle i stick to the diet i had before - no mid morning or afternoon snacks and just a light lunch and evening meal as normal.

So how do i feel? AMAZING in a word. The power i feel on the bike is great and feel really strong and just want to keep going. I am peddling more and not peddling coasting. I am also hitting many PBs on Strava.
The next day my legs do not feel as tired neither do i, and i feel ready to get back on the bike. We will see how this translates into race performance when i next race.

A lot of the hunger pangs have gone and despite at first kind of having to force myself to eat a mid-morning snack i now feel ready for it.

I have also cut down snacking at night as now after my evening meal that's it i feel satisfied. I haven't noticed any weight gain but i am not trying to lose weight just maintain my weight but get stronger on the bike.

nickC29

You also might want to pay attention to your body composition and not just the weight. If you get a smart scale it can tell you your fat vs muscle percentage. It's possible that you could be gaining muscle causing the scale not to be going down.

StrontiumDog

Calculate your macros and keep a food log and monitor exactly how many calories you are eating. I bet your caloric intake is a lot more than what you think. It can be quite an eye opener.