Have always been a big eater but since I have been riding more regularly I could eat constantly!  It's especially bad at work where I often actually hypo.  I have a sedentary job so seems weird that I appear to use up so many calories whilst sitting down!  I always have breakfast but by 10am I am STARVED.  Eat lots of fruit and have a decent sixed carbo lunch but by the time I get home I am practically hypo again! Then have HUGE dinner (usually eat more than bf) and often have to have a snack before bed or I wake up hungry in the early hours of the morning.

Last year I was tested for hyperthyroidism which was negative as although I eat loads I am not gaining any weight - in fact recently dropped to 8st which is the lightest I have been since I was about 16!

Any advice on 'good' snacks that may be a bit more filling that fruit?  (have to be a bit careful as I am quite severly allergic to walnuts, even the slightest hint of them in a recipe and the inside of my mouth starts to itch....)

Cheers

im no expert as per my last food related post! but i def find that eating lots of fruit in teh day ( sat using a computer all day ) makes me starving. i dunno if its the acid?

also something that might be common sense but i didnt know until recently is that when you exercise you still burn off calaries from it way after when you've finished - so maybe you just need to eat more? if your not putting on weight then listen to your body and eat?

my bf has increased his riding, hes lost weight and is eating crazy amounts of food and not putting on weight same as you - so don't worry 

if in doubt get to teh docs or a nutritionist

The more you exercice the more muscle you build up. So your metabolism increases and need more food even when you're not doing anything.

Then the question you need to answer is:

I am hungry (stomac growling) or do I jsut want food? When I was dieting I quickly learnt the difference between both.

Junk food doesn't help as it's just build on flavouring and other crap additives. Diet stuff is plain wrong. Just wrong. When you eat sugar, the increase of the glucose concentration in the blood triggers some receptors in the brain that stops you for starving. Modern food as less and less glucose and more and more tastier complex sugars that don't have the same effect.

IIRC apple for examples contains a lot of fructose over glucose so you could eat zillion of apple before your brain decids you're full  

Then I don't know how much 8 st is but doesn't sound much to me.

Drinks a lot it helps and fruit are just good unless you can get your hand on proper bread and nutella yum yum .

Jsut don't worry if you're not putting weight on, nothgin to worry about 

i agree with ads - i find it best to eat fruit shortly before meals - as the acid always seems to give me hunger pangs.

not bananas though - they seem a bit more filling.

i've read a few things though which recommend eating more on a ride so that you dont pig out when you get back.

i used to be able to eat anything i wanted, but since being on the gluten free diet - i've put 3 kilos on. 

had to cut down on the snickers bars a bit!

other good snacks could be a handful of pretzels with houmous, vegetables dipped in low fat cream cheese, solid fruit bars or a handful of dried apricots.

should take a leaf out of my own book....

Fruit has a high sugar content - natural sugar though (fructose). Fructose is a slower releasing carbohydrate than sucrose which is what we all know as "normal" sugar.  So, in theory, it should stop you feeling hungry.  I don't know why, but i too find that it doesn't!! Ha.  I think that maybe we eat fruit when we are hungry, and as it doesn't fill us straight away, we think it makes us feel hungry still.   I often have an apple say, on my way home from work, or late afternoon, esp if it's gonna be a while before I eat a meal; I think it therefore sustains me a little.   Fruit generally is also very quick to digest, and should be eaten before a meal, otherwise it breaks down and sits on top of your previous food, fermenting! Niiice. Supposed to eat it 20 mins before anything else, though for some reason many people seem to eat it as a pud. Bizaar.

I don't do it now, but when I used an energy drink when I was riding, I wouldn't be hungry at the end of a ride like most other people. So, maybe this is something you could try?

Be aware that high sugar content foods will satisfy you immediately, but that this raises your blood sugar levels quite dramatically, the body then releases insulin to lower the level, which then results in the level becoming too low (a dip) and you then feel very hungry again. If you don't eat, then you can become shaky.  If you continue to eat high sugar foods at these times then your blood sugar levels are going from very high to very low constantly. This can, eventually make you susceptible to diabetese.

Caffeine also has the effect of (falsly?) raising your blood sugar levels, thus curbing those hunger pangs for about an hour and a half, then you feel very hungry again (a dip). Personally, I find that if I have a very strong coffee, then I do get the shakes later. I usually try to limit the strength a little, and time my coffees to about an hour and a half before a meal.  (caffeine has many other badnesses to it, so I only have 2 a day!)

That's my bit then....and look how slim I am!! lol  

btw my hunger gets soooooo much worse during those delightful pre-menstrual  times....