I have the same issue. And a massive craving for super spicy food to go with it.

protein shake after every workout, protein shake before bed

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That is weird. I recently started craving spicy stuff. I now eat jalapenos, habinero hot sauce and cant get enough spice on anything I eat. Prior to just a few months ago, I would never eat anything spicy.

The craving for spicy has also increased with my longer duration trainings.

I have been having the same problem training for my first IM. I am ALWAYS hungry. My tricks:

- drink water
- snack on fruits and veggies (nothing else)
- drink coffee (this actually helps satisfy my sweet tooth craving)

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I used to have those issues on long workouts - I would come back and gorge on every wrong treat in the back of the pantry.

It really comes down to fueling more during your workout. When you know you are going out for 3-4 hours, start eating early, within your first hour. Keep up a steady intake throughout - this a good chance to practice race nutrition - 200 cal/hour? 250? - Try some protein... When you get it right you will come back from long days and be able to eat normally.

The insatiable cravings post workout are because you created a caloric hole in your day and you body is working to fill in the hole.

I've also worked on engaging more fat-burning metabolism - I'm not sure how much that has helped. If your pre-workout meals are pasta, bagels and Gatorade, you are telling your body all it needs to run on is sugar. We all have 50,000 - 100,000 calories of fat stored, so if you can train your body to burn that, that may help reduce teh post-workout cravings

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" I take my gear out of my car and put my bike together. Tourists and locals are watching from sidewalk cafes. Non-racers. The emptiness of of their lives shocks me. "
(opening lines from Tim Krabbe's The Rider , 1978

be very careful with this. it's better to have a little more weight for an IM than a little less weight.

Completely agree. Right now, I weight the same as I do for 70.3 racing (158-160). My problem is that once I start snacking, I can’t stop. But it’s been a balance. I just got back from a work trip to Charlotte. I ate plenty enough bbq for two people. :)

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Thanks for the feedback everyone. At least I know it's not just me. I have found that if I keep busy running around with the family afterwards then I won't be noticing the hunger as much. That much being said if it was a 5 hour day I might be feeling a bit shattered as well.

I get in about 500 cals for breakfast before the long ride, no issues. Then 350 cals an hour on the bike between Perpetuem and Bars at .70 IF, never issues here as well. Then the normal recovery with the immediate - as long as you trained - then the rest of the day. And the rest of the day part say from 3pm onwards is where the hunger goes ballistic.

Would like to get down a few pounds before my first "A" race in late January. Probably should worry less about the long day and more about flaking out on my nutrition during the weekday with the unnecessary extra dinner serving or beverage!

Just go with it.

Being able to eat a ton is half the fun :)

There are two things I find light up the appetite like nothing else:

1) long runs (whatever counts at the time, whether thats 10 miles or 20, but the kind of long run that is much longer than your others)
2) cold swims

In those cases it's like I can't eat enough for the next six hours or more.

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The point is, ladies and gentleman, that speed, for lack of a better word, is good. Speed is right, Speed works. Speed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit.

Back when I was doing 25-30 hour cycling weeks I learned a few things that helped curb the appetite.

1) Hydrate better. If you are dehydrated you get hungrier. Try to drink more water when riding

2) Increase your protein consumption. I started doing 2 protein shakes a day. This accounted for about 80g of protein a day. Along with eating a rounded diet, I would get .7-.8g protein per lb of body weight. This helped a lot.

3) Fizzy water is a blessing. It helps fill you up and gives you some taste in your mouth. It did wonders for me and a few other pros I know.

Coffee, cigarettes, some dip, a little bump of Bolivian marching powder-no more appetite problems.

Seriously though, I would try to run less of a caloric deficit during the workout and especially near the end. That can leave your body a little happier hormonally post workout and less hungry.

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Like the switch between salty -sweet - salty when done with a long workout, sometimes eating well during helps with the cravings
Loving the Cliff bars after long one as well

You should be eating more anyway to compensate for a long workout. Trying to lose weight by depriving your body after long rides or runs is a bad idea. Most likely you need an extra 1500+ calories, so your body is giving you a signal to eat this.

Eat. That's probably your body craving protein. But if you give it other foods like carbs and sugars it will just keep on craving. Eat some protein.

That's just been my +1 observation based on no scientific evidence whatsoever.

I remember this when I was doing my big IM builds too...I think there's already a lot of great advice but if you want to really get a handle on it, use a calorie counter app to really see how much you're eating. If your 2K on your ride, you're gonna need some calories if you're not already holding a few extra LBS. Another thing that worked great for me is eat that initial post workout meal and then take a nap. You get some added rest plus you're not hungry when you're asleep or eating either. ;)

Again good calories should be a problem even with a touch of bad ones just be careful of the entire bag of chips syndrome.