Could you explain what sort of thing I should be eating. I have a 15 mile commute aswell as a job that involves moving heavy goods around all day. I just stuff myself with whatever food is available, seems to work. I do get incredibly hungry.
It's not working for you if you feel incredibly hungry! If your riding that distance you obviously need to eat more, but if you already eat a lot but shortly after don't feel satisfied you are not eating right.
You want to focus your meals around
low GI foods, so avoid anything with added sugars (sweet cereals, white breads, bagels) and opt for slow energy release foods such as wholemeal breads, rice, pasta. For breakfast I typically eat porridge and berries, or muesli/yogurt with added fruits such as apple or banana. Pick up frozen berries for a couple of quid at the freezer section of the supermarket, they are great for throwing in porridge before heating, and naturally sweeten your foods. Fats are important too, this is where the yogurt and nuts come in handy, alternatively a fry up is great before weekend rides, but I certainly don't have time for this before work!
If you are still hungry after this sort of breakfast, you need to eat more. Solve this by eating a bigger lunch, snack on things like a handful of nuts (I love almonds and brazil nuts) or fruit before and after lunch. I also usually save a banana for 30 mins before my ride home for a boost at the end of the day.
You still want to eat plenty of carbs, but don't base your meals on them entirely as you need energy to that is released slowly over the course of your ride, eating toast for instance would mean you feel great for the first 30 minutes of a ride, but your starving at the other end!
Edit: Too many carbs will do you a disservice, although you feel great and raring to go to start with, you will soon burn through this energy and slump afterwards (e.g. more likely to hit the wall!). Unless you are simply not eating enough and losing weight fast, the reason for you feel hungry so soon after eating is too much high GI content on your plate. You can't cut carbs out completely however, as carbs are needed for quick bursts of energy sprinting/hills. It's a bit of a balancing act and you will need to work out what is right for you personally, but once you understand that slow-release (low-GI) foods are better to keep you going all day you should be able to avoid hunger for longer. Snacking is important, just don't eat crisps or chocolates, cakes as they make you even hungrier!
That said, don't over think it too much, just eat more and eat healthy.
