Do you have a particular race in mind...

As for nutrition...not having formal nutrition education... I like to focus more on calorie intake (but try and keep them fairly balanced) As long as you burn more than you intake...22% will come in time. Welcome to the sport... careful...its addictive;)



"Train to Reign"

Welcome aboard. Although I am the last person who should be giving nutritional advice (the owner of the Wendy's in my office building knows me by name). Don't overlook the fact that some fruits are actually high in carbs.

Don't let some of the recent craziness on this board scare you away. There are some very smart and very helpful people here. Good luck in you quest.

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"which is like watching one of your buddies announce that he's quitting booze and cigarettes, switching to a Vegan diet and training for triathalons ... but he's going to keep snorting heroin." Bill Simmons, ESPN

I don't have a degree in exercise or nutrition, so take these suggestions with that in mind:

I wouldn't worry too much about ratios between the three macronutrients right at the momment. I would focus on eating "quality" foods versus "junk" foods. Simple sugars/carbs should be reduced in favor of more whole grains, etc. Read lables, the more polysylabic words in the ingredient list, the more one should avoid them, IMO.

If you have been mostly sedentary until recently, listen to your body and eat if you feel hungry. Trying to reduce caloric intake at the same time increasing caloric expendature throws your body a double-whammy that may trigger the survival mechanism and restrict fat burning as well as potentially lead to fatigue, moodiness, etc.

My not so humble opinion is that just the exercise alone will cause you to drop five to ten pounds. The frustrating part is that the closer you get to your goal weight, the more stubborn the pounds come off.

Be patient, enjoy your new lifestyle and the extra energy you will soon find you have as well as greater mental stamina, focus, feeling of well being, etc.

To sum it up, don't geek on the diet/calories too much. Get the exercise habit established first, you will lose some weight there, then start tweaking the diet a few months into it.

HTH

Brett

I hope your trainer was just giving you guidelines and not asking you to actually either count calories or figure out the percentage of proteinm, carbs and fat that you eat. That's just not realistic.

My advice would be eat real foods and try to limit processed items such as pasta, bread and cereal. Not because they're "carbs" but because they're processed. Eat plenty of fruits, veggies, lean meats, chicken, fish, nuts (as snacks) and a lot of water. That combined with exercise will get you where you want to be.

Also, while the cardio is obviosuly important to both losing weight and getting fit for tris, don't think that the weights is any less important. IF you want proof, look at the body compositions of the people on cardio machines vs in the weight room. Those in the weight room are much leaner (less fat) with more muscle.

Good luck!