I didn't add it all up, but that looks under fueled to me. Also looks light on carbs after your ride. I'd eat a decent breakfast before a 1:45 ride. And I'd probably have some type of recovery meal after with more carbs of some kind. Eating until lunch to have more substantial carbs is just minimizing what you can absorb before your run.

That's just a guess without knowing the quantities of everything and sitting down with a calculator.

Tldr: put your carbs closer to your ride so you can absorb them. Do the math on your total daily needs and make sure you are getting enough.

ETA : make sure you are getting enough carbs, overall. Again looks light to me. When I get over 2 hrs a day I really start to need the carbs for 2 or 3 workouts a day.

Not knowing enough about how the training sessions are cycled between easy / hard etc. ... BUT

SLEEP ... NOT.EVEN.CLOSE ... get more sleep to start (at least 8hr)... maybe take in some calories during the ride (which is what? maybe 1000 kj's?) to help expedite the recovery process

As well move a more key run session to a morning

EDIT: Again too hard to make training suggestions but I simply would go no farther than SLEEP & FUEL during the ride

---

-------------------------
Dave Latourette
http://www.TTENation.com

Thanks. Training is going great, but I have yet to figure this nutrition stuff out. Eating should be the easy part.

I consume about 2800 calories a day on average I thought I needed protein after a workout to aid in muscle repair, so I was trying to eat balanced right after the workout

Don't see much fat in your diet.

1000 calories after the training is done is lopsided.

I was 140 when I started IM training. Ate about 2000-2200 calories of normal food in 300 calorie meals spread in 3-hour incremenrpts during the day.

If I did a 1:45 ride, I would have had a bottle with 300-400 calories in it, along with at least a Gu, maybe 2, during the the ride.

During my run, I'd take a Gu every 45. Depending how long the run was, I might even do a snack before.

Lots of water, too.

Even fueling this way, I was 128 when I toed the IM line.

6ft and 137? I would say aneroxic just from that. But in all seriousness I don't think you're eating enough. 3000 cals isn't enough for a few hours of exercise each day. Any workout for me that is over an hour requires some input besides just water.

I'm no FOP so take my advice with a grain of salt. I say try some more sleep and more calories. I'm guessing with that workout schedule I'm doubting you will gain weight. During my IM training I had a hard time consuming enough calories with some of my gut issues. I had to really work at it. I just ended up eating lots of oatmeal, chicken, rice, waffles, cereal, blueberries, eggs etc. I ate a lot of the things over and over. Good luck on the TR plan. I love TR but definitely have learned, for me, I need to adjust the workouts at times as they have burned me out in the past.

"Yesterday -
Gibraltar 1:45 TR session (.81 if) 853kj.
Before ride cliff bar. Nothing during ride. Immediately after, a cottage cheese and banana. 2.5 hours later (9am) another cottage cheese and banana.

For lunch around 2pm - Chipotle - brown rice/black beans/chicken/salsas, plus a large spinach salad with various veggies and a little fruit.

Then comes my run at 5pm. After run, I have about a 1000 calorie dinner - usually 6 egg omlettes w/veggies and cheese, sweet potato, multigrain toast and salad. "


OK, you need to eat the vast majority of your carbs after your hardest sessions - 1.45 hrs on the bike at .81 IF is quite a tough session - not worried about what you eat before but I'd eat that cliff bar during (if u can) or have a gel mid-way though and perhaps liquid fuel during, especially into the 2nd hour into session.
Post-ride (more important than any before or during fuelling): that 1x banana as your only source of carbs aint gonna help much! Maybe take those 2 bananas (one from your mid-morning snack) & blend them up in a shake? Better still, have a banana sandwich or some toast & honey or similar. How the hell do you expect to recover from your bike session with 1 banana? Most non-training folks will have a bigger brekkie than you!

Mid-morning snack: maybe that cliff-bar you struggled to eat during a .81 IF ride.... Nuts etc to snack on.

Lunch: looks good to me, maybe add some avacodos & some cheese for fat source.

Mid-afternoon snack: apple or similar with natural yogurt or that cottage cheese.... Again, nibble on nuts etc.

Post-run: looks ok to me but if its a real tough interval session maybe have a banana immediately after to help out a bit.

Basically, think you need to sort out the post-morning session fuelling for a start - also, your legs are supposed to be a bit smashed up after a tough bike, part of the process?

6:45 a night? That is a problem. It does sound like you need more calories, but don’t overlook lack of recovery.

I'm of a very similar build (6"2, 142lbs most of the year) and during my recent IM training, I found myself needing to eat way more than 3000 calories a day. If you were completely sedentary, you'd still burn ~2000-2500 cal a day - add the ~850cal* morning ride and you're already past your intake. That's before counting "afterburn" and your evening run.

I never trained the volume you have (my longest weeks were touching 20 hours, but more than half of that was weekend workouts) and and on heavy weeks I just couldn't eat enough. When I did, I felt amazing - but as soon as I lapsed with food, I would feel tired and awful during workouts.

*as a rule of thumb, 1cal = 4kJ, but efficiency is in the ballpark of 20-25% so you've burnt ~850cal during the ride.

---

ZONE3 - We Last Longer

You are way too light in my opinion. You might be fine as a runner with that build/BMI, but damn. Most elites/age groupers that race well are in the 5 foot 10 inch, 150 to 160lb range.

Don’t know if it would be a good idea to put weight on at this point, but I would say eat more right now. You are light to begin with and seem to be under fueling.

---

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New Training/Racing Log - http://www.earthdaykid.com/blog --- Old Training/Racing Log - http://colinlaughery.blogspot.com

Your caloric intake looks fine for what you're doing, i do about the same and eat about the same as you, but with higher BMI because of genetics and 10lbs heavier

The afternoon workout is always going to be hard after waking up early and then work. Assuming you're not a movie critic and watch movies all day or something after your morning ride, your brain is fried after a day like that, you can do easy runs, but any hard effort runs you're not going to perform your best. That's not because of calories, but because of the day to day grind. I have the same issues as you.

Have your 'dinner' for breakfast. (maybe not 1000 kcals!)... Fuel yourself for your w/o's... Are you weighing yourself? Do so once a week first thing in the morning... Get up, pee, step on scale prior to drinking or eating... If your weight is staying consistant, your probably consuming enough calories... Then you may want to look into the quality of your fuel sources...

But grandma always told me "breakfast is the most important meal of the day"

Thanks guys! I love the IM training. I find it a lot of fun. Who would have thought that the hardest part would be figuring out how to eat? That has been my struggle. I have no idea how to fuel or eat and cannot figure it out. I wish it was as easy as loading up a structured training in TrainerRoad and just doing what is laid out.

How is that helpful? Some people's bodies are just built that way. He might not win Kona with that build, but we're talking Age Group IM, not Olympic squad selection. Almost all AG athletes could do with a few pounds less, but never face the same level of criticism as someone a few pounds under "ideal" weight.

---

ZONE3 - We Last Longer

Calories are probably close to right for someone of your weight. I think you would want more carbs in your diet, especially after a session. Carbs kick off the recovery process and in proximity to completion of a workout are absorbed most efficiently for glycogen replacement.

I just read Advanced Marathoning by Phitzinger and Douglas. Their chapter on nutrition resonated with me. Not sure why, as most other training books I have read say pretty much the same thing... might want to check it out

Its not too hard. My approach:

1. Know your calorie demand. Use your garmin, or google health, or my fitness pal, or whatever to get a good estimate of your daily needs. My BMR is around 1800 calories a day (with no training).
2. For protein, I consume 0.8g / pound of lean body mass daily. For me that's about 120g per day. (~500 calories)
3. For fat, I consume at least 60g of fat per day. I'm not anal about this, but I do try and make sure that I get some...good oils, avocado, mostly vegetable based fats. I do NOT actively avoid fats. (about 500-750 calories)
4. The balance of my calories I get from carbohydrates. Lighter days = less carbs, heavier days = more carbs. So, if I'm not training less than half of my diet comes from carbs (700-800 of the 1800). I generally eat whole grains: brown rice, whole grain pasta/breads, oats, etc.
5. I weigh myself every day. For me here in the Texas heat, hydration status can really influence any single weigh-in. So, I weigh daily, and look at weekly averages. I assume daily fluctuations are simply due to hydration. So, if I'm below the weekly average I assume I'm dehydrates and drink extra water that day. That said, I try not to ever let that happen.
6. Spread your calories out through the day. Front load with breakfast, eat during long workouts, and keep all your primary meals balanced in calories (don't eat a huge dinner and a small breakfast...all 3 meals should be roughly similar in calorie content).

If your weekly weight average is decreasing then you are NOT eating enough. Eat more, unless you are trying to lose weight. Even a 300 cal/day deficit will leave you feeling flat and is generally a losing battle with flat legs from any intensity (80%IF or greater), or longer (~2hrs) sessions.

As for timing:

When you eat before and/or during a workout, you usually aren't fueling THAT workout unless it is long. I think about it as fueling the NEXT workout. So, eat before the workout, instead of trying to refuel after---its easier to keep the tanks full, than to empty the tank and refill it later. Even a low intensity workout is fueled 50% by carbs, and it only gets worse the harder you go. So, if you are going to do a 1000cal workout like your 1:45 ride, at least 500 of that is carbs that needs to be replaced. At 80%IF, its probably more like 650+ from carbs.

For me, when I do a 2+ hr ride, I eat a large breakfast. LIke 1000 calories: 3-4 slides of whole wheat French toast, or pancakes and eggs, or a double batch of oatmeal, some fruit, and turkey sausage, etc. I'll also take food with me such as rice-bars, if I need in excess of that 1000 cals for the ride. Then if I've got another workout THAT day (maybe an evening run, which is typical), I'll consume a pint of chocolate milk---extra strength ovaltine is my go-to. If not, then I'll just eat normally.

It really comes down to eating more, eating sooner, and eating more carbohydrates. If a workout is approaching 1000 calories, eat before and during, and think about a recovery drink if you have a second workout the same day.

I can't get close to 8 hours of sleep even if i try.




850cal in 1hr45 on Gibraltar would suggest he's pretty weak on the bike too, I'd do 400cal more on the same ride at 138lb (I'm only 5'7). As you said, the light weight is good for running, but triathlon isn't running, you need to eat to get strong on the bike and in the pool.

LOL. I admit, I am weak on the bike. My TR ftp is 175. But, I just got my 1st bike ever a year ago. And I have only been doing structured training for about 12-13 weeks.

This is why I do the bike workouts in the morning and not afternoon. I am trying to focus on my biggest weakness.

I'm ashamed I'm so weak, but I am making an all out effort to get better. Week 9 of the heavy TR IM plan and I haven't missed a workout and do all of them to the intensity that is stated (minus Phoenix once the day after a Tri. Lowered it by 5%).

Sounds more to me like you are not conditioned enough for what you are trying to achieve. Under fuelling to me is pretty obvious to me when you have no energy over fatigue.

Cool, you’ll get there in time if you’re fresh to cycling.

I find i get the best gains in power when I’m gaining a bit of weight. Not necessarily gaining loads of fat, but trying to maintain a calorie surplus to ensure I’m fueled properly.

You’ve come on here a few times asking or posting about food intake/weight, and there is a consistent trend re underfueling and even some concerns re disordered eating. I’m not trying to be rude at all, just realistic. I think you really might want to consider working with a professional. In fact, I think Slowtwitch (while great for many things) may fuel (no pun intended) the urge to cut calories, which is likely not ideal for you. Good luck!

X2

---

Formerly DrD

Yes, and I take the info given and use it. 2 months ago I was down to 134 pounds and scared of rice... No joke.

I also eat new foids and enjoy them. For example, I bought cornmeal and made homemade arepas and corn tortillas three times last week. I started making quacamole and salsas with avacado. I eat at new restaurants, instead of the ones where I know the calorie in every item on the menu. Its been great.

In the past 4 weeks I have gained 4 pounds. I eat rice and a lot more carbs than I used to.

At 1st it was hard to see the number on the scale climb. Once it was all the way up to 142 pounds. I actually got depressed, but continued eating. Amazingly, I got over it. I am no longer depressed to see a higher number on the scale.

So believe it or not, I actually take the advice and apply it even when it is mentally hard to do so.

I might still be underfueled, but I am eating more and actually overcoming my fears of weight gain everyday. Its with the helpful advice I get that I have come this far mentally and physically in my quest to complete an IM.

Great, glad to hear that you’re working on this.