I am looking for a few sources/books on good diet for a triathlete. Maybe some motivational guidance as well. I eat a lot of good stuff, and some crap along the way. But it all adds up. I started the year at 218, but now sit at 203. So there has been improvement, but I have plateaued. I figure my performance will continue to improve as I loose more. Thus the motivation. Bigger issue for me … control.
I also play soccer and weight-train. I am 5’9" 203 and a mesomorph physique. So a stocky muscular frame that easily adds weight. I used to body build and had a perfect diet for that. Fast forward 20 years, life changes. I figure for me to be that lean, I have to be really strict. So if I had an easy system and a kick in the ass I might get to the 180 mark, I have set for myself. 190 before the end of the year would be the goal.
I am looking for a few sources/books on good diet for a triathlete. Maybe some motivational guidance as well. I eat a lot of good stuff, and some crap along the way. But it all adds up. I started the year at 218, but now sit at 203. So there has been improvement, but I have plateaued. I figure my performance will continue to improve as I loose more. Thus the motivation. Bigger issue for me … control.
I also play soccer and weight-train. I am 5’9" 203 and a mesomorph physique. So a stocky muscular frame that easily adds weight. I used to body build and had a perfect diet for that. Fast forward 20 years, life changes. I figure for me to be that lean, I have to be really strict. So if I had an easy system and a kick in the ass I might get to the 180 mark, I have set for myself. 190 before the end of the year would be the goal.
Any suggestions out there?
Endurance Sports Nutrition, by…Eberle?
I’d going to break a big taboo and suggest it isn’t necessary to find something specific to triathletes. A good diet is a good diet. You might need more high quality carbs than your average person who works out but not as much as you think.
As far as cravings and binging, read “The End of Overeating” by Kessler. Former FDA commissioner who did a study on the American diet and triggers for cravings. It isn’t a diet book. It isn’t going to give you a meal plan or recipes. What it will give you is insight into why you can’t walk past the cookies or chips or other crap. Understanding why you eat it will help you avoid it. Since reading it I’ve been able to pass on the cookies and crap and have dropped 4lbs. I occasionally cave but no where near as often as I used to.
If you eat like you used to as a bodybuilder when cutting you won’t have any problems. You know what to do, just do it after your last race for the season. Based on what’s been happening to this point, it shows that you are at least matching your calories. So after working hard to lose for a while I don’t think you’ll have trouble keeping it off.
My problem is maintaining weight (trying to stay clydesdale). I have to intentionally add ice cream and other empty calories just to avoid losing weight.
I am currently reading the Paleo Diet for Athletes. I’m about 1/4 of the way into it and its very interesting.
I am also a former soccer player. I got back into tri’s this year. Started training in January at @198 lbs.
Just broke 180 yesterday. I was stuck at 181-183 for the last month or two. I think a few things helped.
Cut out the diet coke and replace with water. I would swear there is a chemical in diet coke that does something to keep the weight on.
Upped my hours from about 11-13+. I’m in the final two week build to Muskoka
Tried to incorporate some of the stuff from the book above. Also really… tried to stop eating after 7pm
Not sure if any of this helps but I know how you feel.
This well worth grabbing hold of. We’re always looking for something different to bring into the diet and this gave some great ideas. As people who love a good, bloody steak, there’s no way we’d go the whole hog. But there are some good meal suggestion in here to add to the diet.
Variety in a diet goes a long way to weight control. That and will power too of course.
Having only glanced over the posts not sure if body composition has been mentioned. WOuld be well worth having that checked. I am 5’6", weigh 177 lbs (167cm, 80kg) which yields a BMI close to obese 28.68 - obese is 30 plus. Yet a body composition check shows that I am carrying only 11.5% body fat, which is lean for an old b$%%^^^d of a male. It was also pointed out to me that it would probably not do me any good to lose any more weight, despite my desire to get to 75kg.
Short reply. Weight is only a small part of things. Body composition and lean body mas are far more important.
I have tried several diet plans and even tried sensible eating. They all work to a certain extent, but they all ultimately failed for me.
I have my best success by doing just ONE THING. I think of food as fuel for my body (in essence that’s what it is afterall). Everytime I eat something, I just think, is this going to make me go faster or not?
That works for me, but may not work for you. Give it a try however.
You could also try my (patent pending) “Sex Diet”. I’ve posted it here before, but here is the short version.
Get up late and have sex (as long as you both get off)
Shower, skip breakfast and head to work
Coffee and some food at work
Home for a “nooner” instead of lunch
grab a snack and a coffee at work
6 Go home and have a sensible dinner (like all those other plans)
Instead of watching TV with beer and chips, go to bed and have a full on massage, feathers, lingerie etc, love making session for a couple of hours
Repeat the above for 2 weeks. If you don’t lose all the weight you want…who cares!
My wife is WAAAAY colder than your wife! 28 years of frigidity and still going strong
I took up swimming at night so I’d have something to do in the evenings. I was getting bored with hearing the same lame excuses every night. After 5 years she started to repeat herself! I know her excuses before she even utters them, just by looking at the leaves on the trees to tell what season it is!
Not sure why I stay. Swimming is the only wet workout I get. Got a rope so I can hang myself? (half kidding!)
Learn to embrace hunger- that’s what getting lighter feels like. I’m built about like you, only a tad shorter. 5’7", now 160. Best race shape in the low 150’s, was as big as 198 in my hardcore lifting days that are now 8 years gone. It takes a few years to really strip the muscle, and you’ve always got to watch it- you already know you can pack on weight easily.
Remember: a little hungry=good. Really hungry is bad- you’ll crack and destroy a couple steaks.
I think you answered your own question–the food isn’t the problem, your control is.
Find out why your’re eating too much/often, then the “what” is the easy part. Solving a problem is 2 parts: 1. Do you have the information to solve the problem? 2. Execution.
Getting Information
1a. Why am I eating bad quality and/or too much of it?
1b. What should I be eating and how much of it?
Execution
This is the easy part. Do the shopping, setup a meal plan based on fresh, unprocessed food, eat slowly, water is your go-to liquid. Step 2 to me is the most important. If I don’t prepare my food before I head out the door, I’m guaranteeing myself an unhealthy day (unless the chicken sandwiches at BK are considered healthy). My lunch and snacks are packed and ready to go when I leave. I’ll adjust what I pack based on how much I’m training (ie, add 2 PB & J’s during heavy training weeks) and then I’m a robot during the day. I know what I’m going to eat and when I should eat it. Granted, I have a “lean” build and can consistently stay at 6’0" and 180lbs without trying to hard but if I don’t watch myself I can pack on 10-12 lbs.
For most of us, step 1a is the key. We eat shit because: we always have, everyone else does, it’s being marketed to us as ‘healthy’, we’re lazy(i.e. in a hurry or tired), we’re stressed/depressed(hormone comfort response), not focusing on eating slowly and enjoying, etc. I’ve fluctuated 40lbs in the last decade and it’s always, always been 1a that’s the key to a steady downward trend.
Portion size was the biggest problem for me, when I realized that I was able to lose more weight.
I also feel that I was eating too much meat. I now eat up to 6 oz a day at most, many days I go without and don’t feel that a large quantity is necessary for a healthy lifestyle. Try cutting down the amount of meat that you eat and see what happens.
I’ll throw in my favorite book. “The Beck Diet Solution” by Judith Beck. The entire book is about the mental aspect of dieting. She shows you how to use Cognitive Therapy techniques to control your eating habits. Very, very good. Lots of practical advice like: don’t eat standing up, portion control, slower chewing, etc, but lots of other great techniques to help you with the mental discipline and will power to stick to a diet. One of the core principles to her book is to keep some type of food journal. Write down everything you eat. Track it by calories or fat grams. It helped me lose 30lbs. I am 6’1" and went from 210lbs to 180lbs.
x2 for the Paleo approach. A good website is MarkDailyApple.com; when I found out I was celiac it helped me overhaul my diet. But regardless of dietary restrictions, it’s very anti-inflammatory and (from what I hear) good for weight loss.
Also, it’s online, so it’s free! A lot of athletes swear by living like a caveman (without all of the saber-toothed tiger attacks). It focuses a lot on protein like a bodybuilder diet, and it’s written by an awesome triathlete of the past!
