Nutrition, doing it right

Triathlon Forum
1

In case you havent figured this out yet, i am a triathlete. I train. A lot. I eat too. Here is my eating/workout schedule

b-fast: low fat granola and some OJ

morning workout 9-1030 or 11-1230 (im in college ok?)

lunch (right after workout, either 11, or 1): sandwich w/ lean meats and cheese, whole wheat bread

clif bar before…

afternoon workout 430-7 (clif bar or gu during, water for liquid)

dinner (right after workout): rice and beans (wild rice/brown rice), with a lean meat thrown in (chicken usually)

if ravenously hungry at night, piece of whole wheat bread or the like.

So, how does it look, how can i improve? What are your suggestions. Here are some things about me though. I dont want to shop everyday/spend tons of money on fresh produce. If you have a suggestion, make sure its feasible for a college student.

2

Well, that is totally wrong. Completely. I recomend my diet:

Breakfast: Red Bull and coffee.

Lunch: none.

Dinner: Coney Islands or Taco Bell.

Obviously, just kidding. Your dietary habits are seem very, very good. Impressive.

One of the changes I recently made to my eating habis was to be sure to have breakfast every day before leaving the house. It really helps. My energy level is better througout the day and my breakfasts, eaten at home, tend to be much healthier than anything I would get at Starbuck’s or Einstein’s across the street from the bike shop.

It seems to me that if you have a good breakfast you are really setting yourself up for a good rest of the day in terms of dietary habits.

3

The 2 biggest mistakes in eating (IMO) are …

  1. Not eating breakfast.

I cannot do this. If I don’t eat breakfast, I don’t feel showered … or something like that. Breakfast gets the brain working … as does some diet dr pepper. If you don’t have time for breakfast, McD’s is better than nothing. I prefer Granola Cereal w/ raisins.

  1. Eat dinner early like 6pm.

People eat too late and don’t give their body time to burn some of those calories. They eat a big meal and then go to sleep … and bingo fat storage.

You can make nutrition as anal (no pun) as you want. If you wanna plan every meal for the activity level of the next 3 hours, do it. If you wanna eat 3 balanced meals, do so.

I got a Men’s health subscription for Xmas one year (ooooh, exciting). Other than extremelly valuable articles on how to match your workout clothes (this stuff is for guys, right?), they do have some awesome meal planning articles for guys that aren’t going to cook with 17 different spices and for 2 hours a night. I usually make a huge batch on Saturday and one on Sunday, The Sat food will be for my lunches during the week, and the Sun food will be for my dinners.

Go to menshealth.com and use the recipe finder. Mulligan Stew and Mexican Mac-n-Meat are 2 of my faves. Chicken Noodle goulash, and this macaroni, spinach, beef, tomato thingy are also very good.

Very nutricious meals, day in and day out … then I get a little lax on the weekends.

As always, I have a big bowl of ice cream … every day.

4

I would add some fruit to your diet.

5

Is that seriously all you eat?! Goodness, I feel like a lardass! Here’s a typical day for me:

Meal 0 (0445): Banana and water upon waking up

Workout 1 (0500): 1.5h on the trainer

Meal 1 (0700): 1 cup (cooked) Oatmeal + banana, 5 egg whites, 1 whole egg (hard boiled), apple

Meal 2 (1000): 2 cups green beans, apple or orange(s), can of tuna

Meal 2.5: 1 banana on way to gym

Workout 2 (1230): 1 hour run

Meal 3 (1345): Endurox

Meal 4 (1600): 2 cups green beans, apple or orange(s), can of tuna

Workout 3 (1800): 1 hour swim

Meal 5 (1930): Fish, Chicken, or some other lean protein source and a TON of vegetables (broccoli, green beans, salad, etc.)

Meal 6 (2200): Piece of fruit, 5 egg whites + 1 whole egg (hardboiled)

So something to that effect. I will munch on carrots or suck on a spoonful of peanut butter from time to time too. I’ve been leaning out lately too and that’s with eating a tad more than this too (5’9" 160 ~9-10% bf!) I feel great for all of my workouts too. If I ate as much or rather, as little, as you apolack1 I would feel so drained and run down. I know, I have tried.

Do you have access to cheap produce places…like ‘ethnic’ stores? I just buy boatloads of fruit and fresh and frozen veggies there. I usually buy a TON! of boneless skinless chicken when it goes on sale and grill it all it once and refrigerate it…though if you don’t have a grill you can certainly broil it. I also load up on eggs, though they have gotten pricey lately with some sort of egg shortage or some crap like that. So anywho, just some ideas.

6

a dozen eggs a day? I think i know the reason for the egg shortage. And with this diet, i have been losing some weight, im now in the high 150’s and im 6’1" i think 6-7% bf, used to be 10%, but ive lost 8lbs while gaining leg muscle. Thanks for the advice guys, i think im gonna try to get some fruit that will last in the frig, and mix that into the diet. I once read what dave scott eats, and i was amazed at how little it was for how much he worked out. I think its less than me! anyway, i usually change up the diet for what im doing that day, so what i put up is flexible.

7

You might also consider adding vegetables, particularly the leafy green kind. I make a lot of spinach omelets and eat a lot of steamed broccoli. If you clean and dry spinach, it will last a long time in the fridge (I only shop once a week, I actually cheat and buy the precleaned bags… it’s still pretty cheap).

Looks like you have your macronutrients (carbs, protein, and fat) covered, but don’t neglect the micronutrients (vitamins and minerals). I really believe that eating a lot of fruits and veggies can help stave off sickness in people like us who are frquently flirting with overtraining.

Leigh

8

Biggest thing is a lack of plant material. You’ve got to get some fruit and veggies. Frozen veggies will work fine for you, you can keep them a long time and get the generic brands.

Bananas will last 3 days for me and I’m picky, you can get longer out of them. Apples are even longer lasting. How about canned peaches? For a salad I usually go for a huge bowl of plain spinach, really cheap when you buy it unprepared (not out of a bag) and it should last a week. If that doesn’t work for you, get canned spinach.

If you are worried about cost, drop the bars and gu as much as possible, especially the bar before the workout, no reason not to go with fruit and veggies then.

9

Fiber. Your diet doesn’t seem to really have that much fiber.

10

I am a firm believer in having the largest meal at breakfast. This gives your body all day to burn it off and jump starts your metabolism. I am 5’ 8", 149 lbs with very low body fat. I have had great success with this meal plan. I never let more than a couple of hours go by without eating – except during sleep. During the week, here’s what a meal plan for me would be:

7:30AM - Kashi cereal w/ skim milk, 10 strawberries, Yoplait Peach Cobbler yogurt, (1) slice yellow american cheese, (4) slices Boar’s Head Mesquite turkey breast, vitamins, (1) aspirin

10:00AM - (1) sliced apple with some Smucker’s Natural peanut butter on each slice

12:20PM - (1) can of low sodium soup, (1) orange, (1) banana, (1) cup Muesli Supreme cereal (dry, no milk)

2:45PM - a handful of smoked almonds, (1) kiwi (with skin)

4:30-6:00PM - run, bike or swim

6:30PM - (1) tube of JogMate, (1) Powerbar Harvest bar

7:00-7:15PM - (1) glass red wine, salad, marinated Salmon cooked in olive oil, some kind of long-grain rice or pasta

10PM - sleep

11

what is the aspirin for? Blood thining ? My wife says eat the rainbow of colors of vegies and fruit for good health.

12

How about that Mongolian Barbecue across the street. The scent from that place would lure me in every day.

jaretj

13

One aspirin a day is good for you. I rarley get sick and yes, keeps the blood thin. So does the red wine. It keeps your blood “slippery” by lubricating the blood platelets.

14
  1. Eat dinner early like 6pm.

People eat too late and don’t give their body time to burn some of those calories. They eat a big meal and then go to sleep … and bingo fat storage

I use to go by this thought as well- but this also falls under the “must know the whole study” to use it as gospel.

It was actually proven that eating late at night- or even a midnight snack- will not increase fat storage, as long as the caloric balance for the 24-hour cycle is in balance, and the meal is “normal.” You are right about a “big meal”, but don’t be afraid to eat late at night, as long as the meal is the proper portion size.

Rob

15

Drop the clif bar before workout. Replace the bar with a natural food and your body will absorb it better. Plus it will be cheaper.

16

isnt the clif bar made of natural ingredients?

17

It might be all natural, but the closer you can get to being picked off a tree or cut off a chickens breast the better.

18

I’d have a hard time believing that the stuff in a clif bar isn’t processed, it’s about as natural as any other candy bar.

19

You’re right.

When I look at my individual calories, I’ll at “weeklong numbers”. One isn’t likely to gain much of anything on a daily basis. You could be +500 one day and -500 the next, and there’d be no difference.

Too many of my comments are for inactive people. I need to realize where I’m at. If you’re doing workouts than burn 1K to 2K (or higher) cals per day, you can basically eat whatever the heck you want. You’re not likely to overdo it on a regular basis.

Applying Rob’s “know the whole study” thinkg … about aspirin. If i remember right, it was uncovered that the “aspirin” being for you had to do with the compounds in the coating of the aspirin (magnesium – actually an element, If I remember right). But, even though the magnesium coating has since been removed, people still take an “aspirin a day” b/c it’s good for you. I’m not 100% sure, b/c I don’t study this type of material daily anymore, but I’ll see if I can find that study that talks about an “aspirin a day” being good for you. If I cannot find it quickly, I think I have it printed and in a binder somewhere at home.

20

“If you’re doing workouts than burn 1K to 2K (or higher) cals per day, you can basically eat whatever the heck you want. You’re not likely to overdo it on a regular basis.”

I have had lunch with some Aussie pros and it turns into an eating contest. I saw Macca put away a 12 inch Subway or Submarina meat lovers sub loaded with everything, bag of chips and bucket of soda and still finish off his girlfriends(now wifes) lunch. Try that sometime. One of the young Aussies who won a couple big races over here last year lived exclusively on Starbucks frappuccinos and Cold Stones Sweet cream ice cream as far as I could tell and I have heard a rumor(from a fellow employee) that Kerry Classen has the record for most pancakes eaten in one sitting at the Potato Shack in Encinitas. For those not familiar with the Potato Shack the pancakes are the size of manhole covers and weigh about as much.

If the furnace is burning hot enough you can throw any garbage inside and it becomes fuel.