so im really trying to not GAIN a few pounds as i wind down training program. ive been avoiding all sweets, etc., eating as healthy as possible. i am counting calories and am trying to lose a bit more weight, but dont want to go in to the race (next sunday) with low blood sugar or substantially undernourished.
should i eat as lean as possible up til 2 days before, 3 days before?
just to add to the suffering, i stopped alcohol 3 weeks ago. REALLY looking forward to a cold beer or 3.
You said taper, but you stopped cold turkey on two of the most important things in life - sweets and alcohol! Lighten up!
The night before I would have a big cheese pizza and a beer or two! If you starve yourself you will rob yourself of energy for the race. Keep your metabolism up with a bunch of small meals a day. Trying to lose a few pounds before a race will only hurt you. Do that in the off season!
I would like to hear others’ opionions too. I was on vacation last week and gained about 3 1/2 lbs that I would like to lose. It takes a while after you cut back on intensity and duration for appetite to pull back a bit, which makes it hard to tell.
I am cutting out some of the crap I normally eat during the day, but I only cut out alcohol for little over a week. After all I was on vacation with an old college roommate, how are we not going to knock back a few beers!
My take is that you should give your body what it’s used to right up to race day. If that’s a couple of beers or glasses of wine or dessert, proceed as usual. Portion control is what’s key. If you only focus on what you eat, you’re likely to compensate by eating more of other things if you cut out sweets, for example.
My “diet” is kind of broken down into three categories- (1) what I need to eat to live and get through the day, (2) additional calories I take in just because of the amount I am burning, and (3) the food I eat that serves no nutritional purpose whatsoever but I eat because I want to. I am tapering for IM Lou right now and have simply gotten rid of 2 and 3. I don’t have anymore big workouts, so no more reason to eat extra calories before/after and really can’t justify a wing night or All-You-Can-Eat buffet.
What falls into category 1 happens to be “healthy” food- lean protein, vegetables, and fruit. I am not starving or undernurished, just not throwing in extra, needless crap.
The night before I would have a big cheese pizza and a beer or two! If you starve yourself you will rob yourself of energy for the race. Keep your metabolism up with a bunch of small meals a day. Trying to lose a few pounds before a race will only hurt you. Do that in the off season!
Yeah, pizza power! I recall me and some other guys (some of them racing IM pro) having family-sized pizzas the night before a race - and it went down great 