I’m wondering if anyone can point me in the right direction for a good, practical diet/nutrition guide to eating healthy, trimming my excess weight, yet retaining enough energy to train. Here’s the real kicker…it has to be practical. I work full time, I train in my free time, and I don’t have a lot of time to cook. I’m guessing this isn’t an uncommon problem for other working/busy triathletes. I usually just eat anything I want because I’m training all the time, but that’s the best approach for ideal nutrition. So, I’m going to get on a nutrition plan and try to make it stick…again, it has to be practical.
There are a lot more people qualified then me to answer the question with specifics but I think I can summarize everything pretty easily…
You already have an idea of what a healthy diet is… just follow it.
Get the chicken sandwich over the burger.
Eat quality foods versus a quantity of foods.
Load up on fruits, veggies, and nuts.
My breakfast generally consists of:
Fruit smoothie with greek yogurt and some protein powder.
workout
Bagel with peanut butter or Oatmeal with an egg and fruit
Kale and Spinach Salad (carrots, beats, apples, avacado, etc) for lunch with something on the side. Sometimes just a simple PB&J.
Dinner is a protein, starch, and veggies.
Consistency is key and everything in moderation. Sunday dinners end with brownies and ice cream.
A good simple diet will consist of the follow:
-Lean meats, fish and chicken make sure some lean red meat is consumed but not everyday
-Good whole grain breads, cereal, rice and pastas
- Multiple fruits per day optimal if they are all different i.e 1 Banana, apple and orange is better than 3 bananas
- Lots of vegetable of different colors
- Low fat dairy options (greek yogurts are a great snack)
This is going to cost you more if you are eating out everyday.
You need to see eating as part of your training, you work hard on the swim/bike/run so you also need to add the same effort to your meals.
Also try to keep a log of what you eat and how much of it you are eating. You need to be sure and write it down at the time of eating or else you may over/underestimate the amount consumed. You can also try to take a picture of everything you eat this will help you be more conscious of your diet and your goals.
Feed Zone cookbook
.
Check out Matt Fitzgerald’s book “Racing Weight” - IMHO it has lots of good practical advice on nutrition for optimal training and performance. It also includes some “sample” daily diets from a bunch of different professional endurance athletes, which is interesting. He advocates the typical carb based endurance diet, with an emphasis on lean meats, fruits and veg, and unprocessed carbohydrate sources.
In the other side of the coin there are the paleo and other very low carbohydrate diets which are quite popular at the moment. Dr. Tim Noakes (author of “The Lore of Running” and other books) has done 180 and now advocates a paleo type diet (high fat and protein) for athletes and non-athletes alike, although I believe that he expressly states that he only thinks that this diet is correct for people with “carbohydrate intolerance”, which may be most people. If you like listening to podcasts, his interviews on MarathonTalk are fascinating. He also has a recent interview on IMTalk which I hope to listen to soon…
Myself, I am very conflicted on a lot of this stuff. Very well established exercise scientists advocate lots of different things - not just a little different but very different - when it comes to weight management and nutritional advice for people in endurance sport. (Some even advocate avoiding bananas - bananas!) When training, I do not have any difficulty keeping weight off, in fact just the opposite. But as another post has said, what works for one person won’t necessarily work for another person.
All this being said, if someone were to ask me, my advice would be to focus on lean protein, lots of fruit and veg, and to limit processed foods as much as possible. But I have a tough time giving up breakfast cereal…
Good luck!
Paleo
In all seriousness I’d recommend a couple of resources. The Feed Zone has already been mentioned, but there’s another good book called Racing Weight. Also, there’s a great website out there called bodyrecomposition.com that has a bunch of free articles pertaining to fat loss/nutrition ect. A good place to start would be http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/fat-loss-for-athletes-part-1.html (and parts 2/3).
From personal experience I’d echo what has already been said: make lean proteins, complex carbohydrates, and vegetables the focus of your diet but keep enough healthy fats, “less clean” choices ect to maintain your sanity. Tracking what you eat, and also how you feel/how your training is going in relationship to when you eat/how much/what foods ect can also go a very long way.
Above all else, never approach it like a diet (something temporary/painful)-- view it as a permanent lifestyle change that will help you live longer, be happier with yourself, feel great, and so on and so forth.
I just stick with the basics. Lots of fruits and vegetables, lean meats, lot’s of chicken and fish. I stay away from red meat as much as I can and eat it maybe once a week or so. I will not turn down a pizza or ice cream. That is essential to the triathlete diet!
Check out Matt Fitzgerald’s book “Racing Weight” - IMHO it has lots of good practical advice on nutrition for optimal training and performance. It also includes some “sample” daily diets from a bunch of different professional endurance athletes, which is interesting. He advocates the typical carb based endurance diet, with an emphasis on lean meats, fruits and veg, and unprocessed carbohydrate sources.
In the other side of the coin there are the paleo and other very low carbohydrate diets which are quite popular at the moment. Dr. Tim Noakes (author of “The Lore of Running” and other books) has done 180 and now advocates a paleo type diet (high fat and protein) for athletes and non-athletes alike, although I believe that he expressly states that he only thinks that this diet is correct for people with “carbohydrate intolerance”, which may be most people. If you like listening to podcasts, his interviews on MarathonTalk are fascinating. He also has a recent interview on IMTalk which I hope to listen to soon…
Myself, I am very conflicted on a lot of this stuff. Very well established exercise scientists advocate lots of different things - not just a little different but very different - when it comes to weight management and nutritional advice for people in endurance sport. (Some even advocate avoiding bananas - bananas!) When training, I do not have any difficulty keeping weight off, in fact just the opposite. But as another post has said, what works for one person won’t necessarily work for another person.
All this being said, if someone were to ask me, my advice would be to focus on lean protein, lots of fruit and veg, and to limit processed foods as much as possible. But I have a tough time giving up breakfast cereal…
Good luck!
Racing Weight Cookbook is great also. I am working my way through the recipes now.
Eat real food, mostly vegetables, not a lot. M. Pollan
Simple to follow and it works.
Bourbon, beef and chips
.
the advice here for real food is the way to go. I don’t think it matters what you call it, real, whole food wins every time. Maybe you’re a carb lover or hater, as long as its a whole food it’ll be fine. Personally I brown bag lunch often with whole grain bread/cheese/hummus/avocado sandwich as the main course to with 2 items of fruit and a small container of nuts (peanuts/almonds/mixed nuts/whatever) for snacks. B’fast is usually oatmeal +/- eggs if at home. PB/Banana/honey or nutella sandwich if I’m coming from the pool. Today I mixed it up with sweet potatos + coconut + marshmallows for fun. ( I know , I’m a rebel).
Dinner is salad+ veggie+whatever the family wants, which is usually a piece of cooked animal.
I have nothing against a paleo style diet, but it’s time consuming to follow. Plus I like more carbs which I get with some grains and lots of fruit.
Like everyone else here said - eating real food. I’m in the same situation as you, I work from 5:30 to 5:00 most days and I don’t cook a lick.
As far as trimming excess weight goes, just realize that it’s all a mathematical equation. I used the My Fitness Pal app for quite awhile and it really just helped me become aware of the calories in different foods. I’ve gotten to the point where I don’t need it anymore because I now have a frame of reference. Since you’re basically looking for a simple plan, just gauge how you feel during workouts too. If you get a little lightheaded towards the end of a run, obviously you aren’t eating enough.
Also, I really liked Jesse Thomas’s blog about aiming for a B+ diet. I think he really keeps things in perspective.
As a certified coach and personal trainer whenever my clients ask me this same question I have one reply. Be realistic. Just because something works for one person, doesn’t necessarily mean it’ll work for you. Make small changes to your diet. Ex: phase out soda one week, and packaged goods the next, etc.
The two general rules of thumb that I give my clients are:
- If it had a mother
Or 2. If it came from the ground, eat it.
In my opinion, those are some good guidelines to go by. Hope this helps!
“Eat food, mostly plants and not too much” M Pollan
Try not to misquote, especially when you directly cite the author. Perpetuates misinformation
Firstly, can I make a contentious point?
If you have time for triathlon but don’t have time to prepare food then you have chosen the sport over your long term health.
Real food does not take long to prepare, but no, its not as quick as buying that vegetable oil riddled sandwich from the shop.
Lots of good advice in this thread. I’ll offer some tips for time saving. I’m in the same boat time wise (work 60 hours a week, 2 small kids, etc.). My wife and I prep as much food as we can Sunday afternoon. I’ll grille chicken, cut veggies, cook a pot of brown rice or quinoa, hard boil eggs. This can all be done at the same time and then store it all in tupperware. Then we do a smaller version of this mid week. Prep for a few days at a time, then you just have to throw it together when its time to eat. The grille can be your best friend. At my office I keep hummus, cut up veggies, pita chips and fruit. My recent find is the little Wholly Guacamole individual packets. After my morning workout I scramble one egg with two egg whites, a little salsa, and one of those quac packets. Bam. It takes a lot of work to eat healthy. Same as triathlon training. If you evaluate your schedule you can find an extra 15 minutes a day for food prep. That’s really all you need if you do food prep at the beginning of the week.