My Thoughts on Nutrition

So, now’s about the time I start to get a bit more careful of the kinds of foods I am eating. Not that I was eating all in sight before, but around late winter or early spring, it’s time to start the process of leaning out to race/training weight. Here is a bit about how I get to a race weight.

One of the things that I got serious about after doing my first Ironman was body composition. I became obsessed with getting to a lean race weight. A lean body composition is as important in Ironman racing as your long rides or long runs. On recommendation, I read the book, The Paleo Diet for Endurance Athletes and decided I would use this approach to add good nutrition to my training routine.

The Paleo Diet’s main philosophy is to eat as our ancestors did thousands of years ago, little grains and lots of fruits, veggies, and lean protein. The book was adapted to fit the needs of the endurance athlete, and allowed traditional recovery foods (pastas, breads, etc.) in the time immediately following or prior to long or hard workouts. This was an adjustment for because, I was used to eating heaps of pastas, breads, and drinking lots sports drinks. It took a few weeks for my body to adapt to this eating philosophy, but I have never recovered as well or been as healthy on this diet. So here are a few rules I followed to get to a lean, healthy race weight.

Eat unlimited fruits and veggies. These replaced my pasta and breads, as they were the source of my carbohydrates.
Eat protein with EVERY meal. Eggs, fish, chicken, pork loin, buffalo, turkey breast, tenderloins, etc.
Eat “real” food. The only time I ate bars and gels were during workouts lasting longer than three hours.

I found that by eating large amounts of fruits and veggies, I still had the all-day energy to get in proper training and still have left over reserves for time with the family. So here’s an example of what I ate during a typical training day:

Breakfast: 3 eggs, banana, apple, coffee
Lunch: Spinach salad with an added veggie, chicken breast, apple, Clementine, pear
Dinner: Cod fish, fresh green beans, bowl of fruit
Snacks: Almonds, any kind of fruit, small serving of trail mix, dried fruit

This was my basic nutrition blueprint for a typical midseason Ironman training. If the exercise was harder or longer I would adjust in the following ways:

Add some peanut butter to any meal
Add some boiled potatoes to any meal or whole wheat toast with jelly
Eat larger portions of the protein source at any meal

Here are some hints on how you can achieve your healthy race weight…
Do your own grocery shopping……take control of what you have in the house, and buy 90% of your groceries on the outside isles, just think about where the junk food is in a grocery store!!
Eat often. Never let yourself get to the “I’m starving mode.”
Keep away from the sports drinks, bars, and gels unless exercising over three hours.
I also weight myself each morning. I find it very motivating to keep my eating on the right track.

So that’s it, I kept it very simple. Replacing the pastas, breads, and sports drinks with lots and lots of fruits and veggies, and as a result lost about 10 pounds. I can’t say it was perfect but I can really feel the difference when I commit to this diet, and how I feel and how I recover after workouts. All for now.