Eating to improve

Gyraffe

It seems obvious that eating the right types of food, in the right quantities regularly over a long period must help performance. This isn't about fuelling training and races, but eating well all the time to improve health, strength and recovery etc. I am reading "Food for Fitness" which has confirmed a lot of things I thought I knew about various foods - but I still don't really know how to go about changing my eating habits. Specifically, what are the worst nutritional crimes against tri, what sorts of things would it be worth getting rid of - and stocking up on first and are there any simple tips to remember at the end of a busy day when hunger is stronger than reason.

Does anyone have any golden rules they would care to share? A one page summary of do's and don'ts would be perfect - but of course life doesn't often work like that!

fat buddha

waff - if you have a healthy balanced diet then all you need to do for the fitness side is adjust that according to what event you have coming up. and supplement it with recovery drinks/foods as needed

a healthy balanced diet to me is a good mix of protein, carbs and fats but essentially cooking from fresh wherever possible. that way you avoid all the crap in convenience foods that "dilutes" the good stuff.

there's nowt wrong with the odd indulgence like a take away, burger etc but if that's minimised then it's no big deal

you can get too anal about foods - just get the balance right and it's not a problem

[Deleted User]

I'm reading "Nutrition for endurance athletes"  ... still going through it and there's parts dedicated exclusively to each sport...including IM.

So far :

- Complex carbs are your friends (but we knew that)

- People don't drink enough water.

- Too much alcohol doesn't help (both for recovery, extra calories and liver related stuff)

There's quite some interesting bits about tweaking your food composition to cater for body composition but it's all common sense ... eat less fat, you get leaner, eat more protein (that'd you'd think so) for build up and general stuff.... etc 

Personally  I've seen from my own experience that depriving yourself of something you like completely because "it's bad" tends not to work... 1 piece of chocolate a day keeps you from scoffing the whole bar in one seating the next... 

[Deleted User]

...and as FB says... eating fresh, balance diet, etc... in short it's not too complicated as it seems.

*must apply this to myself a bit more* 

Gyraffe

FB - thanks. I don't think I eat enough at the moment which means I'm always hungry and crave junk - or cheese. Ideally I'd like to increase the good things in my diet but the advice always seems to point in the direction of rice cakes, lentils and expensive types of fruit which I find a bit depressing. 

Pkim - What are complex carbs? How much is too much alcohol?

Gyraffe

Pkim - it's like we know the theory but not how to do it!

fat buddha

well if you don't think you eat enough - eat more and see what happens.

theory is you should eat enough to stave the hunger and not more. I'm an overeater (hence my size!)

I love cheese and quite often have a chunk after a meal - but not every day. as I said, it's balance.

good things in a diet don't have to be the fancy stuff - if you keep the diet simple using loads of veg you can alter the combinations to add variety. you can tart lentils and beans up with herbs and spices to add flavour.

and how much is too much alcohol?? tough question - we all have different tolerance levels but generally for me over 30 units a week

[Deleted User]

From what I can remember out of my head right now... complex carbs or what the book calls them are your regular carbs from natural sources, grains, beans, rice, fruit, potatoes... in general speaking starchy or fruity stuff which isn't processed. 

There's a whole thing about Glycemic indexes and all that, being how fast or slow the carbs get absorbed into the blood... pure sugar being the fastest for example.  ... which seems more healthy = lower glycemic index  as the body has to work a bit more to break the food down to make the carbs available.

Alcohol..seems the rule is that anything over 1 drink a day is "too much" and the recommendation is to drink loads of water after drinking.

Yup... we know all the theory but rubbish at following it *munches on cookies* 

M...eldy

My rules are that I eat everything as close to its natural state as possible, I avoid processed stuff and anything that has been packaged within an inch of its life
I have recently stopped eating bread as it has made me more inventive as to what else to eat ...

I dont eat (rarely) after 1800 and my late meal will be protein based

I have replaced pasta with rice and cous cous and such like

This is all loosely speaking and shift work doesnt help but I do try and eat healthy and I do have treats!




i am addicted to Cheese & Onion crisps 

M.ister W

Complex carbs are starches (rice, pasta, potatoes, oats etc).  You can make them even better by picking brown rice, wholemeal pasta and eating potatoes with the skins on.  Simple carbs are sugars so you'll get more of them in fruit, cakes, chocolate etc.

Gyraffe

fat buddha wrote (see)

well if you don't think you eat enough - eat more and see what happens.

That sounds so easy - but I've been trying all year and it's harder than you might think. If I'm hungry at home I just eat cheese - quite a lot.

fat buddha

"I have replaced pasta with rice and cous cous and such like"

we usually like to vary our meals - spuds, rice, couscous, quinoa, beans, lentils etc - as a way of keeping interest and taste. if you stick to the same old same old then eating becomes dull and boring....

if you keep inventive with flavours and tastes then food shouldn't be boring and it can be extremely healthy and nutritious at the same time

Gyraffe

M.ister W wrote (see)

Complex carbs are starches (rice, pasta, potatoes, oats etc).  You can make them even better by picking brown rice, wholemeal pasta and eating potatoes with the skins on.  Simple carbs are sugars so you'll get more of them in fruit, cakes, chocolate etc.

This is good stuff - thank you. I love rice and baby potatoes - I much prefer them to oven chips and jacket potatoes......... am starting to suspect this is all about shopping.

debbo

oats for breakfast too, or bread with seeds in

I find it hard to imagine not being able to eat enough

Gyraffe

So what we're getting down to is putting the effort into shopping and planning meals rather than getting home, shovelling some cheese down and then chucking oven chips and processed fish pieces into the oven - to be eaten with a token mound of birds eye peas........ again.

fat buddha

waff - have you tried eating smaller meals but more often?? that way you can avoid the need for cravings and take more on board over a day.

and if you're hungry - drink something. a lot of hunger pangs aren't true hunger - they are often the signs of being underhydrated so drinking something helps suppress the appetite a little and rehydrates as well

Gyraffe

Debbo - are oats high in fibre? I had a few issues last year and thought they might be the culprit...

debbo

yes, they are, so maybe not the best for you?

Gyraffe

fat buddha wrote (see)

waff - have you tried eating smaller meals but more often?? that way you can avoid the need for cravings and take more on board over a day. and if you're hungry - drink something. a lot of hunger pangs aren't true hunger - they are often the signs of being underhydrated so drinking something helps suppress the appetite a little and rehydrates as well

That's true - I'll try that too.

Sorry this wasn't meant to be all about me - I thought it would be helpful to lots of peeps but has become rather self indulgent. Me me me!

fat buddha

"So what we're getting down to is putting the effort into shopping and planning meals rather than getting home, shovelling some cheese down and then chucking oven chips and processed fish pieces into the oven - to be eaten with a token mound of birds eye peas........ again."

in a nutshell - yes!

we always have stuff around the house which creates a meal - be it dried, canned or fresh plus spices and things like chillies (freezer), mustards, oils etc. (sometimes we think it's a siege mentality we have if you look in the cupboards!)

if you get inventive you can rattle a good nutritious meal together quickly from simple ingredients. you just need to build cooking into you lifestyle. Ok - some preplanning is needed sometime for soaking things like beans or lentils (a tip - get a pressure cooker for speed) but it's no big deal

we'll have chicken tonight - P's prepped it already and it's in the oven already. that took her about 10 mins this morning and all we have to do tonight is do the veg which is quick - and we'll get a run in as the chicken is cooking. sorted

debbo

if you've got some tinned chick peas and other pulses and tinned tomatoes and some tatties and some herbs and spices, you can always make a meal very quickly

I'm a big fan of chickpea, spinach and tattie curry myself

Gyraffe

Gyraffe

Debbo - Things like that always taste great when someone else makes it - but turn into cumin flavoured cardboard when I try....... but if you email me your recipe I'll have a bash and report back.

M.ister W

If you can't manage a curry from scratch then keep a jar of curry paste in the fridge (make sure you get paste, not sauce).  Then you can throw a curry together from an onion, a tin of tomatoes and some chicken.  Serve that up with brown rice and some steamed spinach (cook it in the microwave) and there's a lovely, easy meal.

fat buddha

I quite often make a huge root veg curry in winter - spuds, swede, pasrsnip etc - stick the lot in a big casserole dish to cook and takes about 30 mins to prep and 2 hrs to cook.

that will last 3/4 days and eat with rice and/or some meat

and akin to Mr W's simple curry - pasta sauce - onion, garlic, tin toms (fresh if you have them), herbs, (and you can add extras like chillie, or sundried toms). that's it - nothing else needed bar pasta and a salad. much better than shop bought

Gyraffe

I'm struggling with the fact that this all sounds really familiar - I seem to be suffering from cullinary cba!

debbo

Waff - I just make it up as I go - fry an onion or two, and some garlic and whatever curry things you fancy (either cumin and coriander and chillis and stuff, or some curry paste from a jar, add a tin of chickpeas and some just about cooked tatties and a tin of tomatoes and cook for a while, then add some fresh or frozen spinach

you can keep chillis in the freezer so no excuse for not having them

risottos are good too - I'm a big fan of salmon and asparagus in particular

M...eldy

I hate curry so you can keep all those recipes to yourself 



Broad Bean and Mint rissotto is lush

flyaway

The other thing is to cook for more people than you have - if you double the quantities (ie: cook for 4) and freeze half of it, the next time you want to eat that, there's no cooking "faff" involved. If it's the preparation that's putting you off, that might help - it would take no longer to defrost a previously cooked dinner than it does to do your current "help I'm starving and CBA" fall-back of fish, chips & peas.
Similarly, you can cook two meals at once - if you're in the kitchen "bothering" to cook already, have two meals on the go, then freeze the one you're not eating. I make up batches of mince (with tinned toms, onion, garlic, mushrooms, peppers, spices) and freeze them, and then if I want to make lasagna or something, half the job is already done.

Also, I recently discovered frozen stir-fry vegetables. I always used to find that the 3 or 4 days after shopping were great as there was loads of fresh veg in the fridge, but as it started to run out (and I really didnt want to go to the shops any more often than I do) I got less inventive. But frozen stuff is absolutely fine - although I still buy lots of fresh stuff, I always have frozen peas, broccoli, cauliflower, beans and mixed stir-fry in the freezer so the veg content of my meals doesn't drop off when I haven't been near Sainsbury's for a while!

At the risk of asking a personal Q (feel free not to answer if you dont want to) are you sure your digestive "issues" were due to too much fibre, or too little?

debbo

I normally cook double too, and freeze half

Melds - I've got a garden full of broad beans - I must try that risotto - what else is in it, apart from rice, obviously

M...eldy

Wifey I cant remember off hand but I think it was in the BBC/Food bit


I love broadbeans