So here are 10 nutritional tips that has helped me, hope they help you out and remember if transition is the 4th discipline then nutrition whilst training and racing is the 5th discipline.
- Start off by keeping a food log, include in this when and what you eat. This is great as it will let you see where you are going right and where you are going wrong. Oooh and make sure to include those 4 chocolate biscuits you grabbed passing the cupboard.
- Dont forget your fruit and veg !! You hear this time and time again make sure you eat fruit and veg, you should try and add a bit of colour to your meals and the easiest way to do this is to add some veg. Fruit is great for snacking on, instead of those chocolate biscuits. And remember it is no longer 5 a day it is no up to SEVEN ! And these servings should be a handful.
- Eat before you train. Your body has been without food for several hours overnight, so you cant expect to get the best out of it in your training or racing if you are under fueling. Solution to this is not to get up at 5am before your 8am cycle its pretty simple trial and error, try a yogurt smoothie, banana sandwich, or my own favourite jam sandwich.
- Not taking on fuel during long training sessions - This is very common during runs when people don’t want to carry food or gels. They often go without anything and wonder why they slow down towards the end of a long session.Work out how much carbohydrate and fluid you need and know how much is in the drinks and foods you’re consuming. You should aim for 30-60g of carbohydrate per hour, and it follows that the smaller you are, the less you will need.
- Dont forget to hydrate - In order to get the most out of our training session, aim to be hydrated before you start- one way to check this is check the colour of your urine, aim for pale straw colour. During exercise aim to take 150-250ml every 20-30mins. That doesn't include all those gulps of water in the pool !!!
- Up the carbs - For all high-intensity sessions(i.e working at 70% of your max HR) you'll need carbohydrate in your system prior to training to ensure you can hit your paces. I would advise 1-1.5g per kg of bodyweight carbs in all meals leading up to the session.
- Using caffeine products randomly - While caffeine has a proven positive effect on performance, it needs careful management. It can act as a gut stimulant and cause stomach issues. Work out your exact caffeine needs and take it before the session; its effects last for a few hours. Test in training and ease back on caffeinated drinks for a couple of weeks before a key race to increase its effects when you take it on race day.
- All fat is bad for you - Fat is a really important part of the diet. The real issue is the types of fats we eat. The fats we should aim to eat come from sources such as olive oil, oily fish, avocado and seeds such as flax. Not your bacon and sausage baps.
- Don't be a Hitler ! - It doesn't have to be all doom and gloom if you are doing all of this why not treat yourself every fortnight or so. Now I am not saying go and drink a bottle of wine or eat 6 bag of crisps but there is great alternatives to cure those carvings and reward yourself such as dark chocolate etc.
- KEEP IT SIMPLE - Remember sports nutrition doesn’t need fancy gadgets or specialist ingredients; just because you’ve read a Gordon Ramsey triathlete dinner doesn't mean you have to slave a way to make one . Fresh simple ingredients such as scrambled eggs on toast or a hearty meat and vegetable casserole using leftovers or a bowl of porridge with honey and walnuts all make well-balanced and nutrient rich training food.
