Triathlete Magazine asked Mary Jo to address the conflict athletes face between performance and weight loss. Unfortunately, space limits for the print edition severely edited her advice, but since it’s so important to what I’ve had to do in the “4th discipline” of triathlon, nutrition, I wanted to present it fully here.
She acknowledged that “the challenge is to eat sufficiently to power up for endurance training and at the same time limit what you eat to manage weight. Food choices must be balanced to supply sufficient calories and nutrients to support optimal performance and weight loss (or maintenance) simultaneously. This can be tricky as there's not a lot of room for foods that don't serve a specific purpose toward both goals.” So it’s no secret that I have to lay off the junk food but it’s just as important to make the healthiest choices possible. I’ll always opt for a fruit over juice or if it’s pasta, then the nutrient rich whole wheat and high fiber varieties are the way to go. But it’s a bit more complicated than that.Mary Jo explains, “for example, balancing the macro-nutrients, (carbohydrate, protein and fat) is critical. Having adequate carbohydrate, and the best types, pre- and post-training, makes a difference for performance, glycogen recovery, and sparing dietary protein for muscle repair. In other words you have to balance not only what you eat, but when, in addition to properly pairing your nutrients. Protein ‘sparing’ means eating enough carbs and calories so that the protein you eat gets used efficiently for rebuilding.”
As my training sessions have gotten longer and more intense this is definitely an area I’ve had to address – working on my nutrition plan and making sure my pre & post training meals work not only to fuel me and fill me up, but they also have to help my aching body recover. When I have 3-4 hour intense sessions on back-to-back days, I think the fact that I can do them at all tells me I’m finally doing something right in the area of nutrition.
Mary Jo also noted that “in terms of micro-nutrients, the vitamins and minerals, we know that calcium and dairy are important for bone health, but I have since learned that there is mounting evidence that adequate dairy intake, a mere 3 servings per day, while widely shown to support increased fat breakdown and decreased fat synthesis, may also aid in the actual destruction of fat cells. At the same time, dairy gives you the type of amino acids that support increased muscle mass and helps regulate your blood sugar. So, a simple thing like adequate dairy may not only help fight obesity but can also enhance performance.”
No doubt you’ve all noted the current trend towards more dairy – and don’t ignore all the research promoting Low Fat Chocolate Milk as a great recovery drink – practical and delicious, not to mention chocolate! But heeding all of her advice, I guess it’s best to skip the ice cream and reach for the low fat yogurt. It really is that simple, but, as I’ve struggled with a lot of this she also provided support and reassurance by pointing out “simple doesn’t necessarily mean easy.”
I certainly agree with that, paying constant attention to your nutrition plan takes diligence and persistence, and is just as important as the other 3 disciplines. While I’ve been far from perfect, I am making progress, slowly but surely, and I’ve managed to attain a healthy weight loss of about half a pound a week for a total of just over 10 lbs since the start of the contest. Similar to the triathlon coaching we’ve received from Cadence, when it comes to your nutrition plan, it’s invaluable to solicit some expert advice!
As my training sessions have gotten longer and more intense this is definitely an area I’ve had to address – working on my nutrition plan and making sure my pre & post training meals work not only to fuel me and fill me up, but they also have to help my aching body recover. When I have 3-4 hour intense sessions on back-to-back days, I think the fact that I can do them at all tells me I’m finally doing something right in the area of nutrition.
Mary Jo also noted that “in terms of micro-nutrients, the vitamins and minerals, we know that calcium and dairy are important for bone health, but I have since learned that there is mounting evidence that adequate dairy intake, a mere 3 servings per day, while widely shown to support increased fat breakdown and decreased fat synthesis, may also aid in the actual destruction of fat cells. At the same time, dairy gives you the type of amino acids that support increased muscle mass and helps regulate your blood sugar. So, a simple thing like adequate dairy may not only help fight obesity but can also enhance performance.”
No doubt you’ve all noted the current trend towards more dairy – and don’t ignore all the research promoting Low Fat Chocolate Milk as a great recovery drink – practical and delicious, not to mention chocolate! But heeding all of her advice, I guess it’s best to skip the ice cream and reach for the low fat yogurt. It really is that simple, but, as I’ve struggled with a lot of this she also provided support and reassurance by pointing out “simple doesn’t necessarily mean easy.”
I certainly agree with that, paying constant attention to your nutrition plan takes diligence and persistence, and is just as important as the other 3 disciplines. While I’ve been far from perfect, I am making progress, slowly but surely, and I’ve managed to attain a healthy weight loss of about half a pound a week for a total of just over 10 lbs since the start of the contest. Similar to the triathlon coaching we’ve received from Cadence, when it comes to your nutrition plan, it’s invaluable to solicit some expert advice!
(More Nutrition info soon - including some gripping information on the importance of your sweat rate and proper hydration and I'll also talk about my favorite nutrition products including the R2 recovery drink from Enervit - bet you can't hardly wait! :)
