Stay Lean This Winter Tip #2: Training Nutrition vs. Daily Nutrition

What do you get when you eat like you’re summer-training even when you’re not? You’ve guessed it; most athletes get unwanted pounds. At the heart of the issue is the idea that athletes can, and should, eat a certain way and non-athletes should eat another.  I disagree.

I think that both groups should eat a whole-food, low-processed, nourishing, healthy diet day to day.  Athletes should not eat like they are at an all-you-can-eat-pasta-bar for carb loading when they are not, in fact, carb-loading.  And even when choosing healthy carbs, there is plenty of evidence that projects that over-eating carbs simply taxes our bodies, from hormone response to fat storage to heart disease.

But what about energy for off-season training?

First, I recommend that you do include some carbs in daytime meals and snacks…it’s just not all-carbs.  Then, add in training nutrition immediately before, during, and after any training that’s 90 minutes or more (or 60 minutes or more if challenging).  Here’s the kicker: Since many athletes reduce training times to less than 90 minutes during the Winter, you simply don’t need to add in much training nutrition.  Want more details on this Daily Nutrition vs. Training Nutrition philosophy? You’ll find all the details below, plus an example of a bar appropriate for Daily Nutrition vs. one’s you’ll want to save for Training.   

Recipe of the Week: Real-Food High Protein Energy Bars 

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup cashews
• 1/2 cup hemp seed hearts
• 1/2 cup chia seeds
• 3 Tbsp organic coconut oil
• 1 cup dried tart cherries, apricots, or dried cranberries
• 2 scoops undetatured whey protein or your favorite protein powder (optional)

Instructions:

Place all ingredients in food processor, process until smooth.  Press into a greased bread loaf pan (if it’s sticky, you can use wax paper to press).  Place in refrigerator until firm.  Cut into 6-12 equal bars or squares, depending on if you want snack or meal bars.  Store in refrigerator.

Makes 6 meal bars or 12 snack bars.

Nutrition (per serving of 6 meal bars): 349 calories, 26 grams carbohydrates, 20 grams protein, 20 gm fat, 26 mg sodium 

Comments: Stay Lean this Winter Tip #2 – Keep Daily Nutrition and Training Nutrition Separate 

When I first dove into sports nutrition, I noticed something I found peculiar.  It seemed that most resources recommended that athletes abandon what I knew to be healthy eating, and instead simply “get enough” carbohydrates everyday.  Not much was said about the quality of carbs. Not much was said about when to eat these.  It was just “eat 4-7 grams of carbs per kilogram body weight every day.” Well, what about off-days? And, what about athletes who want to become leaner? And, what about different types of workout days…different in workout duration, intensity, and exercise?

As an athlete myself, I knew I felt better with high quality, wholesome foods day to day. But, I also knew I needed a different type of fuel on the bike. And before (something easy to digest), and something after (craving salty, simple foods). I knew you had to keep ’em separated.

From the onset, this seemed most logical to me.  With an understanding of digestion, and how the metabolism of nutrients actually changes during the very time when  you’re active vs. inactive (all the way down to the cellular level of the body), it’s always made sense to me that they different “fueling times” should be, and could be different.  That you can fuel with your immediate and long-term goals in mind. Don’t make the mistake of thinking of your body as a simple, stagnant operation – it’s complex!  At the cellular level, metabolism changes when you’re sitting vs. when you’re running.  These changes occur in the short-term and long-term.

Well then, which foods when?

First, let’s start with Daily Nutrition. We’ll keep it simple and concise here:

• A healthy pattern of consistent meals and, if you’d like, snacks – i.e. breakfast, mid-morning snack, lunch, mid-afternoon snack, and dinner as opposed to eating nothing until 2pm, then overeating all afternoon and evening (believe it or not, I see this all the time!). The main key is to eat most of your calories during the day while you’re active, and then keep it “light at night.”
• Adequate daily fluid. 64 oz. per day fluid is a great starting point for the metabolism of a 2000-calorie per day diet.  However, many athletes need upwards of 3000-4000 calories per day, which requires more fluid.  Remember, dehydration is cumulative and gets worse day after day if it is not remedied.  And, it has a DIRECT detrimental effect on performance.
• Appropriate and adequate daily calories based on your weight/fat goals (maintenance, loss, etc.).

Healthy Foods:

• Whole food carbohydrates at a level that reflects your weight/fat goals. In my experience, carbohydrate intake has a direct effect on fat loss.  But, as an athlete, you certainly need them.   In Daily Nutrition I recommend 1-2 sources of healthy carbs at breakfast and lunch, and one source at daytime meals.  I recommend omitting extra carbs at most dinners.
• Protein at every meal. You have higher protein needs than a sedentary person as you are constantly building and rebuilding cells. Low protein status, among endurance athletes, often correlates to slow recovery, more illnesses, general fatigue, low iron status, and deteriorating performance.
• It’s that important.
• Essential fats, especially omega-3 fats, monounsaturated fats, and medium chain triglycerides. Minimal processed foods and transfats. From an athletic and overall healthy standpoint, healthy fats help reduce overall inflammation in our bodies; cellular inflammation is a key player in chronic disease and unhealthy cells.  Fats also promote healthy hormone balance and better insulin sensitivity, which equals less fat storage.
• Adequate vitamins and minerals – again, you have higher needs than a sedentary person (which is who the RDAs are based upon). Without individual blood testing, it suffices to say that you should include a good variety of foods with adequate proteins, fats, and carbs in your daily diet.  In most cases, I also recommend a food-based multivitamin/multimineral, probiotics, and extra vitamin D.  Beyond this, different individuals and circumstances warrant different and/or more supplements.
• Superfoods that promote reduced inflammation, oxidative stress, and toxins in your cells. As an athlete, you work your body hard, and use high amounts of oxygen – this can actually increase the oxidative stress in your body. And, we ingest, breathe in, and are inundated with toxins in our environments, foods, and drinks.  Give your body some help and eat foods that “clean” your cells.

But, most of these don’t work well when you on the bike, in the middle of a climb, or running an ultra.

Next, you need specific fuel immediately before, during, and after training/competing.  This is a great time to determine your goals as an athlete, as your goals should set the course for your training and training nutrition.  If you are training in order to lose weight or just improve cardiovascular fitness, you don’t necessarily need extra calories and carbs during your workout and may do fine just using water and electrolytes when needed.  If, however, you are training to improve as an athlete, with the goal of pushing yourself to new levels during training in order to get better and better, you should pay close attention to “Training Nutrition.”  For you, this is where it can get confusing because the fuel you need for training requires fast digestion and is on the opposite end of the nutrition spectrum from the recommended daily nutrition food choices.  For training, you need:

• A good understanding of human digestion: Knowing how and how fast different foods and nutrients are digested is the key to knowing what to eat when for training nutrition (don’t be the guy eating almonds or beef jerky on a 90 minute ride – they’ll still be setting in the stomach long after the ride’s done – no offense almond guy).
• Pre-training fuel: Before any training sessions >90 minutes or one that is first thing in the morning, it is a good idea to make sure you are hydrated so that you’re not starting in a deficit.  I recommend drinking to fullness 1-2 hours out, and then sipping fluids the last hour before training.  Also, aim to eat/drink a snack or meal that contains easy to digest carbohydrates; the closer to start-time, the more easy-to-digest they should be.  If you need something before you immediately head out, try 1-2 Tbsp. honey off the spoon, a banana, or a few dates or mango strips.
• During-training fuel – During any session lasting more than 60 minutes at high intensity, or more than 90 minutes even at lesser intensity, you will benefit from giving your body fluid, carbohydrates and electrolytes during the session. You need carbs, calories, and electrolytes usually from a drink and easy-to-digest food options.  Then, when riding really long duration, as in 4+ hours, add in real-food like small bacon rice burritos every 2-3 hours or so.
• After-training recovery – After all training sessions, I recommend eating/drinking a recovery snack or meal within 30 minutes of finishing the session. Include fluid, carbohydrates, protein, and medium chain triglycerides from organic coconut oil.  A smoothie, honey/chocolate milk, or a sandwich can all be great recovery options.   
• You don’t need any of these types of training foods and drinks when you’re not training. The sports drinks, the sugary bars, etc. Keep them in training nutrition, and use real foods day to day.

Back to the Bars: Daily Nutrition or Training Nutrition?

When I analyze nutrition habits for clients, I often find athletes eating high sugar “energy bars” at times/days they are not training, simply out of habit of eating them and thinking of them as a good option.  For example, a Clif Bar is a great bar for a ride.  It has easy to digest fuel. But, it’s not an ideal everyday snack.  It’s designed to digest quickly and increase blood sugar so your cells have something to use immediately for energy.  This is the opposite of what your body needs when sitting at a desk.  In contrast, this week’s recipe has slow-digesting real foods and no quick sugars.  Make sense?

To stay lean and healthy this off-season, I recommend keeping Daily Nutrition and Training Nutrition separate.  Only eat like you’re training when you’re training. The rest of the time, eat slow, real, whole, healthy foods for meals and snacks.

Fuel Your Ride. Nourish Your Body.