Bite Size Nutrition Tips Choosing the right foods and the right amounts of foods can be difficult to achieve when training hard. It can be all too easy to reach for the quick option. However given what the average athlete puts their body through on a weekly basis, it is essential that your diet is high in all the building blocks of life. The below tips are designed as a guide to help you monitor your intake and ensure that you are selecting nutrient dense sources of food.
Know what you need For some relying on “gut instinct” is adequate to ensure that they are eating enough. For others it can be difficult to assess whether you are eating too much, or too little. But how do you know how much you really need? The most simple way to work this out is to use a Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) calculation (the Harris Benedict Equation). Such an equation estimates your resting energy expenditure. This is not the only calculation that can be used, and like all calculations it has its limitations, but it does give you a rough guide as to your energy requirements. Try the following equations and work out how much energy you burn at rest (roughly speaking!) Harris-Benedict equation for BMR: • •
For men: (13.75 x w) + (5 x h) - (6.76 x a) + 66 For women: (9.56 x w) + (1.85 x h) - (4.68 x a) + 655 (w=Weight in Kg, h=height in metres and a=age in years) The results are represented as kcal/day The results of your calculations can then be multiplied by the below activity factor.
Activity Factor Multiply by 1.2 for Sedentary Little or no exercise and desk job Multiply by 1.375 for Lightly Active Light exercise or sports 1-3 days a week Multiply by 1.55 for Moderately Active Moderate exercise or sports 3-5 days a week Multiply by 1.725 for Very Active Hard exercise or sports 6-7 days a week Multiply by 1.9 for Extremely Active Hard daily exercise or sports and physical job
Now give it a go!
Bite Size Nutrition Tips cont‌ Monitor your intake Monitoring what you eat and when you eat it is a key process, to help ensure you are eating adequately. Choose to use an online food diary. Some good websites include: www.foodfocus.co.uk and www.livestrong.com and www.nutritiondata.self.com. I am a massive fan of the LiveStrong website as it is easy to use. Using such a web based tool means that you can compare your intake with recommended energy requirements to ensure you are staying on track.
Eat Breakfast Breakfast is an essential meal. It kick starts your metabolism and has a role in ensuring you eat less during the rest of the day. Not to mention replenishing energy stores that have been depleted over night. Making sure you have breakfast every day is crucial to any training regime. Base your breakfast around a lean source of protein and high fibre foods. 150g of plain yoghurt with 50-100g of un-sweetened muesli is a good option. Don’t leave it too long before having breakfasts, as this can leave you suffering from low energy levels and at risk of a lowered metabolic rate.
Breakfast Ideas Protein source 1-2 eggs
Added to 1-2 Slices of whole grain bread or a portion of fruit
Tip Eggs are a great source of protein and can be boiled and left in the fridge for several days
5-6oz of cottage cheese
1-2 slices of rye bread
Baked Beans
Whole grain toast
Rye bread is a good alternative to whole grain bread and is very high in fibre. Simple and packed with vegetable protein
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Bite Size Nutrition Tips cont‌ Protein Ensure you have a source of protein with each main meal (~20g), this serves to aid satiety, keeping you feeling fuller for longer. Protein is also associated with improved recovery, less muscle soreness, greater stride power and improved adaptation to training so make sure you have adequate protein in your diet. There are some protein rich snack ideas below to help get you on your way.
Snack or Small Meal Ideas Protein source 1-3 Brazil nuts or 10 cashews or 8 almonds or 8 walnuts. A portion of nuts (as above)
2 table spoon of Hummus. There a small pots available from most of the big supermarket chains 70g of low fat cottage cheese or other cheese
Fibre/Carbohydrate source 1 x piece of fruit. Try oranges, pears or other fruits you can buy in bulk. A handful of pre-cut carrot sticks 3 x oat cakes
1-2 slices of rye bread
Tip Carry the nuts with you in your bag for a post gym snack Bags carrots are cheap. You can get a bag of pre-chopped carrots from any supermarket. Vegetable sticks like carrot and celery would also work
Rye bread is a good alternative to whole grain bread and is very high in fibre. Try the pumpkin version, most supermarkets stock it.
Keep Fibre Intake High Fibre keeps you feeling fuller for longer. Base your meals around high fibre fruit and vegetables, particularly vegetables. It works to think in colours i.e. any vegetable that is red, yellow, orange, purple, green and green and leafy can be combined with a portion of protein. The white exceptions to the rule are garlic, cauliflower and onions (eat as much as you want of these white foods). To keep your carbohydrate intakes high enough, use starchy vegetables instead. Any of the following work quite well as they are fibre rich but also contain a good source of carbohydrate: Beetroot, Vacuum packed pre-cooked beetroot, Swede, Parsnips, Sweet Potato, Pumpkin, Squash, Celeriac, Carrots and Potatoes.
Bite Size Nutrition Tips cont‌ Only Use Sports Products when your body needs them Your muscles and liver contains enough glycogen for ~90mins of training. This is on the condition that you ensure you eat properly throughout the day. For this reason you should not need to use a carbohydrate based energy product during rides that last less than 90minutes. The idea here is that you are utilising your body’s carbohydrate stores, and may even be eating into the old fat stores occasionally. On the shorter rides use the LoCal electrolyte drinks to stay hydrated. When rides last longer than 90mins feed your muscles with carbohydrates and a small amount of protein (~5-10g). Make sure you only eat what your body needs. Calculate roughly how long you will be riding and how much carbohydrate you will need. Work on the premise that you require between 30-60g of carbohydrate per hour.
Recovery Nutrition To support recovery from training it is essential that you consume a combination of protein and carbohydrate post training. After every training session consume either a whole food snack or a recovery shake. The benefit of a recovery shake is that it will also contribute to rehydration. Mix your recovery drinks with water. If you struggle to have a specific recovery formula, try one of the following; - 400-500mls of milk - 1 banana with 150g of plain natural yoghurt (2% fat) - Cashew, hazelnut, almond or pumpkin seed butter (Available from Holland and Barret) on whole grain or rye bread toast - Recovery Bar NB: Please ensure that if you consume your recovery snack within 30mins of completing training, and a proper meal within 1-2hrs. Tip: Carry your recovery nutrition with you to training so that it is easily available.
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