You are what you eat.
We do a lot of sitting around being passive, watching television, and we are continually bombarded by food messages. It's no wonder we've got an epidemic of obesity in this country.
Really, no one wants to hear it but the only recipe for weight loss is "eat better and get more exercise".
Athletes watch their nutritional needs and non-athletes could learn a thing or two from them.
Nutrition for athletes. This is a sample of what some competitve cyclist's diet might look like.
TRAINING PHASE:
Breakfast:
Cereals (bread, rolled oats, Corn Flakes)
Muesli
natural yogurt, cream cheese
Fresh fruit, freshly squeezed fruit juice
Tea or light coffee; not milky coffee, as some substances in the coffee make the digestion of milk more difficult
Lunch:
Pasta with olive oil or tomato sauce
Cheese or tuna fish with olive oil or raw ham
Between lunch and training there should be at least an hour and a half break. During the meal minimal liquids should be drunk. Its much better to drink after meals (at least 3 litres per day).
Snack:
Fresh fruit, dried fruit, plain biscuits with herbal tea
Fruit shouldn't be eaten with main meals to avoid fermentation, which makes digestion more difficult
Dinner:
Vegetable soup or pasta
Meat or fish
Cheese or eggs (1 egg per week)
Side dishes: vegetables, potatoes, peas and beans
Between dinner and going to bed there should be minimum a 2 hour break!
COMPETITION PHASE:
If the competition starts in the morning, breakfast should be eaten at least 2 hours before the start and should consist of:
Freshly squeezed orange juice or another fruit juice with sugar
One cup of tea or decaffeinated coffee
Wholemeal bread with honey or marmalade
One portion of spaghetti with olive oil
If the race takes place in the afternoon, a good breakfast should be taken and the lunch should consist of:
Pasta or rice with olive oil or tomato sauce
Raw ham with a piece of Parmesan cheese
Boiled carrots or potatoes with olive oil, lemon and salt
Bread
Concluding with fresh fruit
NB: The drink for the period before the competition should be made of: water and fruit juice or tea with honey, mixed in proportion 1:1. This mixture should be drunk regularly until 45 minutes before the start.
RECOVERY PHASE:
The nutrition after the race should be light, as the body is already weakened due to the effort exerted and a difficult digestion process overloads the detoxing mechanism.
We recommend:
A portion of rice or pasta with olive oil
Vegetable soup
Yogurt or low-fat cheese
Fruit
A lot of water, or fruit juice or herbal tea
Baseline - a good diet has no substitute, but you can also derive great benefit from intelligently chosen supplements. An unfortunate but often unaviodable result of our "advanced" modern lifestyle is a lack of time to prepare good whole foods. There are lots of meal replacement drinks and bars available which can offer complete nutrition solutions, but as with any processed food - buyer beware! Most bars and drinks contain high levels of sugar and saturated fats, and claim their benefits by the amount of vitamins, minerals contained. A careful review of the nutritional benefits in conjunction with the fat and sugar content can give you a small meal bar with the nutritional punch of a good meal. I like the ZonePerfect bars, and EAS has some good offerings as well with their AdvantEdge Ready-to-Drink line.
Posted by: TheronC at September 26, 2005 09:40 AM