General Discussion Triathlon Talk » Good food options during the day Rss Feed  
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2011-11-23 7:58 AM

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Expert
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Cincinnati
Subject: Good food options during the day

Sooooo as I try to ramp up/be more consistent with training while building a base for my September IM, I find that I need a bit more fuel in my day.

The problem is, due to my job, most days I'm in the car, in and out of appointments, all day. This means I'm limited to food that (a) does not need heating, and (b) can be eaten while driving. (I'm pretty talented when it comes to b, although most of the time if I choose a salad for lunch, I will arrive at all afternoon appointments with a streak of dressing down my leg.)

I've been having real trouble lately getting enough to eat during the day. A lot of healthy choices don't seem to be filling enough at all, and I'll find myself toward the end of the day hitting up a drive-through for a chicken sandwich because I am way too hungry - legitimately hungry, not "ooh, mcchicken sounds good" hungry - to get through the rest of the day. Either that, or I will be STARVING by the time I get home for dinner. Sometimes a good, hard post-work workout is out of the question because I just don't have the energy.

This has been an ongoing issue - last year, for a bit, I was part of a running group that did hard runs (speed or hills) on Tuesday evenings right after work and I had a tough time not completely pooping out after a few miles.

Things I eat include turkey/chicken sandwiches on multigrain sandwich thins, celery with natural peanut butter (one of my faves, for taste and filling-ness), greek yogurt (also gets tricky while driving, but occasionally I can spare a few minutes in a parking lot), apples/bananas, and I drink V8 like it's going out of style, because I'm not a fan of raw veggies and they don't seem to fill me up as well (neither does salad). I drink lots of h2o too.

I'll do clif bars/protein bars/etc. but I hate feeling like I'm living on them and not "real food".

I'm hypoglycemic so I pretty much eat something every hour or two.

Got any more suggestions? I will eat most everything except I passionately hate cottage cheese!



2011-11-23 8:06 AM
in reply to: #3912855

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Elite
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Subject: RE: Good food options during the day
I was about to say that I am eating a bunch of raw carrot sticks right now but you mention you don't like the raw veggies.  For me, I eat raw veggies(carrots, cauliflower, cucumber), apples, bananas and I have a small mixture of raisins and almonds for mid afternoon.
2011-11-23 8:06 AM
in reply to: #3912855

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Subject: RE: Good food options during the day
One of my favorite snacks is certain fruit/nut mixes that come in fairly large bags. Personally I get the omega3 blend from Trader Joes which is dried cranberries, almonds, pistachios, cashews, and sunflower seeds. Good energy, good fat, and relatively low sugar and filling. It's better than a cliff bar too. If you. Have a Trader Joes near you stop in as they have lots of different ones to try.
2011-11-23 8:53 AM
in reply to: #3912855

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Subject: RE: Good food options during the day
Since you mention yogurt I'm guessing you keep a cooler in the car. I suggest hard boiled eggs I find them very filling and easy to eat on the go. Or egg I should say bc you wouldn't want to eat a bunch of them in a row probably.
2011-11-23 9:09 AM
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2011-11-23 9:28 AM
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Subject: RE: Good food options during the day

axteraa - 2011-11-23 9:06 AM I was about to say that I am eating a bunch of raw carrot sticks right now but you mention you don't like the raw veggies.  For me, I eat raw veggies(carrots, cauliflower, cucumber), apples, bananas and I have a small mixture of raisins and almonds for mid afternoon.

They're ok. I can tolerate them because I know I need the nutrients but I don't find them filling/energizing in the least.



2011-11-23 9:30 AM
in reply to: #3912996

Expert
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Subject: RE: Good food options during the day

miamiamy - 2011-11-23 9:53 AM Since you mention yogurt I'm guessing you keep a cooler in the car. I suggest hard boiled eggs I find them very filling and easy to eat on the go. Or egg I should say bc you wouldn't want to eat a bunch of them in a row probably.

An insulated lunch bag with a reusable ice pack, yep. And it's cold enough right about now that everything in my car stays cold. Summer is a different story!

2011-11-23 9:33 AM
in reply to: #3912855

Expert
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Subject: RE: Good food options during the day
Someone beat me to the hard boiled eggs,  that's a good one!  Beef jerky is good too!  You can also get fish in a pouch, tuna, salmon, that's all I can think of, but since it isn't in water like the caned stuff its easier to eat without making a mess and stinking up the car.  And as everyone is saying nuts and dried fruit type of mixes are good just watch out for the added sugar, some of them are glorified bags of candy. 
2011-11-23 9:33 AM
in reply to: #3912855

Expert
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Cincinnati
Subject: RE: Good food options during the day
Some good suggestions so far, thanks everyone!
2011-11-23 9:36 AM
in reply to: #3912855

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Subject: RE: Good food options during the day
I too am on the road most of the day, depending on my calorie needs I pre-pack my lunch in a cooler. Usually I eat breakfast and dinner at home, and bring enough food for 3 small "lunches". Typically a good sized sandwich (I eat half at a time) a few pieces of fruit, powdered protein shake (ill mix with water) a bag of trail mix as mentioned above, maybe a baggy of cheerios. I ALWAYS have a few cans of tuna and chicken in my car as kind of "emergency rations" those I can eat out of a can. If there is a break in my day I'll find a "crazy bowls and wraps" and have a good hot meal, but typically my lunches are out of my cooler.
2011-11-23 9:40 AM
in reply to: #3912855

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Subject: RE: Good food options during the day
Almonds, about 26 per serving. And most other nuts for that matter if they are raw and unsalted. 3rd vote for HB eggs. While pouches of tuna and salmon might stink, generally chicken and turkey do not. All of these are low carb high protein offerings.


2011-11-23 9:51 AM
in reply to: #3912855

Expert
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Cincinnati
Subject: RE: Good food options during the day
Canned chicken is a good idea. I usually have an emergency granola bar with me but I haven't thought of canned emergency things. I forgot, canned tuna is my other food aversion (maybe because I've had cats all my life and I can't eat anything that smells like their food!) but I'm good with the chicken.
2011-11-23 9:57 AM
in reply to: #3912855

Master
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Subject: RE: Good food options during the day
A blender is your friend too -- you can probably find all sorts of suggestions on the nutrition forum here.
2011-11-23 10:54 AM
in reply to: #3912855

Expert
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Detroit, MI. Kinda.
Subject: RE: Good food options during the day
I eat cold/room temp burritos often enough... even without refrigeration, they wont poison you if you grab one out of the fridge in the morning and it sits around in the car all day.
2011-11-23 11:10 AM
in reply to: #3912855

Payson, AZ
Subject: RE: Good food options during the day

Stop using sandwich thins and use real bread with actual calories in it.  Made like bread was suppose to be made.  Add something like avocado or hummus to the sandwich to give it some fat and stick with you a bit longer.  Eating more often is one way to boast that calorie count but also make the meals you do eat now last. 

I also think the egg is a good way to go, as well as almonds.  Or make up a good trail mix.  Go to the bulk stores and put in what you want to consume and mix and match.  Cheese sticks and crackers.

2011-11-23 12:45 PM
in reply to: #3912855

Champion
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Dallas, TX
Subject: RE: Good food options during the day
What about fruit? You could cut up an apple and keep it in your cooler. Or put some strawberries in a baggie and eat on those. Bananas are easy to travel with. Grapes too. And raisins.

For quick yogurt, I like to get the smoothies. I buy the healthy ones that are only 140 calories.

What about string cheese? You can get the 2% milk kind. 2 of them is 140 calories and an OK amount of protein.

I'm a pro at eating Subway in the car. A footlong will fill you up longer than a small sandwich.

I also vote for nuts. I get the 100 calorie packages of Emerald nuts. Keeps me from eating too many.

That's all I can think of right now... that isn't a Clif bar of some sort. I eat a lot of Clif bars when I don't have time to heat up food, for a snack, at work.









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