Subject: RE: New to training, Need Help!!!If you're new to training, the fatigue you feel might not have anything to do with nutrition. Also I would doubt that your workouts are of a long enough duration that special nutrition is going to make a difference. For example, if you're going out and running 4 or 5 miles, you really don't need that 300-Calorie post-workout shake. Not that it will hurt you, but it's not needed.
Having said that, the current wisdom says that it's best to take in a few hundred Calories within 30 minutes of finishing exercise, and a 4:1 ratio of simple carbohydrates to protein is optimal for fast absorption. There are commercial products, like Endurox, that specifically use this combo, but you can also achieve this ratio with things like chocolate milk or a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Then about 2 hours after a workout you should follow up with a meal that has complex carbs in it.
As for basic nutrition, most people consider a high carbohydrate/low fat diet to be the best. It's pretty elementary: carbs and fruits and veggies and dairy are good; saturated fat is bad. Some people advocate the Paleo diet for triathletes, but I don't. Actually in this crowd you'll get about 25 different opinions, but mine is that you should just listen to your body unless you're gaining or losing weight too quickly. As your body adapts to training, you'll start to naturally crave the things you need, so just go with it. |