IM Training = How much MORE FOOD can I eat? (Page 3)

Very interesting thread.  Karen, how can you be a vegetarian and not like veggies??  Seems really complicated/difficult to me.

For the past few months I have felt like a bottomless pit when it comes to food! 

Yesterday food: 

Breakfast 1 &2 (glad to see I'm not alone in numbering my meals): Non-fat Greek yogurt with Granola, banana, dried mango, a teaspoon of cashew butter and 2 oatmeal cookies

Lunch 1&2: 2 turkey burgers (no bun) with honey mustard on top, 1 PB&J Uncrustable, 5 Sweet-tarts handful of dried cranberries

Dinner: Spicey tuna roll after my run/swim workout, grilled chicken kabobs with peanuts sauce, rice with coconut milk, iceberg wedge

Dessert: ice cream sandwich of strawberry gelato in between 2 snickerdoodle cookies (new item at Whole Foods, could not resist) 

Yesterday was my first day back from being out of town, usually I eat a LOT more fruit.  On a typical day I can eat a pint of blueberries, 3 peaches, 2 kiwi fruit, 1 banana.  On Sunday I usually will grill boneless skinn chicken breasts and put them in individual plastic baggies so I can throw that in the microwave at work.  It's a great time-saver!   

DANG! But $200 isn't all that much when I factor in how much we spend on groceries and dinners and lunches out. You just don't seem to have the laziness gene I have when it comes to food prep.

Very impressive though. It gives me something to strive for... I know when we bring home our daughter (adopting from China) I'll need to be more cognizant of the foods we eat. I want to start her out on a very healthy diet and not all that crap that kids usually get.

Fascinating discussion.  I do want to jump in and will support one portion of Karen's previous post:

I find myself in a similar mindset.  (Though 'miserable' isn't the sentiment I'd use.)  Yes, I fully recognize that could stand to trim additional body fat.  However, there's a limited amount of willpower/mental capital that I'm willing/have available to commit to my diet at the moment.

Don't misunderstand -- I've made significant improvements this year in the quality of what I eat overall.  -- switch to whole grains whenever possible, significant reduction in HFCS in meal ingredients (e.g. breads), increased percentage of veggies in dinners, fruits and fruit cups for snacks, etc.

However, while the overall quality has improved, there are still significant weaknesses.   I still allow myself -- Diet Dr. Peppers (trying to cut back on that), handfulls of M&M, caramels, or other sugar snacksat the office, chips and picante --  and yes, fast food --esp. when going out with office workers on Fridays.  Now, that fast food might be a little better than previously (e.g. Turkey or Veggie Burger at Fuddruckers, smoked turkey instead of sausage when getting BBQ, Pad Thai at Pei Wei); however, it's still fast food. 

{But the bigger issue there. for me, is portion control, even if it's a 'somewhat healthier' entree.  I've started taking half of the meal and putting in a to-go container right away.  Sometimes that helps, though usually I'll find myself finishing the meal later that afternoon at work.  (Hopefully at least supplanting some other afternoon snack.)  Also, if I'm hungry when I get home, I'll find myself noshing on carbs - Triscuits, Wheat Thins, dry cereal, peanuts - whatever's handy and easy to grab a handful of.}

But it's a tradeoff at least I'm aware I'm making -- my time helping with kids in the morning sometimes outweighs the benefit of a single day's healthy lunch and the time it would take to prepare that.  Sometimes, getting out of the office and eating, even if not the healthiest meal, outweighs the mental drain of eating at the office another time.  I think this awareness is an important distinction between the group of us discussing this topic here and the general population.  We're at least aware of the opportunity costs we're incurring.

Hopefully, I'll continue to make incremental improvements, and each change becomes less and less of a burden and more-and-more of the normal routine.  And that -- the need for many of us to treat this as a journey, not a one-time quick overhaul, to be successful in the long run -- is why I find the postings with the perspective, "How can you do that?  Just cut all of xxxx out completely and do yyyy instead!" to be somewhat abrasive.  (Even though I suspect the authors didn't intend them that way.)

So learn to love cooking - take a class, buy some "healthy meals in 10 mins for one" books, get a new kitchen, live with a chef. Try a heap of stuff and find what works for you. If one of these things works for you you will learn to love cooking and eat healthier.

It's also fun trying a whole bunch of new things. Sure they're not all going to work for you, but if you find 1 or 2 it's like finding a pot of gold. Changes your whole life.

Ok, so just before your IM probably isn't the time to be doing this but your off season sure is. Everyone says work on your weakness in your offseason and that includes nutrition!

Gerrard 

Why the hell would you sacrifice your health and happiness to lose a few pounds like this when you could do it by eating properly and feeling good at the same time. No wonder people who "diet" end up putting the weight back on - the way you are eating is simply not sustainable! 

Oh and while I'm on my rant...

Why do people say "and if I'm hungry I'll snack on donuts" (substitute donuts for any other unhealthy choice). If you are hungry your body needs fuel to recover from the last workout or get ready for the next one. Foots high in fat / sugar / salt are not real foods and have virtually no nutritional benefit. If you car was low on gas would you go fill the tank with water and mud? I think not!

Food = fuel to an athlete. Eat the best fuels for your body and you'll get the best performance out of it.

That's probably the end of my ranting for now... 

Not quite accurate (think avacado, fruits, etc.), but I know what you're saying.

No, but I do sometimes put lower-octane fuel into it from non-branded gas station.  Why?  (a) Maybe it's more convenient than driving somewhere else. (b) Maybe it's the only thing available, and it's more important to have some fuel than a particular fuel

Very true.  But if purchasing premium fuel mean that you put off changing the oil, or rotating the tires, was it really the best tradeoff?  It's the sum of the choices we make that determines the ultimate outcome.

this is how I roll

This is a great thread. I'm a reformed unhealthy eater. We are the worst!!!

Karen, I too am a vegetarian (since age 10) and was extremely unhealthy. I did not cook much and thought I didnt like a lot of vegetables, tofu etc. I got the book Vegan Planet and I started making stuff from it, in addition I found a local store (here it's Fresh & Easy) that carries great quality, healthy food that is mostly already prepared. I'm a busy mom, teacher & triathlete and I used to eat like crap- all processed foods and since changing my diet I not only have a ton more energy but I am less moody and can train so much harder.

Bottom line, it's worth the effort. Nutrition is a discipline. We are lucky that as athletes, we can eat more than the average person and I certainly enojoy treats. I just make all around better choices     

Sally and Kathy, you are called "pudding vegetarians" in Germany.

Very cool thread! I've been a semi-veggie for 22 years now and have read a lot about food during those years. (I do eat seafood and some poultry.) What I eat directly affects my moods and my performance, physically and mentally.

One thing really stands out in this thread: Except for Bryan and Gerrard, no one emphasizes veggies in their food choices, people stuff themselves with "pudding," i.e. fillers made mostly of refined white flour, a simple carb just like sugar.

I don't get why. It takes me so much longer to boil pasta than to steam a bowl of veggies! How can preparing veggies be too time-consuming? The shorter you cook them (if at all) the better. If you write up your grocery shopping list around your veggie choices then you will have everything you need at home when you want it. Look at veggies as the main course and add meat/protein and grains as side dishes.

I buy all organic too, once a week, take all my meals to work, hardly ever eat out, spend about $100/week. If you look into my shopping cart, you'll see veggies and fruit, some yogurt/kefir and cheese, whole grains (love quinoa too!), eggs, and maybe chicken or fish. Not a single pre-packaged item (except kefir), nothing processed, no lists of ingredients on anything.

It really isn't that hard. It just means changing habits ingrained by way too much food advertising... Ever seen a fancy TV ad about veggies just for veggies' sake?

same here  i love those steamable frozen bags of veggies though.. some tuna and a bag of veggies is quick to make, eat, and clean up.

I'll grill about 3 days worth of chicken and just piece on it.. my issue is it's over 100 degrees in texas so I don't like to use the stove,   I'll use the slow cooker [mine has a timer] so it either cooks while i'm sleeping or working 

Just wait until AFTER the IM. My appetite was out of control the week after the race; I ate a lot more than I did in training (which was a lot). Food rocks, so enjoy it !