Nutrition - Weight Loss while training for Triathlon

I too need almost identical help with this issue. I am taller and heavier, but my exrercise level is almost identical, and I will be grateful for any help from this group of such knowledgeable folk.

Nancy

This is on some other threads, but basics: 5-6 small meals a day. Remove processed foods, sugar (glucose, fructose, etc) eat lean meats and good carbs. Drink lots of water (I have 16-22cups a day when strict. There is sugar ain recovery drinks, but to improve recovery from workouts, the glycogen stores need to be replenished and right after your workout is best time.

Here is a sample day on my BFL nutrition plan (6 meals 2-3 hrs apart):
1 - LF cottage cheese, FF light yogurt mixed, coffee, 4cups water
2- myoplex lite shake, 2c water
3- tuna fish on whole wheat or grain bread with FF mayo, baby carrots, 4c water
4- ham sandwich (on ww or grain bread), 4c water
5- chicken breast (grillled or baked or boiled), brown rice, broccoli, iced tea with Splenda, 2c water
6- protein shake (or myoplex lite shake if hungry (adds carbs)) 2c water

I will have a recovery drink after workout and just add it. I will sometimes reduce meal size after recovery drink too.

Of course, I have different dinners such as grillled fish, extra lean beef
For sandwiches, I also have turkey breast and Bore's head deli chicken for sandwiches.
I will make a bunch of chicken breasts and bag up veggies on Sunday for the week.

Get a Foreman's grill!

What flavors of Myoplex shakes do you prefer? I have tried the Strawberry. I also am taking the Ultra Beta Trim by EAS.

my favorite is the Cappucino Lite (I somtimes even mix with 1c water and 1c coffee. If you add a lot of ice to it, it's like a Frappucino from Starbucks. I like the vanilla and the Orange Jubilee. The chocolate isn't that good. If you go to the bodyforlife web site, they have recipes for myoplex drinks that a repretty good for variety.

I forgot to add above to have fruits too. When I get a acrb craving, I find a good apple or orange helps. Fruits are mostly water, so also helps you feel fuller.

I have been following the BFL also with much success. The only thing I do differently is increase my portion sizes a little otherwise I am fatigued the next day after a workout.

Mike

I think eating right is simple. Eat a balanced diet. Four food groups every meal. Stay away from fat and sugar as much as is reasonable. I eat the same thing for breakfast everyday two boiled eggs, yougurt, oatmeal and fruit. Lunch and dinner I eat a lot of variety but I try to be sensible. I think it is better to eat fruit and drink water than to have sports drinks. Fruit has sugar but it also has fiber that makes it slow realease. Stick with water except for during your longest work outs, the three hour plus ones. Sports drinks, fruit juices and pops have the sugar but no fiber, contributing to weight gain and they don't really your performance. People will argue with this but will never convince me. Protein shakes and sports nutition suppliments are for suckers. That's SUCKERS! There was a study at McMaster University in Hamilton Ontario that found that sports suppliments don't work. Your protein shakes have as much protein as a glass of milk and a peanut butter sandwich. Also 14% of sports suppliments are contaminated with banned substances.
I'll eat gummie bears in really long races. You don't get the highs and lows as with most pure sugar things because something about the gummification makes the sugar release more slowly. I don't do it for training though because I'm afraid pure sugar too often will turn me diabetic. I think you need to eat meat but you don't need to eat a lot of it, small portions often. Eat a lot of vegitables. Don't throw your money away on suppliments, sports drinks and power bars, they are all marketing and don't have the nutrition of actual food. Drink soup after long hard workouts, you get a lot of absorbable micro nutrients. Bagels, bannanas and oranges are the old school traditional training foods and they got to be traditional for a reason.

Hi Nancy & Terri,

thought I'd chime in here since I am shorter AND fatter than you both! Check out my training log to see what I'm eating, nothing but good, clean food. Lean proteins, carbs from fruit, vegetables, and whole grains, fats from olive oil, natural peanut butter, and flaxseeds. I also log the amounts on fitday.com and use the name TriMom217 there as well. I'm pretty sure you can go there and read my stuff, I made it public. My meals are pretty boring these days but I'd rather be bored than fat at this point.

I do not use any energy drinks. For the distances we're talking about good 'ol water will do just fine. As long as I maintain a constant blood-sugar level I am fine. It's when I get crazy swings that I run into trouble, and those high-carb (read: sugar) drinks are just trouble for me. Of course all of this is subject to change as my workouts and distances become longer once again, but I sure hope not!

I think you all about covered it. I especially think you should stay away from sugar too. I don't have any sort of sports drink when I work out. And I'm never lacking energy the rest of the day or the next day. Water is all you need.

My 2 cents… I read a lot about nutrition and diets and it is interesting how much they all differ. But mainly what is important is that you STAY AWAY FROM SUGAR! Sugar takes its toll on your system in more way than one. But the bigy is the insulin problems it causes in your system. I have read a lot bout this and I can get all scientific or give you some links to some medical journals but mainly eat good, and learn about the glycemic scale. Stay with foods that have a low glycemic count so your blood sugars are stable. What I used to lose a lot of weight was my own version of the Atkins, but… eat carbs but just make sure they are the good carbs. I ate low carbs and much less fat than the Atkins, smaller portions and more often and the fat just melted away! And I am with Owie on the sports drinks and most supplements. There are some out there that are good and do work but you really have to educate your self on them. But if you are eating good you get more than you need in the food, and don’t have to waste your money on something that you just lose in your urine. There are only 2 companies that I know of that actually test their products for potency and adverse affects on humans. You can go to the USDA web site and they have lists and lists of supplements that they are studying because of health problems people have from taking something that is supposed to be good for them.
The only supplement that I take besides a good multivitamin is branch chain amino acids. They help with recovery and I am not sore as much when I take them. Granted you can get all but one of your amino acids just by eating red meat but I don’t eat that much cow. Well anyway ill shut up now and if you just use common sence with eating and more importantly listen to your body and do what works for you, not what some company tells you. Jack Lavoie

thanx for sharing that link. Here's mine:

http://www.fitday.com/WebFit/PublicJournals.html?Owner=TriMom217

A quick question about that web site 'fitday.com'. Does it work out your basal rate, calories for food etc or do you have to input all the info yourself?

all it does is allow you to track your caloric intake. You can add foods that are not already in the data base.

Oh thanks, I am kind of listing my food in my log, think that will do for now. I want to loose 6kg (what's that about 14pounds?) to be 70kg before I start racing in May. I watch what I eat on a moment to moment basis, with the occasional hipcup along the way.
Thanks for the site listing anyway.

Don't worry about the hiccups Defa! No one is perfect and you will make mistakes and eat something you love sometimes. They key is to not beat yourself up about it, just recognize why you ate it, that it's not good for you, and move on. On the flip side, if you find yourself cheating often then you have to get harder on yourself. Remember, progress, not perfection!

Thanks Cameronw,

My diet is slowly getting better, still have a packet of Doritos once a week, but all other areas are pretty healthy. Living in Korea makes it a little easier to be healthy, the food here is pretty well balanced, dairy products like cheese and meats are expensive, as are pizzas, Korean food is cheaper which helps.

El Cheapo

I don't know if I could train on a kim chee diet! but seriously, just eat real food, cut out the processed junk and you'll be fine.

a packet of Doritos a week is nothing! I do the BFL plan which gives you a free day each week to eat what you want. I don't just binge all day though. I keep track of the foods I really crave that week and have some of them on Sunday.