Hi guys - so I’m relatively new to structured training but upping the ante as doing the Fred Whitton sportive in the UK in May (112 miles with c.15,000ft of climbing).
I’m fairly sporty generally and eat pretty healthily, but wanted some practical advice on adapting an already healthy diet to meet the demands of training. I’m 6ft 1 and c 72kg so not really looking for weight to change drastically. A typical days food for me would be:
Breakfast - 2 rounds of organic peanut butter on whole grain seared toast with jam and banana (set most days and generally my go to snack!)
Lunch - sandwich (usually ham salad) with a few crisps, tomatoes / apple etc …
Dinner - protein source with carb and veg (salmon, broccoli and brown rice / chicken thighs with butternut squash and Greek yoghurt / Thai curry / stir fry)
Snacks of Greek yogurt with chia seeds, honey, walnuts. The odd chocolate, biscuit and alike.
I guess looking for suggestions to add to / swap to accommodate increase in training load. Tend to workout in evenings although trying to get morning workouts going. Can anyone recommend any links / suggestions for some really good pre / post workout meals. Lunch in particular tends to be a meal I struggle with beyond a sandwich. Or general advice to improve nutrition.
This is definitely a can of worms but if you search using ‘nutrition’, there’s a bunch of threads on the subject. Personally, fuel with the next workout in mind. Take a look at The Endurance Diet by Matt Fitzgerald; I follow it as closely as I can and I can tell you that it has made a difference for me.
For lunch, I eat the same thing everyday at work because it works for me- Cuban Beans with Brown Rice - (from the book above) or, sometimes, change it up with red beans and rice. Point is, I prep ahead for the week for lunch and dinner on Sunday. My breakfast (after training) is oats (porridge) with flax seed meal.
Check out this thread about meal prep - it’s really got a ton of great information
Step one is making good choices in terms of eating foods rich in nutrients, I think you’re off to an excellent start there. The next step would be ensure you’re getting the right amount of food in the correct macronutrient proportions. I personally shoot for around 2,000 daily calories with a 50% Carbohydrate 30% Protein 20% Fat split. I’d make a food diary for a week of everything you eat. Don’t try to change anything, just record everything that goes in your mouth. Then use MyFitnessPal to estimate your average daily intake and how you’re getting it. Then use some online calculators to figure out a good daily intake for you to make sure you’re fueling your training properly. Lastly, make changes to your diet to meet your macronutrient or volume goals.
The process is the same as trying to lose weight, but you would aim to just meet your daily balance. A detailed post of the above process is in the link below.