Whether you are seasoned in training or a newbie, it is important to remember that every day is not a buffet. Yes, you are training hard for your event and burning calories every day; but, the mentality that “I have worked hard, so I deserve this” or “I can burn these calories off” is not a good reason to binge on pizza and beer whenever you want. This way of eating will hurt your training and possibly sleep cycle (especially the addition of alcohol).
Foods to
INcrease As mentioned above, do not underestimate the power of the carbohydrate. Carbohydrates from vegetables, fruits, and whole grains are ideal (3). This is because these food groups also give you 3 more essential tools to help your body repair from intense training: vitamins, minerals and fiber. The fiber helps rid your body of all the toxins created from exercise as it works as an antioxidant. The vitamins and minerals are needed for recovery. Speaking of recovery, sports drinks are essentially made up of sodium, carbohydrates, and potassium. Two of those three you can get by eating a banana. Plus, a banana gives you detoxing fiber. All three of these components, along with protein, can be found in low fat dairy or non-dairy products such as Greek yogurt, soy milk, and milk.
Balance the plate! We need carbohydrates to utilize protein (3). We need carbohydrates to spare muscle break down. And lastly, more protein does not mean more muscle. Focus on eating the protein you need to rebuild and build muscle from training. Extra protein means extra calories and therefore goes right into your body’s savings account: fat. For muscle-building for anaerobic athletes, it is most important to increase your protein at the first meal after a workout.
Foods to
Decrease Salt and simple sugar. It is so simple but so true. We need salt for muscle function but once again a focus on the balance of salt intake must be utilized (4). A couple of the biggest sodium culprits are processed meat such as lunch meat, and hard cheeses. Also, most anything that comes in a can or a box you can pretty much guarantee has more sodium than needed for a serving. The best way to prevent getting too much salt is to follow my favorite mantra for your health, budget, and the environment, “the closer to the earth the better.” This also goes for refined sugars. The bottom line is that sugar = carbohydrates. Remember, there are natural sugars and refined (added) sugars. Natural sugar (good) is that carbohydrate found in fruit and dairy in the form of lactose and fructose. Whole grain foods have fibrous carbohydrates (good). It is the white, refined sugar (bad) that we should enjoy in moderation. 23