Any food or nutrition experts here?

[Bristol Pete]

Started training about 4 weeks ago and now running three 10ks a week over tues, thurs and Sun. So doing about 18 miles a week. Have rejoined my gym and re-commence gym training tomorrow, hope to return to my fitness levels of 2002 when I was running 10k in 50 mins and half marathon in 2 hrs ish (I hope)

Want to address my food now.

Just looking for advice on what foods would be good 'training food' that will also help me continue to trim up as well as boost foods, such as nutrition bars etc.

Thanks,

Pete.

 

[Razor]

What is your present Diet? What is your body weight? Also how old are you?

Protein and complex carbs are what you need. I aim for 1-1.25 grams of protien per lb of body weight. This is for muscle growth and maintenance. I mainly eat chicken, tuna, fish, meal replacement shakes. I can give you details of my supplier. Best protein I have tried.

Complex carbs are found in potatoes, pasta, rice.

Fiborous carbs are found in veg such as broccoli, beans etc.

You may also benifit from some Creatine, although you will need to cycle this product and take it correctly.

Keep your fat intake very low, avoid the obvious like fried foods, cakes, crisps etc.

Before your aerobic exercise I would recomend taking a few pro plus or Thermadrine which is a good fat burner. Run on an empty stomach to burn more fat and keep yur heart rate at 70% of your max for maxium fat burning.

Do not eat any complex carbs after 7pm ish, stick to fiborous carbs instead. This will help with the fat loss.

Try and have protein every 3 hours as this is how long a low fat meal takes to digest. Muscle needs protein to repair and grow, no protien, no muscle.

If you list what you eat and when you eat it in an average day I will work out a diet sheet for you. I can also sort out your trainig program for you.

BTW I am a qualified physical instructor and have been training for 15 years.

 

[Bristol Pete]

Thanks, will work out a rough diet etc and get back to you.

Pete.

 

[Miyazaki]

Razor - i find that if I work out on an empty stomach, I start feeling faint, and can't lift half the weight or train for as long as if I eat a meal about 90 mins before training. Why do you think that is?

 

[rob j]

On your days before running eat a large mainly pasta based meal in the evening so you've got plently of energy the following day.

After running you'll need more of a protein based meal to repair muscles. Also a protein based snack before bed to help repair again while you are sleeping.

Bananas are your friend! - eat one about 40-50mins before running as this will increase the levels of glycogen in your muscles. This makes it easier for you to run as your muscles can now work harder for longer. This means that bananas are really good energy snack food if your peckish.

Every morning for breakfast eat something that contains little fat or grease. Good cereals, yoghurts and fruit are ideal, and are easily digestable so will also not weigh you down too much . And perhaps something with a little protein the morning after running to kick-start the repair process again.

And no junk! - eat and cook fresh as much as you can and keep it simple.

Hope this is of some benefit to you.

 

[rob j]

Some proteins are better than others. For example, chicken is a protein that is hard to digest. Tuna is much better, if you like it of course I don't, so I still tend to stick with chicken and a few white fish.

With supplementary shakes remember you usually need to add milk, so skimmed would be best. Soya milk is ok if you don't want dairy, but then you don't get the bone strengthening and repair characteristics that normal milk has to offer.

And isotonic drinks - Lucozade sport etc are fantastic for the duration of you exercise process - espcially afterwards to replace the salts and mineral lost through sweat.

 

[Razor]

Razor - i find that if I work out on an empty stomach, I start feeling faint, and can't lift half the weight or train for as long as if I eat a meal about 90 mins before training. Why do you think that is?

You will lift better with more meals in you.

ie

Workout at 6pm with 3 meals

Morning, mid morning, late lunch also a shake = Strong body with plenty of glycogen in the muscles

Workout at 8am with only a protein shake or no food = Limited glycogen, body not as strong.

You will burn more fat with a early morning workout but you wont achieve your best lifts. Although your body will eventualy adjust to any time you consistantly train at. If you have been training for 4 years at 8am your body will of adapted.

Try eating about 2.5 hours before training and your meal should of fully digested by then. Try jacket potato or pasta, this will give you sustained release of energy.

Follow your workout with what I call a Razor combo. Orange Ultra fuel and chocolate protein power. It makes a nice shake and this is very much needed after a workout as your body will absorb more nutrients just after a workout.

Your body will crave carbs to replenish your energy supplies and protein to repair the broken down muscle cells. Your body can absorb upto 4 time the normal amount with in a 1 hour or so window just after your workout. I have one Razor shake straight after training and a meal 40 mins after that.

Average meal

Tuna with past and sweet corn
Salad
Yogurt
Banana

My protein supplier is here.

http://www.sports-nutrition.net/acatalog/meal-replacement.html

I normally have on average 3 shakes (with water not milk) a day and 4 on training days.

 

[Razor]

Thanks, will work out a rough diet etc and get back to you.

Pete.

Cool

 

[Miyazaki]

Follow your workout with what I call a Razor combo. Orange Ultra fuel

Is that better than the BP Ultimate fuel?

 

[pringtef]

Not doing any serious training, but with my muslei I usually have a double espresso followed by a pint or two of water in the morning. Seems to give me a good boost for the gym.

 

[Miyazaki]

Porridge/Muesli (spl??) are supposed to be the best for breakfast, oats are really good slow release carbs, so I hear. Caffeine boosts your heart rate, so would be a good combination before a training session I guess. Water hydrates you (no really?! ) which is always good before a sweaty gym session.

 

[NicolasB]

Protein and complex carbs are what you need.

"Complex carbohydrate" is a rather imprecise concept. You'd be better off actually checking glycaemic index values, IMO. The carbohydrate in baked potato, for example, causes your blood sugar to spike more sharply than eating the same amount of pure sugar, despite being officially "complex"; white rice is even worse.

 

[Razor]

"Complex carbohydrate" is a rather imprecise concept. You'd be better off actually checking glycaemic index values, IMO. The carbohydrate in baked potato, for example, causes your blood sugar to spike more sharply than eating the same amount of pure sugar, despite being officially "complex"; white rice is even worse.

But doesnt it give you as sustained level of energy unlike sugar which spikes and dies.

 

[GalacticaActual]

Just give me,
Two fried eggs,
3 fried bacon,
beans,
toast,
4 sausages,
mushrooms, and a pot of black strong coffee, and I am good to go.After a meal of this sort I have the energy to just about get out of my chair in time to relax for the rest of the day

 

[NicolasB]

But doesnt it give you as sustained level of energy unlike sugar which spikes and dies.

No, that's the point I was pointing: baked potato gives you even more of a sugar spike than sugar does. If you want something that doesn't give you a short-lived blood-glucose rush followed by a blood-glucose crash, you need something that actually does have a low glycaemic index. People wrongly assume that a "complex" carbohydrate must also have a low GI, but it simply isn't true.

Incidentally, if you're planning on doing a lot of aerobic training, you should eat fat as well. Muscle comes in two sorts: fast muscle, and endurance (or "slow") muscle. Fast muscle is good for one-off explosive force, while endurance muscle is good for repeated actions. So a sprinter, for example, or a long-jumper, or weight-lifter, would focus on building fast muscle (lots of resistance training - weights, etc.) while a marathon runner would focus on optimising endurance muscle (whole-body aerobic exercise).

Fast muscle burns glucose, so sprinters and bodybuilders need lots of carbohydate for energy. But endurance muscle actually burns the products of fat digestion (fatty acids and glycerol) rather than burning glucose - so good aerobic performance comes from having fat in the diet as well.

One of the things that happens when a person gets fitter is that the ratio of fast to endurance muscle in the body shifts (annoyingly slowly) towards a larger amount of endurance muscle. This is one reason why you need to take it easy if you're not very fit and just starting exercise: most of an unfit person's muscle is fast muscle, so exercise causes an almost immediate blood-glucose crash, and he feels dreadful. As he gets fitter, more of his muscle is running on fatty acids and glycerol, so exercise no longer causes low blood sugar.

Obviously most good training regimes will include both resistance and aerobic training - even long-distance runners need a sprint finish - but don't neglect the fat. (Aside from anything else, including fat in the meal helps to lower the effective glycaemic index of everything else you eat at the same time - you also can't absorb a number of vitamins without it).

 

[Chumpy]

Just give me,
Two fried eggs,
3 fried bacon,
beans,
toast,
4 sausages,
mushrooms, and a pot of black strong coffee, and I am good to go.After a meal of this sort I have the energy to just about get out of my chair in time to relax for the rest of the day

LOL - you missed the Black Pudding though

 

[Razor]

Nicholas

Some bodybuilders take MCT's for their fat intake. If your fat intake is zero which is pretty hard to do your hair can fall out. Not good.

fast muscle, and endurance (or "slow") muscle

The word you are looking for is Fast Twitch and Slow Twitch muscle fibres.

 

[colinwheeler]

Okay, along the same lines, what would be the fastest way to drop 10kg so that I could start to get back into training?

 

[Digger]

Okay, along the same lines, what would be the fastest way to drop 10kg so that I could start to get back into training?

I would start slowly, by improving my diet, concurrently upping cardio to a sensible level, dependant on your current state. This is what I have done. At christmas I weighed approx 11st5/6lbs, now down to 10st5/6lbs not through "diet"ing, but being sensible about food and exercise. I stopped drinking on Boxing Day. I tend to do much more gym cardio than the average person as I was determined to reach my goals. Dont look for a fast fix, but rather aim for some sensible goals and remain motivated to achieve them.

How old are you? (ish), healthy?, current weight?, previous weight?, current diet?, current diet vices (curry, beer, etc).

 

[NicolasB]

At christmas I weighed approx 11st5/6lbs, now down to 10st5/6lbs not through "diet"ing, but being sensible about food and exercise.

How exactly does "being sensible about food" differ from "dieting"?

 

[colinwheeler]

Well, 33, 6', 92kg (no, I have no idea what that is in real units) and I eat like a mouse to be honest. When I start excercising I generally start to put on weight quite quickly or just maintain steady if I starve myself. By starting to excercise, I mean 30 minutes at 70% to 80% of max heart rate, 3 to 5 times a week. I don't do any weights or anything like that just cardio like running, rowing, cycling, etc. Not really sure where to turn from that because getting fit enough to get past the 2 to 3 hours a week of 70-80 is difficult at my weight.

 

[Digger]

How exactly does "being sensible about food" differ from "dieting"?

"Diet"ing, not "dieting". I did not and will not subscribe to any current "Diet"s such as Atkins/GI/any others, as it seemed to me to be more sensible to create a more healthy, and balanced diet from my own knowledge rather than follow a different plan that I might lose interest in. I did not want to re-invent the wheel. For me as a relatively healthy fit person I do not need to Diet to reach my weight loss targets. I have no time for them. They work and are probably recommended for people who require a more "extreme" change in their lifestyle and eating habits to obtain results

I recognised those foods/beverages that were/would not be contributing to weight loss because of calorific content, fat content, sugar content, alcohol content; reduced the amount of "bad" content as described, stopped alcohol intake completely, and visit the gym 4/5/6 times per week with clear targets. I have benefited from these changes immensely, and no doubt will continue to do so.

 

[Digger]

Well, 33, 6', 92kg (no, I have no idea what that is in real units) and I eat like a mouse to be honest. When I start excercising I generally start to put on weight quite quickly or just maintain steady if I starve myself. By starting to excercise, I mean 30 minutes at 70% to 80% of max heart rate, 3 to 5 times a week. I don't do any weights or anything like that just cardio like running, rowing, cycling, etc. Not really sure where to turn from that because getting fit enough to get past the 2 to 3 hours a week of 70-80 is difficult at my weight.

What does eat like a mouse mean? Ironically by eating more (small portions on a regular basis) you can increase your metabolism throughout the day, thus (hopefully) leading to improved weight loss. Try to aim for 4/5/6 small meals/snacks per day, rather than larger meals that leaving you feeling full and take longer to digest. The aim is for your body to finish the metabolism process for the previous meal in time for your next meal, when you should be starting to feel hungry again. You would be surprised how quickly your cardiovascular system can get fitter allowing you and your body to do more.

I would certainly recommend to try and gradually increase the amount of cardio you do in each session (maybe up to 45 minutes extending to 1hr+) ,as you are only just hitting the fat-burning point after approximately 20 minutes cardio!! Use a Polar or half decent heart rate monitor that can show you how many calories you are potentially losing whilst exercising, as this might encourage you to extend the sessions.

Your return to the gym might be seeing the results of a gain in muscle mass, which is common in this situation. Increase the cardio, with a well timed, regular and balanced meal schedule. and you should start to see gradual weight loss

 

[colinwheeler]

Thanks for that, I suspected upping the time I spend doing cardio is the painful road I must tread anyway.

By mouse, one or two meals a day, generally of no more than about 500 calories each and maybe a small snack or two to pull me through but I know that I am way under the normal amount of calories that people eat each day. My wife is half my weight and I eat less than she does.

 

[Digger]

Thanks for that, I suspected upping the time I spend doing cardio is the painful road I must tread anyway.

I found it actually gets less painful the more you do... Only do it when your body lets you do it, if that makes sense. i.e. when you are a tad fitter. Your lungs will become more efficient quite quickly.

PS. I myself am 36
PPS...Stop using negative language..."difficult", "painful" etc...learn to enjoy it. Oh and take headphones with you assuming they have TV/Radio etc...

Good Luck