No carbs for me – pass the butter. That was my eating philosophy a couple of years ago. I followed a very restrictive low carb diet. It kept me at a healthy weight but the diet took a lot of the fun out of eating. I have since changed the way that I eat so that I can enjoy all types of food – after all, eating is one of the great joys of life. I have a big Bruce Trail trek planned at the end of the summer and I want to be in great shape for it. I reflected on my eating this weekend so that I could put a nutrition plan together.
Portion control is the biggest challenge for me. I typically make good food choices but I will eat too much of the good food. With this in mind, I decided to cut all snacks from my diet last November and it worked really well. This change helped me lose 20 stubborn pounds and led to my first podium finishes in ultra racing. I’ve kept my weight stable since then and have settled into a nice routine of having a medium sized breakfast, light lunch and large dinner. If I’m dying for a snack between meals I’ll drink a zero calorie, peppermint tea. The hot tea makes me feel like I’ve eaten something, and it’s usually meal time when my body figures out that I haven’t actually given it any calories.
I really struggle with portion control on the weekends when I do my big training sessions. I’m starving after long runs. I tend to overeat since I think that I’ve burned so many calories and that I must have room to indulge with a few treats. This was the case when I first started ultra-running but I don’t have this luxury anymore. I’ve come to realize that I’ve developed a very efficient metabolism. A few weeks ago, I did long back to back training sessions – 5 hours on Saturday and 5 hours on Sunday. I really pushed myself so I figured that I could indulge. I was liberal with my portions, eating huge meals and a lot of snacks. I stepped on the scale on Monday and was surprised to see that I had gained 3 pounds over the weekend even though I had trained for 10 hours. It makes sense to increase my food intake on the weekend but I need to have a plan for it. I made a nutrition plan today and have included it below. I’ll keep the diet that I follow during the week but will eat a larger lunch, will indulge with a reasonably sized helping of dessert for dinner and have a can of my favourite beer – Boneshaker. Having the Bruce Trail trek approaching is great motivation – I know that carrying extra weight increases your risk of injury and makes it harder to run. Having this plan will help me stay on track and I’m excited to see the results.
During the week:
Breakfast:
1 medium sized piece of toast with almond butter and honey
1 small bowl of steel cut oats with nut butter and jam
1 tablespoon of fish oil
Lunch:
Monster salad with kale or spinach
Include any other veggies
2 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 tablespoon balsamic
3-4 ounces of cheese
Dinner:
One large portion of protein / fat
Small / medium starch – sweet potato, potato or bread
One large portion of vegetables – broccoli, asparagus, zucchini, etc.
Evening:
One large glass of red wine
Weekends:
Lunch:
Same as during the week with the addition of:
One large portion of protein / fat
Small / medium starch – sweet potato, potato or bread
Dinner:
Same as during the week but with a small portion of dessert
Evening:
One large glass of red wine + one tall can of beer
