Internal Mono(b)log

Nutrition is one of those topics that is done to death, and I think there’s a very good reason for it:  Everyone is looking for the “one true way”.  I don’t believe there is one true way for everybody.   In fact, I think that beyond certain truisms, like “eating fewer calories than you expend will cause you to loose weight” or it’s converse, nutrition is a very very personal topic.  I believe that what works well for me, may fail terribly for you.  This may be true for genetic, cultural or societal reasons. I can’t say.  I also may just be full of shit, I’m ok with that too.  I’m not a nutritionist, but I have experimented a lot with my diet and nutrition and, through trial and error, I’ve found what works for me.

So herein I’ll write about my daily nutrition.  You’re welcome to adopt it, adapt it, or completely ignore it.

For me, for the most part, food/nutrition is about fueling “the machine”.  Sure, it can be a social thing, or an emotional thing, but generally (again for me) it’s about fuel.  Separating eating from socializing and emotional response is hard, but, I think, very important.

So, 2 starting points:

1. I wear a BodyBugg and track my actual daily caloric burn so that I can target my nutrition to fuel appropriately, and
2. I weigh and track everything (well pretty much everything) I eat

I use TrainingPeaks to log all of this religiously. Yes, I’m all about the data and matching calories in to calories out is my starting point.

From a daily macronutrient perspective I follow the following breakdown:

• 1 gram of protein per lean pound of body weight (so at 160lbs at 8.8% body fat, I try to consume at least 145.92gram of protein daily) (more on protein below)
• less than 15% of my total caloric intake from fat and a strong preference to healthy fats (fish oil, avocado, occasional nuts, coconut oil)
• remainder of calories from carb sources (more on carbs below)
• I’ll list dietary fiber here too because I think it’s often overlooked: I typically eat 70 grams (or more) of dietary fiber each day.

I try (hard) to eat a whole food diet.  I work hard to avoid processed foods.  I don’t eat meat that isn’t in an identifiable cut (no burgers, sausages, etc.).  I eat a lot of fresh veg and fresh fruit.

Protein

I typically avoid red meat because I find it hard to digest and generally laden with unhealthy fats.  I tend toward egg (whites), low fat yogurt and cottage cheese, poultry (chicken/turkey breasts), and fish (tuna, swordfish and haddock mostly and salmon occasionally).   On days where circumstances interfere with food prep, I will occasionally use a whey protein isolate powder, but I try to avoid it in favor of whole/unprocessed food.

Carbohydrates

I’ve found through experimentation that my body does not deal with grains well at all.  Avoiding grains takes a lot of common carb sources out of my diet: no rice, pasta, bread, pastry, breaded foods.  I also avoid what I call “empty carbs” – carbs without a good rich supply of micronutrients (vitamins, minerals, etc): so no alcohol, white potatoes, and again many of the grain-y foods.

So where do I get my carbs: fruit and veg and a lot of them.  Most often steamed or baked. I love veggies and they love me back!   It’s not uncommon to see me scarfing back a family sized mixed greens salad with tomatoes, peppers, onions, some grilled veg and a chicken breast or 2 as a meal.  Ever try salsa as salad dressing?  No?  Do it! Do it now! It rocks! 🙂

Clearly I can’t get my sport fuel carbohydrates during an event or training from whole foods. It’s true, I don’t.  I’ll tell you about my sports nutrition in another posting. 🙂  ( Yea you have to wait 😛 )

Caffeine

I don’t avoid caffeine, but I’m not dependent on it either.  I’ve actually gone for food sensitivity testing and the wholist who was performing the test was very surprised that I had almost no sensitivity to caffeine (apparently most people are somewhat sensitive [in a bad way] to it, but not me).

Hydration

Other than a cup or 2 of coffee/day, I tend to hydrate mostly with water.  Typically 5-6 litres/day outside of training + whatever I need during workouts.  I’ll occasionally put an electrolyte tab in the water, or a drop of 100% cranberry juice, a bit of citrus, or even (occasionally) Crystal Lite for variety.  Before bed, I’m usually good for an herbal tea (peppermint or other unsweetened).

Misc

I try (hard) not to eat after 9pm (typically in bed 10:30-11:30) as I find it makes me feel sluggish the following day.  I’ll break this rule if I’m sitting at a massive caloric debt for the day because when I go to bed “in the hole” I sleep very badly and wake ravenous.

Since cutting out processed food from my diet, I’ve found that I’m very sensitive to sodium in food.  Sensitive to the taste and with a body response of inflammation and bloating.  So, I avoid foods with a lot of sodium because I no longer enjoy the flavour and hate the body response.

Summary

If you’ve done your research and reading and are familiar with eating trends, this will look a lot like the Paleo Diet for Athletes as described by Joe Friel and Loren Cordain, except that I eat much less fat and allow dairy.  It’s evolved, for me, over several years of experimenting: trying a new food and seeing how I feel after and the next day or two.  I’ve found foods that I can eat safely, foods that I can eat in heavy moderation and foods that I should avoid.    Have you done similar experiments with your laboratory of one?  If not, maybe you should.