My Diet and Supps

Well today was one of those 2/10 days! I felt terrible. Cherise and I did the 16.5 thruster/burpee wod and I went 23.01. At the Opens last year I went 14.27. Some days a big effort just doesn't mean a good performance.

Anyway, I thought I would touch on my diet. I'm pretty simplistic in this and follow the basic dietary guidelines. Note that I'm not allergic or hypersensitive to anything, and I love eating.

PROTEIN: I always start with my protein. As a Masters athlete this is a MUST. I get 2 gm/kg bodyweight a day. For me that's about 150-180 grams a day. Remember I log my diet. So I know how much I'm getting in. If you haven't logged before then you should do it now. Even if after a few weeks you decide it's not for you. If you don't log, then you just don't what you're getting in. Sometimes I use a supp - especially if I'm losing fat. So I may take a whey protein to get me up to that 2 g/kg. 

Total Calories: This comes second. If I need to lose fat then I'm on about 2000C/day. To maintain my weight I go to about 2300C/day and in multi day competition I go to 2500C/day. On holidays I go to about 10000 C/day (but thats another post). At the moment I'm losing fat for the Opens so I'm on about 2000C/day.

FAT: For me I just try not to eat bad fatty foods (where the fat is a solid at room temperature) and make sure I get in a little good fatty foods. Salmon and avocado are my regular good fat foods. though I do have my daily peanut butter wrap for breakfast.

CARBS: make up the difference. So I get in whatever carbs I need to make up it to my 2000 C/day. This is where logging helps. You can play around with your diet to make sure you're hitting the right things. E.g. take out a coffee and throw in a beer...

FRUIT/VEGIES: 2-4 servings of fruit and 400-600grams of veggies a day. Veggies are generally of the coleslaw/leafy variety. Only because I don't cook (and neither does my wife), so if it doesnt come prepared then it doesnt go in my shopping cart. The closest I come to cooking is throwing some kangaroo sausages into a microwave, or warming up my half a chicken (I have half a day - from woolworths, yummm).

BCAA: Too much research on leucine to ignore! Get at least 3 grams in. I get a lot more - maybe double that easily. A good whey protein will have the 3 grams per serve. I like it in a BCAA mix as there's no calories, so I sip it all day. Scivation Xtend is my favourite.

Creatine: One of the most researched supps and as a Mastesr for me this is a must. Six weeks out from competition I start to use it. About 5g/day. Take it whenever - it builds up over time in your body. You will likely put on some weight - I put on about one kg. So be prepared. I go off it after comps. 

Beta Alanine: This is an intracellular buffer. This means for those heavy and puffy wods you get it's benefit. Think Fran, Grace, Isabel, Diane. It takes about 6 weeks to load up in your body. So I start it when I start creatine. It wont work as a pre-workout supplement - it needs time to saturate the muscle fibers. You may get that tingly, itchy feeling which I hate. That has nothing to do with the effects, so whether you do or don't get them doesn't matter.

Multi Vitamin: My insurance tablet. I take Opti Men which has everything you could want. My diet doesn't have a lot of variety - a big downfall for me. So these probably help out.

Iron tablets: I don't eat much meat (we don't cook) and I'm low on iron so I have one a day.

Electrolytes: At the moment I'm also having some electrolytes as I'm sweating about 10L every session!!!! If you're a heavy sweater and it's hot where you are then I would suggest using them. 

​Berocca: I love a Berocca or two. My post workout drink is a mix of electrolytes, a Berocca and some BCAA. It's delicious and starts your recovery off nicely in this hot weather. 

Coffee: Is a wonderful drug. If you want to use it as a performance enhancing drug, then go off it 3 -4 weeks from your competition. Look up the guidelines on what amounts you should be having and when. I do this and find it helps me, especially getting through that last WOD in a big day comp. However, if you're having it every day, then it's not doing anything for you except getting your body up to a baseline level. So go off it, then hit it when you really need it.

WATER: Drink enough to make your urine clear. Your first pee of the day generally won't be clear, but after that it should be.

Some notes:
Don't tell me you dont have time to eat well. Like I said I don't cook and ALL my meals are prepared in 4 minutes or less. Learn to get your nutrients  in or suffer the consequences. If you're not sure, just send me a comment and I'll help if I can. 

This is MY meal plan. Yours will be different. However the guidelines are there. Unless you fall into a special population e.g. vegan, then it's not rocket science..

Dont go for fad diets that restrict anything. I eat a huge bag of popcorn during my weekly movie outing. I have a few beers every week. I binge eat at parties. I have Zero Coke every day. But at the end of the week, when I look at my nutrients and calories, they will generally fall under what I have stated above.

Your diet, along with your sleep, is your biggest recovery factor. If you're missing out on nutrients then you're not reaching your potential. Find someone you trust and get some help. 

My next post I'll do on weight management - this is a toughy! Especially if you like eating as much as me. But if you want to compete well, you need to be at your ideal weight.

I'll finish with a quote I remember (but I'm sorry I can't say where from):

   athletes eat and train, they don't diet and exercise.