We are entering the training season for a lot of endurance and ultra-endurance events. A couple of key ways athletes can improve their performance is to get their pre- and post-race nutrition nailed down. Knowing what you are going to eat in the couple of days before and immediately after a race can help reduce your stress levels going into the race and keep you GI tract happy.

Pre-Race

Pre-race fueling includes the couple of days before the race. Start now trying out foods to find what works for you before your workouts. This becomes more important as the workouts become longer. Planning your pre-workout/pre-race nutrition helps in a couple of ways. First, you find out ahead of time what your body likes. If you are traveling to your race and will not have access to a kitchen, find out the local restaurants and try to duplicate similar foods at home. Second, when you find something that works, it becomes one less thing that you have to think about – “what am I going to eat the days before the race?”

When testing out your pre-workout/pre-race meals, remember to eat, tweak, and repeat. After you have eaten that meal note how you feel after eating it and after your workout. Some find it helpful to keep a log so they know what they did – just like a training log. If your body was not happy with that meal, you did not have a good performance, or think you can perform better, tweak the meal and repeat the process.

Post-Race

Practicing your post-workout/post-race fueling is also important. Research has shown that having a recovery meal within 30 minutes of finishing your workout helps prepare you for your next workout. (Note: this is important if your workout is 60 to 90 minutes or longer or you are working out again the same or next day). Having a recovery meal immediately after your race will help you feel better that day and in the days following.

Think about what your race site is like. How soon can you get to your recovery meal (remember if you are doing a triathlon, you can’t get in until the last bike is in). Or, will you have a support crew who can keep your recovery meal for you? Does it need refrigeration and if so is it available?

Start trying different recovery meals and find one that works for you. You can use low-fat chocolate milk or any of the commercially available recovery drinks. I prefer liquids because they are quickly absorbed and most athletes prefer that to something solid immediately after working out. Again, eat that recovery meal, see how you feel, tweak, and repeat.

Summary

There is not a magic pre- or post-workout or race meal. You have to find what works for you and your body. That is why this is a process of. . . eat, tweak, and repeat!

When I was working the Houston Marathon Expo, a runner asked a great question – “what is the difference between whole wheat bread and white bread that has been enriched?” He had looked at the nutrition labels for a whole wheat bread and an enriched bread. They had, basically, the same nutrition content. So, what’s the difference?

To answer this question, you have to look at a wheat kernel. A wheat kernel is composed of the outler layer – the bran, and two inner components – the endosperm and the germ. The endosperm makes up about 83% of the weight of the kernel while the germ is about 3% and the bran about 14%.

Source: Jkwchui, http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wheat-kernel_nutrition.svg

When whole wheat bread is made, the entire wheat kernel is used. Why does this matter? Because the nutrients, antioxidents and fiber are contained in the germ and the bran. When wheat is processed for non-whole wheat uses, the germ and the bran are removed. Then, some nutrients are added back in – the food is “enriched” by the addition of these nutrients. The government requires the following be added back: Vitamin B1 (thiamin), Vitamin B2 (riboflavin), Vitamin B3 (niacin), folic acid, and iron. Fiber is not required to be added back. Although some of the nutrients are being added back, the manufacturer may not be adding back antioxidants and other vitamins and minerals. Another thing is that we don’t know all the antioxidents in foods yet - new ones are discovered all the time. So, although the food is “enriched” that does not mean that it has all the nutrients of a “whole wheat” product.

Which do you choose – whole wheat or “enriched”? I prefer whole wheat products for a couple of reasons. First, it is less processed. Second, you get all the natural nutrients contained in the food. 

A final note - You do have to be careful when shopping for grain products.If you want to be sure that you are getting whole wheat, read the ingredients label. It should say “whole wheat” or “whole” whatever the grain is. If it does not say “whole wheat” then you might be getting an enriched product that has coloring in it to make it look darker like whole wheat.

What do you think? Whole or enriched?

Michelle May who wrote Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat has a great weekly newsletter. She starts last week’s newsletter with the question “How many rice cakes does it take to satisfy a craving for chocolate?” The answer. . . .”Five rice cakes. 7 baby carrots. 4 celery sticks. One orange. A container of light yogurt. And a Snickers(R) bar.” This really made me laugh! How many times do we crave a “bad” food but cannot satisfy that craving until we have it? Chocolate is one of the worst for this. Nothing seems to satisfy a chocolate craving other than . . . chocolate.

Since today is Valentine’s day, I thought was perfect to talk about chocolate. Many people label chocolate as a “bad” food. Why is chocolate bad? Has it committed a crime? I can just hear the headlines. . . .”Today at 6PM. A chocolate bar went on a rampage and forced 20 people to take a bite of itself! At this point, the police are labeling these as assults, but we are still waiting to hear on final charges from the District Attorney. The bar was not easily subdued. One officer called it ‘a really bad bar.’”

Chocolate, and other foods, are not inherently “bad.” They are only bad if we over eat it. Using this definition, any food could be “bad.” Rather than labeling foods as good/bad, why not make a conscious choice to eat and enjoy foods. It is Valentine’s day – a day for love and chocolate. Why not choose a piece of chocolate that you really want and choose to eat it. But, don’t just eat it, enjoy it. Focus on how it looks, smells, feels in your mouth, and tastes – eat it mindfully. If you eat it mindfully, it will be much more satisfying than if you eat it mindlessly – like when you are reading, watching TV or working on your computer. If you’ve chosen to eat something, why not take the time to really enjoy it.

I hope you have a great day and choose to enjoy some special food today, this week, this month.

I have seen a bunch of people lately who are trying to lose weight or change their body composition. They have a number for how many calories they think they need to eat each day. They could have used an online calculator to get this number. They could have asked someone else how much they eat. Or, they could have just pulled it out of the air.

Each of our bodies has a certain number of calories that they need in order to function. Your Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) is the amount of calories your body needs to perform all of its functions when you are at rest. This is the minimum number of calories your body needs each day. On top of RMR you add calories for other activities you do during the day including sitting at your desk working, walking around, and working out.

If you want to lose weight, you should consume fewer calories than you expend. . . within reason.  If you want to lose a pound a week, you should eat 500 calories less per day than you take in.

Remember, food is energy. There is a limit to the amount of calories that you reduce. If you reduce the calories too severely, your body will start conserving the food – and energy – that you give it through eating.  One of the ways this happens is when people consistently start eating less than their RMR. When this happens, your body goes into conservation mode. An example will help explain this concept. Sam has  an RMR or 1900 calories and a total of 2800 calories expended throughout the day.  He consumes 1500 calories per day. This means that on a daily basis, Sam has a deficit of 1300 calories.  Since there are about 3500 calories in a pound, Sam should lose 2.6 pounds per week (1300*7/3500=2.6). Sam lost weight at first. But, recently Sam hasn’t lost any weight in weeks. He is frustrated. Very frustrated. What is going wrong?

What is wrong is that his body is saying “Sam is only going to give me 1500 calories but ask me to do 2800 calories of work. I’m going to start slowing all my metabolic processes down so I can conserve the calories he does give me.”

When I have clients like this, I explain this to them and explain that they have to eat more. Yes, eat more. In these instances you have to eat more to lose weight. It may take some time for your body to realize that you are going to fuel it properly. It may decide to put on some weight at first. Once your body trusts that you are going to fuel it properly, you will start losing weight again.

I know it seems counterintuitive to eat more to lose weight, but if you have drastically reduced your calorie intake and are not losing weight, ask yourself if perhaps you have cut your intake too much.

If you want to know how many calories your body needs, you can get an estimate using some calculations (I have a blog on how to do that here). You can get your RMR  measured using special equipment called a metabolic cart. There are also the MedGem and the BodyGem.

If you have been trying to lose weight and are stalled, I would encourage you to look at how many calories you need, how many you are taking in, and decide if you have reduced you calories too far.

If you have had success losing by eating more, let me know.