what does your diet look like this week?

[Suzy Mouse]

I always get confused with what you should/shouldn't eat before a big race. What's going to be on/off your plate this week?

 

[verticalchaos]

I'm sticking with pretty much what I've been eating all along. It's been working so far, I'm sticking with it. Just balancing it out more. And not strangling myself if I feel like having a piece of chocolate.

Besides...as my training book says "This is not the time to experiment with foods around the world."

Also? NOT carbo-loading as it's really not necessary (look up the history behind it - no one is really stupid enough to do what they used to do...at least I don't think they are) and tends to lead to ugly carbo-UNloading. EW!

 

[scoolover]

Lots of brownies and ice cream till Thursday. No dairy or sugar on Friday till about 7:40 am on Saturday. Then it's game on with the Mickey Bars!!!!

 

[rubato]

Well, if today is any indication, I won't be eating much. My nerves set in today. I think I ate maybe 1100 calories and I'm just not hungry. I'm hoping I feel more like eating tomorrow. On Wednesday I'll be at Disneyworld and on the dining plan, so I'd better feel like eating!

 

[cewait]

a lighter well balanced diet for me. roughage/fiber will fall off mid week and fat will increase, some. The good fats like nuts and omega 3's... I am estimating that Kcal intake is about 80-90% of a normal week's

Water and a little extra salt from Wednesday on.


A word about carb loading...

The activity of carb loading has become a social event and as it has morphed into todays practice, it offers very little benefit. For carb loading to be effective, carb depletion must occur first. For the most part carb depletion is a painful activity that will send you into a tail spin if done correctly. For those who attend clubs may have seen the dude, usually a fit looking power lifting type of guy, who just after squatting a huge load seems to rush off to the necessary room as soon as he can get the weights down. Barf is the word we should be thinking. He has just depleted the CHO (carbs/glycogen) in the legs and the body's natural reaction is to challenge the GI system. That type of leg work is required to start the CHO depletion. that is followed by a couple hard runs on the subsequent days to really push as much residual CHO out of the liver and body as possible. once that occurs, usually about a 5-7 days out, a couple days of a high complex carb diet is consumed. after a couple days the diet is brought back to a balanced diet for 2-3 days and the race is on.

Heading off to the Olive Garden to eat at the all you can eat pasta fest a night or two pre-race is not going to do much more than a) upset your GI tract, b0 keep you up all night as the body attempts to digest the feast, or c) add to your body weight if done often enough. This is a lesson learned the hard way by me in my early days.

Now before flaming, I am not saying do not go to the meets and enjoy a carby dish the night before the race. I will but I will also eat a very light meal.