Whatcha Eatin' Wednesday

Good morning girls!  With so many of you training soo soo hard and really pushing yourselves, challenging excuses, Amy C. had posed the question this week about nutrition for high-activity athletes.  I turned to my awesome sister-in-law Erianne for this, & here's what she said:

I'm an outsider to the group, but Sarah asked me to comment on nutrition for high-activity athletes trying to lose weight. I was a heptathlete for the University of Utah, and after having an anorexic roommate, I felt a constant need to eat less and less, which led me to hit a wall during practice. After passing out during practice twice in one week while running, my coach pulled me aside and told me that he saw the words all-American written on my forehead, but every time I skipped a meal or skimped on nutrition one of the letters would fall off. This visual was really powerful to me. I was asked to see a nutritionist, and through her and studying on my own, I learned a lot about nutrition related to a high-activity lifestyle. When you're burning thousands of calories, you won't last long if you don't refuel...and you can refuel on cheap gas that will get you through the activities you do, or you can choose the high-octane stuff that will get you in peak performance and help your body function the best it can as well.

So, my advice is to eat lots of really good food. Primarily what I mean is #1 complex carbohydrates, and #2 low-fat protein...duh, I know...but there is a method, and it is a mindset. For sprints and all anaerobic exercise, you are burning the energy that is stored in your muscles. After a workout, your energy stores are depleted, and there is a ~20 minute window where your body will take the food you put in and deposit it directly in your muscles to replenish your stores. If you wait longer than that, your recovery will be longer, and your food might get stored elsewhere. So, in terms of quantity, your body will tell you what you need. I personally think you should eat if you're hungry, and eat often (5 snacks a day to keep your metabolism up)...but what is THE MOST important thing is that you cut out ALL of the crap - no high fat proteins, no simple carbs. This is what will kill you in a diet/exercise regimen. Everything you touch to put in your mouth needs to be toward the goal of the high-octaine kind of food. Whole grains, brown rice, oats, quinoa, whole-wheat pasta, fruits, etc are great post work-out refuelers. Lean meat - chicken, turkey, ground turkey, fish, albacore tuna, mozzarela cheese, cottage cheese, vegetables, and lean red meat are also good.

After a while, the junk that used to seem so good actually seems gross! It tastes gross, and you get a visual of it clogging your arteries and pores and inhibiting your performance...this is what got me through the mental battle of food, weight, and exercise. I ended up becoming the athlete I dreamed of becoming, and I learned a lot along the way...so that's all I have - good luck, ladies! Kick some bootie :)

Thanks, Er!  So I hope that helps.  It made me also think about that article I posted on here a few months ago that compared fast food to partially-digested food.  Ick!  Whatever mental image you need to use, make it work for you.  I do have a good recipe for Quinoa from a friend of mine- I'll have to look it up at home later and then post it on here as a comment.  It's yummy, w/ vegetable broth, garlic, onion, etc. 

So keep in mind it's not just low calorie.  It's about high-octane fuel to give your body the energy it needs. 

That in mind, what have you ladies been eating? Any new recipes? 

Lately I've been enjoying:

• Egg sandwich (2 fried eggs on 2 pieces of multi-grain bread w/ 1 T of fat free mayo)
• Egg scramble (6 egg whites w/ 1/4 cup Athenos Tomato Basil Feta w/ 1 cup spinach)
• Chicken strawberry salad (2 baked Tyson chicken strips over 2 cups baby rommaine w/ 1 cup sliced fresh strawberries & 1 T low fat sweet vidalia onion bottled dressing)
• Thomas whole wheat english muffin w/ 1 T Maranatha organic almond butter spread on top
• 2 Kelloggs Eggo Nutri-grain low-fat whole wheat waffles
• Fresh red grapes
• Tuna bagel (1 can solid white albacore tuna drained, mixed w/ 1 T yellow mustard, on toasted sliced whole wheat bagel)
• Whole bag of Archer Farms steam-in-the-bag asparagus w/ 4 T grated parmesean cheese
• Clif Builder's Bars, peanut butter flavor
• Gala apple sliced w/ 1 T of natural PB (can't wait til Honeycrisp or Pacific Rose get back in season!)

I am excited b/c I just found a berry farm here in Colorado (sadly VERY VERY few & far between compared to midwest!) that I'm going to try to go to this weekend to pick some fresh berries!  Go to http://www.pickyourown.org/ to search for a pick your own berry farm near you.