Nutrition Musings

I've been thinking a bit about proper nutrition, and its role in training. I've always had generally healthy eating habits, and without a weight issue never given much more thought than that to proper diet. As I struggle to drop the last few pounds I am starting to look into the little things: non-fat latte instead of regular, reducing portion sizes, omitting little things that may have extra processed sugar, etc.

I've also been taking a closer look at calorie content in the things I eat. There is a curious thing about calories per serving in the food we eat--almost everything has 120-150 calories per serving. How could that be? Looking closer it becomes obvious: manufacturers simply adjust the serving size to bring the total calories into line. Tricky. Normally my serving size is the amount I feel like eating.

There are hundreds, wait, thousands, of diets out there. Too many for me to actually subscribe to any single one. Instead, I (with the agreement of my coach) have decided to subscribe to the following general rules for eating and drinking:

Fresh quality foods whenever possible: regular servings of fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs. When I want to snack, I grab an apple or banana, or handful of raw nuts.

Leaner meats: avoid fatty meats, chicken skin, etc.

Cut back a bit on the gluten: less bread and pasta.

Cut out processed sugar: no sodas, candies, added sugar, etc. I do indulge in a small bit of dark chocolate now and then to quench the sweet tooth.

Limit alcohol: A glass of red wine a couple days a week when I'm not training the next day.

The formula is really pretty basic:

calories in (greater than) calories out = gain weight

calories in (less than) calories out = lose weight

calories in (equal) calories out = neutral

So to drop those last few pounds I plan to kick up the volume a little, and keep the eating in check, watching closely that I don't lose strength (ie, muscle). It is also my hope that by eating quality food, and fueling properly on rides, I will keep my immune system strong and avoid getting sick.

This is just my own common sense approach to eating well!

Ken