Help control inflammation through your diet. Face it: training is hard on the body with all that pounding our muscles, joints and ligaments face a lot of stress. Too much stress leads to inflammation in the body, which over time can lead to injury. Add anti-inflammatory foods to your diet daily, such as ginger, turmeric, pineapple, fish oil and garlic, to help keep your inflammation in check and your immune system strong.
Build a Better Breakfast. It’s important to eat a good breakfast daily. Aim to consume 20-25% of your daily calories at breakfast to keep you fuelled longer and help ward off evening eating excess. On days when you are not training first thing, try swapping out the oatmeal for some eggs and handful of nuts. Or have a protein rich smoothie with veggies, 1/2 an avocado and only 1 cup of fruit. Proteins and fats will give your body long lasting energy and make you feel more satisfied and reduce cravings later on in the day. If you are training first thing in the morning, easy to digest carbs are the way to go, as they digest quickly so you can get on with your workout.
“I Train To Eat!” Sound familiar? Well, training is not an excuse to eat whatever you want! The more stress you put on your body through training demands, the better your diet should be, not the other way around. Not only do you need to worry about the number of calories, carbs, proteins and fat — you also need to consider all the micro-nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, enzymes and bioflavanoids that your body needs increased amounts from to support your training. Focus on the more nutrient-dense, not calorie-dense foods, to offer you the most bang for your buck. Load up on veggies throughout the day, and say no to refined carbohydrates and processed foods.
Grocery Shop with a Plan! Wandering through the grocery aisles without a list will leave you open to poor food choices. Take 10 minutes before going to the store an plan out a few days worth of meals and then identify what ingredients you need and stick to the list.
Up your Omega-3! Fish with the highest amount of EPA/DHA omega-3s are salmon, mackerel and sardine. Other good sources include herring, anchovy, lake trout, rainbow trout and tuna. Seven to ten ounces of fish per week is a good start to reaching your omega-3 intake. Another type of Omega-3 is alpha-linolenic acid which is found in certain plants. There are fewer contaminants in vegetable oils. Flax is the highest source of alpha-linolenic acid, then chia seed, hemp seed, pumpkin seed and walnut.