Core Diet Consult!
Sorry if this include typos - trying to do this before heading to work and can reread. If you have any question let them fly because I am sure I will miss some stuff.
Promised I would post this sometime last week but thing have been a bit crazy and I didn't have much time. Overall the concepts seemed very reasonable to apply, and I was able to get a whole lot of useful information. Things others may have obtained over the years but were mostly new to me. I was very happy with the consultation, and only a few days in my body composition is a lot better in my head. 
What was required of me
- Of course pay for the service. The cost was around $200, with the EN partnership discount, and paid about $25 for access to the website, and a nutritional for the next four months.
- a nutritionist contact me and I provided a sample of what I ate over 2 to 3 days
The Consults
- We spoke for a little over an hour and a half to go over the plan that was customized for me
- The primary focus increasing my body composition mostly through stabilization of my blood sugar and ensure that I understood how healthy food choices would effect my training over the coming months
- my daily caloric expenditure for various exercise volumes was calcualted (no workouts, and 6,10, and 15 plus hour s a weeks.) Then we arrive arrived at a doable defecit so I can lose some weight)
- Funniest Part of the consult was when I was told my optimal racing weight was 178. I laughed so hard. Why? Because I am now 216. I figured I would do to 190, when I eventually do an ironman, but I have been 178 since high school.......
- We discussed in training nutrion strategies, pre, during and post workouts. For example during run workouts - a gel every half an hour is recommended, and during bike workouts - a gel every half an hour or a power bar every hour is recommended. (This is consistent with the race fueling plan I purchased earlier this year as well.)
- we discussed recovery and the importance of a good post workout recovery drink - endurox is the recommended poison, choclate milk if you are on the road or don't have access.
The general dietary guidlines and suggestions for me were as follows;
1. Concentrate on eating low Glycemic Index foods (GI < 55) throughout the day. High glycemic foods, such as grains and refined sugars, cause blood sugar levels to spike, which can lead to increased hunger, fatigue, and excessive storage of body fat. These higher GI foods, such as grains and refined sugars, should be consumed during “windows” before or after your workout to help maintain/restore glycogen levels. Note, during periods where you are actively trying to lose weight, do not utilize the post workout window. See “In-Training Nutrition” for timing of these macronutrients.
2. Focus on eating the “Core” foods between workouts for optimal recovery to stabilize blood sugar. “Core” foods include fruits, vegetables, lean meats, low-fat dairy, nuts, seeds, and legumes.
3. Eat very frequently throughout the day with a maximum of 2-3 hours between feedings. This helps keep blood sugar stable and a constant supply of nutrients available for muscle recovery. To that end, reduce the fasting window while you sleep by having a protein shake, or some other source of lean protein, immediately before bed each night, and something the moment you wake up.
4. Fruits and vegetables are nature’s multi-vitamin, providing the body with all the nutrients it needs for top performance and function. These foods are also packed with antioxidants; plant substances that help protect our cells from harmful free-radical oxidation. Fruits and vegetables have an array of different vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients - the deeper the color, the more nutrients it contains – so be sure to include a wide variety of colors and types.
Aim for a colorful plate with at least:
Ø 3-5 servings/day of vegetables such as broccoli, red bell peppers, asparagus, spinach, sweet potato, butternut squash, purple and green cabbage
o Example: salad at lunch, 2 veggies with dinner
Ø 3-5 servings of fruit/day such as blueberries, raspberries, prunes, strawberries, banana, pineapple, mango, dried figs
o Example: Fruit smoothie for breakfast, 2 pieces fruit for snack
5. Increase your intake of Omega-3 Fatty acids by consuming walnuts, avocado, canola oil, ground flax seeds, and fatty, cold-water fish such as salmon. Omega-3’s work as an antioxidant and have been shown not only to decrease internal inflammation (which is created during intense training) – but also helps to protect your joints.
Ø If you are unable to eat these Omega-3 rich foods during the day, a Fish Oil supplement may be necessary. Keep fish oil supplements in the freezer to prevent them from going rancid. Take it with a meal to help prevent fishy burp-up.
Ø Aim for 2 grams of EPA/DHA Omega-3 per day.
6. While shopping at the grocery store, you’ll notice that most of your time should be spent on the perimeter. This is where the fruits, veggies, and high nutrient dense foods are. The middle contains processed foods with grains, sugars, and unhealthy fats!
7. Depending on your training volume, you may need to use a protein shake
and/or bar to meet your needs. This will ensure your body has adequate good quality branched chain amino acids to facilitate muscle tissue recovery after training.
8. For foods that have a label (manmade), make sure the ratio of: [(carbs+sugar-fiber)/(fat+protein)] is less than 2 on non-workout days or during “Core”
periods. This rule does not apply to fruits and vegetables as they do not have a food label. This of course does not apply to your recovery drink.
9. Use a high quality recovery drink after workouts, such as Endurox. Chocolate milk made with skim milk is also adequate – just make sure you use equal amounts of carbohydrates as found in Endurox recovery drink as specified in the “In Training Guidelines”.
a. 1 scoop Endurox = 26.5g carbs =
[1.5 cups skim milk + 1 tsp chocolate syrup]
b. 2 scoops Endurox = 53g carbs =
[2.25 cups skim milk + 1 tbsp chocolate syrup]
c. 3 scoops Endurox = 79.5g carbs =
[3 cups skim milk + 1 tbsp and 2 tsp chocolate syrup]
10. Drink at least 110 oz of water each day in addition to what is lost during training.
11. Consider drinking 3-4 cups of green tea daily – in place of coffee. Save coffee for just prior to key workouts and treat it as grain or refined sugar
Comments
Hi Nigel -- thanks for posting this! My eating habits this holiday season have me strongly considering giving these guy a call on January 1... Question: in addition to the general guidelines such as eating x amount of veggies etc, do they give you specific daily recipes? thanks!
@ Brenda - NP - I have finally added some value........
I haven't been fueling for my morning workouts and prob should. I roll out of bed, go downstairs, and get on the bike. To me, sleep is more important than gettng up early and eating.
I was thinking about doing a consult and/or a race fueling plan as that has been one of my challenges.
good luck...
Not to hijack the thread, but I'm curious about running nutrition. I am taking either a gel or a half powerbar every half hour on the bike. Is this a good strategy for the run? Does nutrition need to be more spread out on the run?
She also told me that my ideal weight is 149 lbs... which is smaller that I have ever been by over 25#. We shall see, not saying impossible, just saying that we will see.
First thing, I'm going into a fat-burning plan with high protein/low starches (aka "carbs"), then when I get down to where I want to be I might be switching to a low protein plan to eat up some muscle (that should be fun! esp in the middle of high volume IM training).
For those that have been following the Core Diet plans for a while - what is your impression after a few weeks/months? Are the plans working for you? What are some major challenges/drawbacks? Do you 'feel' better? thank you!
I did the mission plan and had my consult on 4/24. My core diet "coach" said that I ate pretty well but gave me some recommendations on when to eat certain foods and changing out some foods. I don't have the big sweet tooth which helps but here we are 3 weeks later and I've got good energy, my training is going well and I'm down about 8 lbs. That's too much for 3 weeks but I'm stuffing as much food as I can get down my gullet. When you eat clean it's A LOT of food to get 3000 calories. The other change is fueling my workouts which has made a HUGE difference for me. I fuel every workout (except the 20 minute runs) and counting those calories plus everything I eat during the day has been a major step in the right direction for me. My goal weight for my 7/14 race is 175 lbs and if that goes well I'm going to see what racing at 170 does for me at Augusta.
Right now I'm 179 lbs (shade over 6' tall), my workouts have been going wonderfully, energy level is up. I get hungry sometimes and when I do I eat. Seems to be working well so far for me.
The biggest challenge for me is I LOVE PIZZA. I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE PIZZA. I can leave any other food on the planet alone without a care in the world but I can eat my body weight in pizza. I'm like a 5 year old in that regard. I still have pizza, but it's just in the right "Window" and I start with a salad or something to make myself full sooner