OS Nutrition
Carl's post got me thinking (and made me jealous- 4,800 cal/day??) What does everyone do nutrition wise during the OS? What are your OS weight goals? (Lose/maintain) What is your pre/post/during- WKO nutrition?
I'll start--- Looking to lose but historically that hasn't happened in the OS. I am up from my all-time low (that I can remember) of 148 right around IMFL. I actually stayed there for a bit after IMFL, but then the holidays came and I'm up 4lbs, which isn't horrible, I don't think.
My nutrition hasn't changed much except there is a lot less of it. I typically don't eat or drink anything but water except maybe Sat. am WKOs where I'll have something about an hour in. (Gel, 1/2 Powerbar) Evening pre-workouts consist of PBJ on whole wheat potato bread. I pre-make a bunch of them, freeze them and nuke it before I leave work and eat on my way home. My commute is about an hour so that gives me enough time to digest. Prob not the best/cleanest food but the convenience rocks.
I count calories using Loseit app targeting a loss of 1lb per week but I do go over frequently (just a little) and weekends I get a little more liberal so i end up maintaining. I def. need to tighten up on the diet, but I'm hungry damnit. 
I admit it, I lean more on the "train to eat" side vs. "eat to train". 
Next!
Comments
I have been using Nutrisport as my dietary conults for over a year now. The biggest thing I noticed is I was eating enough food or the right foods!!! I was starving my body of the essentials it truly needed and wasn't even aware of it. Once I started doing the diet as written I would be damned if the weight wasn't coming off!!!!
It truly is a science-exercising and feeding the body to replenish what we have destroyed and to assist in building and speeding up our internal monster-Mr. Metabolism.
Durng the OS workouts I do not use powergels, bars, etc. I eat as I described in the other post. Try it you may be suprised.
I have tried the meal plans, the prepared foods, and the diets, but since my partner does not do them with me. I feel like one or both of us are missing out. So we end up spending more money and then I end up cheating and eating the bad foods. So the more simple i keep it, the better. If we go out to eat (which is most of the time), I will eat half the food or order a kids meal.
I will keep you posted if this works.
Oh, I also do not eat anything during my workouts (during OS). Post workout, Saturday only, I will do a Chocolate milk or a shake.
I only take in sports-drink (e-load is my brand) during OS wko and do so because they are mainly indoors and I sweat a tonne, so keeping my salts up. Only after i exceed 2hrs would I eat/fuel during workout.
I primarily workout after work Tue-Wed-Thu, which causes challenges, not enough time to eat properly before workout (get home at 530pm), yet too late to eat significantly after (near 8pm) so I generally have an energy bar before evening workout (cliff, lara, harvest) and then take in some calories after workout that won't keep me awake. Usually toasted bagel and scrambled eggs or yogurt and some type of cerial.
I use MyFitnessPal to record my calories in/out and usually hold my wait thru Jan (which is success compared to December) and then settle in to trim off 1/2-1/3lb a week for the OS.
I have been fueling every workout with at a minimum 1 bottle of perform and a lot of times do 1 bottle and 1 power gel. Saturday rides are two bottles and a powerbar gel. I simply feel better when taking in calories and sodium when working out and get off the bike or TM less depleated. I'm also trying to jump start the recovery before the next session. At times, an apple 20-30 minutes prior to a workout will replace a gel but always have a bottle of Perform close by.
For the record, I'm hungry, too, damnit! For some reason my body thinks the OS is the IM build and I'm eating like a horse lately!
www.jabaldomir.wordpress.com
I drink cytomax during every workout and a gel or chomps on workouts over one hour.
I am more like Matt A. I don't need many calories to feel great and to feel strong in my workouts. I likely eat between 1300-1600. During IM training I eat up to 3000-3500 on my big 6-7 hour training days. Those days are rare. I would say I am more in the 2000 range during the 14-17 hour weeks. Little person needs less calories
I've been hesitant to entirely give up fun foods before, because I don't want to set the wrong example for my kids. I don't want them to associate sports with deprivation, or see it as not being fun, or worry about getting fat. I can certainly not bitch about my lack of chocolate and ice cream and not draw attention to myself; I'm not a whiner. But they definitely notice when mom is not having ice cream with the rest of the family. I'm curious as to how others with kids address that issue. Do your kids notice what you eat, or don't eat?
@Sarah - I think it's the exact opposite! I think you're setting a fantastic example for your kids and your actions tell them that what they put in their bodies matters, especially if they want to perform well, be it sports or academics. After a while, I think it's less about deprivation and more of a way of life. You simply don't eat certain foods, and it's not a big deal to those who know you, including your kids. Our kids already notice what we eat and don't eat, and they're only 4.5 and 6.5 (especially when we go out for ice cream and John and I don't have any!). I don't want to deprive them - I want them to be kids and experience kid things like Pop-Tarts and Cinnamon Toast Crunch - and hopefully over the years the example we set as their parents will sink in. The big thing lately has been soda - our oldest has been asking for it, but we don't even keep it in our house. I had him read about the different types of acid in soda, and he was turned off pretty quickly (I am so thankful he has the reading comprehension skills he has at his age and I'm able to to do that!). Our schools out here are also teaching kids about "sometimes" foods (like cookies and ice cream) and *gasp!* how to read labels to determine how many grams of sugar are in a food. So, some of the work is being done for me!
I am more and more convinced that I need to declare myself "Recreational Sugar-Free" if I'm going to get anywhere (join me!!!). Just telling everyone who knows me that I'd given up gluten made it easier - now I have an image to uphold! ;-) I have a feeling the same will be true for Recreational Sugar!
My day consists of lowfat b-fast sandwich (I like the new SPecial K ones) for "first breakfast". "2nd breakfast" is either weight control oatmeal (more protein), some kind of protein bar or Belvita crookies (crackers/cookies- hey I just came up with "crookies", I like it!). Lunch is a Lean Cuisine, afternoon snack is a Chobani (or another bar, depending how many meetings I have). PreWKO is PBJ, then post-WKO snack is maybe Go Lean cereal w/ unsweetened Almond Milk. I know there is an absence of fruits and veggies, but does anything else stick out as "oh no, don't do that!"?
My budget on a non-workout day is around 2100 calories (current body composition is 159.6 pounds, 7.4% BF 5'11.5") with the goal of being around 152-153 lbs when the cannon goes off for IMMOO in September.
Fortunately, I'm a creature of habit, so, as long as I'm not traveling, my diet doesn't change very much from day to day (and even when I travel, it is pretty well controlled). I use LoseIt! to track everything that goes into the face hole, including zero calorie items like green tea...If it goes in me, it goes into LoseIt! Here is a typical non-workout day menu:
Breakfast
Sprouted Rye Bread (1 slice)
Almond Butter
1/2 Banana
Coffee (1 cup w/ Almond Milk & 1 tsp Honey)
1 scoop Green SuperFood
Lunch
Salad made up of 2 cups kale, 1 cup spinach, 7 baby carrots, 1/2 avocado, 40 calories worth of beets, 30 [yes, I count them] raw almonds, 1 clementine
1 cup nonfat organic vanilla yogurt with 1/2 cup fresh blueberries thrown in
100g of strawberries
2 TBS of chia seeds
Dinner
4 oz chicken
1/2 cup beans (garbanzo or black, usually)
1 cup shaved brussels sprouts (thank you, Trader Joe's! these are awesome)
1 low carb tortilla
Snacks
I generally don't snack on anything, but if I get to the point of being cranky hungry I'll typically have a zone bar or half a power bar
Hydration
112 oz of water (I fill a pitcher every night and then drink it to empty the next day. I usually have one glass per day where I drop in a Nuun or a Zip Fizz)
With two teenage daughters, I share the concern about potential "body image" issues that I might be visiting on them. To try to deal with this, I have made it a point to try to convey to them that my diet is a function of my desire to improve my triathlon times - I'm not doing it because I thought I was fat when I weighed 180 pounds or because I particularly like the way I look when I get down to racing weight level...I actually don't, but it is a means to an end, not an end in itself. I think they understand the difference. I also try not to give them the impression that I pine for things I don't eat. I'm actually very happy with my diet and the way it makes me feel. I try to let them know that I'm happy with my smart nutrition choices and that I really don't crave or particularly miss the things I don't eat.
...when I'm around people I eat like a normal person. Eating is a social thing, and I make an effort to ensure that people around me don't think I'm some sort of freak when it comes to eating. Sure, at a restaurant I'll order somewhat responsibly and only eat one piece of bread instead of 3. But I'm certainly not going to be the guy who gives the server special instructions to create some sort of no-fat meal or something like that.
If you exercise some rudimentary portion control you can get out of any restaurant under 1000 calories, and most times even less than that.
It is when I'm traveling or eating by myself that I really do cut back. There really is no point to eating McDonalds at the airport or ordering a meal from room service at a hotel.
Kim, 1500 is hard but you can do it for sure. When I dropped 65lb over the course of about a year I probably averaged 1400 or so. You just need to be committed and not have all sorts of "exceptions". Personally I respond well to "rules" so I created certain rules that I simply never violate. For example, no food after 8pm unless there is a work-related necessity. Period. Stuff like that. I have a lot of these "rules". It works for me. Maybe it would work for you, or maybe you need something different.
In terms of your diet, it strikes me that you eat a lot of packaged foods. And, as you said, few fruits and vegetables. That's also maybe why getting to 1500 calories is difficult...packaged foods are more calorie dense than vegetables. Also you might try having some protein at every meal...it helps make you feel more full.
You might also benefit from reading "racing weight" by Matt Fitzgerald. He explains these concepts and a few others (eg nutrient timing) in pretty intuitive terms.
--Wake at 4:45AM, and on my bike in my basement ~5AM with nothing before or during but water.
--Hammer Nutrition Recoverite immediately afterwards, then hop in the shower and then leave my house at 6:15AM to catch a train.
--I stop at the deli right by my office and get the same omelet every day (3 eggs, spinach, peppers, onions, mushrooms, cheddar cheese, hot sauce). I eat this at my desk ~8AM as I drink an Emergen-C and also eat a banana.
~9AM I eat a hard boiled egg.
Lunch is at noon and is usually something like a big azz salad with a ton of ingredients (baby spinach, broiled chicken, tomatoes, onions, peppers, black beans, boiled egg, cheese, avocado, mandarin oranges, grapes, cranberries, walnuts, almonds, and olive oil, red wine vinager and a half a lemon) or maybe I'll have something like Salmon, brussle sprouts, and sweet potatoes. I have another Emergen-C to drink with lunch.
~3PM I drink a cup of hot green tea (with a little bit of honey) and a big bowl of mixed nuts and raisins.
~5PM I might have more nuts or an apple, orange, or banana (or maybe a one of each)
~7:30PM eat whatever delicious dinner Jess made (but it's usually something natural like a chicken breast, rice, and a veggie. I usually have a 3rd Emergen-C to drink woth dinner. If I "need" desert, I'll get something like a greek yogurt.
I also sip on water pretty much all day.
Bed around ~9:30PM or so.
I raced IMFL at ~187 and got as high as ~196 or so on Jan 2nd. I was 187 this morning, but that was after my workout. I hope to race IMUSA this yr at ~175-177. I haven't weighed that since ~1995 when I was a sophomore in college...
My weakness is eating while I'm out or traveling.
From reading the way that many of you are monitoring your eating, it is clear that I need to keep better track of what I'm consuming if I want to lose some weight over the next 10 weeks or so.
Huge cheesecake at work with gooey cherries on top for a co-workers birthday!! Yikes. I went to my locker and grabbed an orange out of my purse and ate it. Yummmmy. I love a juicy sweet orange. I felt awesome all afternoon. My co-workers felt lethargic and guilty!!!
Carry on
Made some breakfast quinoa for the week. Not bad. Cooked with cinnamon and unsweetened vanilla almond milk, then threw in some pecans and raisins (very little... just enough for some texture. Too many calories) Making small steps to start moving away from the plethora of packaged foods that currently comprise my diet....
I, like Carrie, prefer eating whole food and clean, and have protein smoothies for breakfast, greens and lean protein lunch and dinner. I snack on fruits and my new favorite morning snack-gluten free (coconut flour) bananna nut muffins.
For you chocolate lovers, I have two suggestions (as a major chocoholic: )
bedtime treat: almond milk cocoa-unsweetened almond milk is 40 cal per cup. Dissolve a scoop of unsweetened cocoa in hot water (brings out chocolate flavor) fill cup with almond milk, sweeten with stevia. I now don't even think about frozen yogurt (really processed right) or ice cream when I know I can have this when I get home.
As for chocolate bars-Amberlynn Chocolates are belgian chocolates, sugar free. They use malitol a sugar alcohol from wheat but claim to be gluten free as well as preservative and additive free in all their products. I can't live without chocolate but I can live without any with sugar! If you go on their website now and join cravers club, they have a 25% discount thru 1/31.
And last, as for training, I live by the core diet-and use every workout as an opportunity to practice exactly what i do on race day. So, its a cup of applesauce and a scoop of protein poweder in my coffee (a trick I learned from Infinit, having bought their MUD product. I quit buying it as I prefer to get my carbs in bananna or applesauce and sweeten the MUD with stevia.)
I, like Carrie, prefer eating whole food and clean, and have protein smoothies for breakfast, greens and lean protein lunch and dinner. I snack on fruits and my new favorite morning snack-gluten free (coconut flour) bananna nut muffins.
For you chocolate lovers, I have two suggestions (as a major chocoholic: )
bedtime treat: almond milk cocoa-unsweetened almond milk is 40 cal per cup. Dissolve a scoop of unsweetened cocoa in hot water (brings out chocolate flavor) fill cup with almond milk, sweeten with stevia. I now don't even think about frozen yogurt (really processed right) or ice cream when I know I can have this when I get home.
As for chocolate bars-Amberlynn Chocolates are belgian chocolates, sugar free. They use malitol a sugar alcohol from wheat but claim to be gluten free as well as preservative and additive free in all their products. I can't live without chocolate but I can live without any with sugar! If you go on their website now and join cravers club, they have a 25% discount thru 1/31.
And last, as for training, I live by the core diet-and use every workout as an opportunity to practice exactly what i do on race day. So, its a cup of applesauce and a scoop of protein poweder in my coffee (a trick I learned from Infinit, having bought their MUD product. I quit buying it as I prefer to get my carbs in bananna or applesauce and sweeten the MUD with stevia.)
@Kim - ATTA GIRL to you, too! I was so excited for you when I read that... the longer I've been eating less processed foods and more whole, clean foods, the more I've realized it's really NOT that time consuming! And like Carrie said, I feel SO much better for it. I really need to know how you made that breakfast quinoa! Sounds fantastic!
@Betsy - If you make those muffins, I think I need that recipe!
I finally took the plunge and gave up Recreational Sugar - I am on Day 5. I honestly didn't think sugar was that much of an issue for me (because I lived with someone who IS... well, WAS!... a sugar addict!), but wow - what a difference giving up the sugar I did eat makes. My biggest downfall had been gluten-free cereal in the mornings... Amazing what an effect cutting that out has done for me. Now I just need some suggestions for gluten-free breakfast that aren't eggs or oatmeal! Anyone? Anyone? Kim? ;-)
I make shakes for breakfast. Gives me healthy nutrition and hydration all in one!
PB Choco-Nana Shake
Ice
Choc protein powder
PB
Banana
Calorie Countdown Choc Milk (Higher protein, lower cals vs. reg choc milk)
Tiramisu Shake
Ice
Choc protein powder
Calorie Countdown Choc Milk
Dollop of part skim ricotta cheese
Sprinkle of instant coffee
The "Abs Diet" books actually have a lot of good recipes, including lots of shakes. I need to bust those out again. And the recipes are generally pretty simple as the books are more targeted to men (no offense
Full disclosure: Just typed this while eating a Lean Cuisine. Hey, Rome wasn't built in a day.
Here's the basic recipe for the b-fast quinoa (I didn't save the link to the actual one but there are tons out there)
Cook quinoa according to directions but use unsweetened vanilla almond milk instead of water and add vanilla (1/2 tsp per 1 cup quinoa) and add cinnamon(1 tsp per 1 cup quinoa) Use more or less depending on taste.
Once liquid is absorbed, add whatever else you want, nuts, raisins, maple syrup, cranberries, choc chips (kidding! kind of...) I divided the contents in 4 separate containers and added a little brown sugar. I tossed them in the refrig til I'm ready. Then I nuke it for like 1 1/2 mins, then add a splash more almond milk.
So Jess- What for you constitutes "recreational sugar"?
RE: maltitol in Betsy's post (thanks for the recos!) Beware! This is like ex-lax! I found that out the hard way when I was eating lo-carb chocolate on Atkins several years ago. Wondered "why the heck does my stomach hurt and I'm running to the bathroom every 5 mins".... Then I figured it out. Ohhhhhhh noooooooo