Peter's Nutrition Talk

On the recent bike training camp Peter Reid gave a great talk about nutrition. I have written it up as part of my report on the camp but thought I would share these pearls with the world.

Who has been eating chocolate!

The evening session on day two focused on nutrition. This was a popular topic of
conversation among the team.
This was lead by Reid. ‘Nutrition is the one
topic everyone wants to know about,’ he said outlining the different stages to
consider. On race day everyone wants to know what to eat but how to avoid
stomach problems.
‘As a science I consider nutrition to be in the dark ages,
we just don’t understand it and there’s no magic formula. I can have two races
where I eat the same. In one race I will be flying and in the other I will feel
terrible. Everybody is different, it’s a question of trial and error. Before
giving his experience he warned: ‘This isn’t the bible, but it might help. Don’t
experiment on race day, do it during training.’
There are four kinds of food
he said:
Junk, don’t go there
Protein, such as fish, meat, or vegetarian
alternatives.
Carbohydrates like breads, pasta and vegetables
Fats such as
butter, milk and yoghurt
Reid explained the idea of the eight week rule
where, within reason, anything goes until eight weeks before a race.
If you
try and anal about the quality and quantity of the food you eat all year round
you will crack, he predicted.
Reid said the eight week approach was taken by
Lance Armstrong and was the one he chose to follow during his winning stints as
the world triathlon champion. Reid said as the race approach the regime must
become stricter so no additional bodyweight remained by race day.
‘Ironman
athletes are like supremely efficient cars that can go on forever on a litre of
fuel. Sugar is an evil potion. Good on race day to get you to the line but not
good to get you ready.
All of the food going in should be quality. Quality
fats, quality proteins, quality carbs
The issue of vitamin supplements was
another hot topic for Reid. He said while he had tried them he didn’t believe
anyone with a good diet would really benefit . But, ‘If it makes you feel good,’
why not take them.
Huys took a slightly harder line. ‘If you buy vitamins the
only person who wins is the guy who sells you the vitamins.’
Reid took an
equally hard line on ‘lite’ products. ‘The majority of lite products have
sweeteners in them that they feed to pigs to make them eat more,’ he claimed.
The product might not have calories but it messes with your brain, said
Reid.
One of the worst things you can do is have something high in sugar
before a session because your body wants to burn that sugar you will not be able
to have a fat burning session.
Of interest to some was the issue of losing
weight. Reid suggested upping the amount of protein consumed. Protein was a good
regulator of hunger so eat plenty at breakfast and you won’t be so hungry after
your workouts. When shopping look for full fat foods such as yoghurts because
they have more protein. ‘Whey is the best form of protein you can get,’ he
added.

Once you are close to the race there are other issues to
think about. Don’t have a massive meal the night before a race have it two days
before and eat normally the day before the race. Two to three hours before the
race have a shake.
Once out of the swim get on the bike and have a Power Bar.
On the bike have Power Bar drink, water and gels. During the race you don’t have
to do the right thing you just need to get to the finish line.
Use the
proprietary drinks like Power Bar that have sodium and electrolytes in. Use
preparations with Maltodextrin, a complex slow burning carbohydrate. This
releases slowly into the blood so doesn’t create the sugar spike of sugary
drinks. But beware, take water on board too as the stomach can only take so many
sugary drinks.
Half way around the race you get a special needs bag so put
something in it you can look forward to. But make sure it is something that will
taste good during a major workout. Exercise changes your taste buds.
The
final warning from Reid was that a lot of people overeat during the race. ‘There
will be plenty of food at the finish line,’ he added:

After a race
and after a training session have a banana, yoghurt or toast within 30 minutes
to replenish nutrients and energy within and hour and a half have a
meal.
There were many other points of contention such as training on an empty
stomach or a full one, training in the morning or the evening discussed by Reid.
But, he concluded that everyone is different and so much of it is common
sense.
Just strip back your diet to the basics of protein, carbs and fats and
everyone can eat well, loose weight and be healthy, said Reid.