eurodonkey wrote:
So far this nutrition discussion hasn't got concrete enough for anyone to say much - and we don't have anyone's food diaries to discuss.
I think PM's discussion was leading up to this, but I'll jump in with my personal distillation of a few sources: Nutrient Timing, Running Weight, and a clique of "plant-strong" books on nutrition/weight loss/etc. ("The Engine 2 diet" as one example, though not the strongest in terms of presenting the underlying science). Thanks to both of you for the "timing" and "weight" recommendations - I'm through about 80% of them so far.
General dietary rules: Weight loss, faster recovery, general health.
- Maximize micronutrient density from food sources, NOT fortification or supplements: *Lots* of veggies, particularly the green ones (calcium, iron, but also overall health/disease resistance). Whole grains instead of refined flours and sugars. Cut down the red meat, and favor low-mercury fish.
- Favor food diversity when possible: Don't just snack on carrots, snack on carrots, peppers, nuts, zucchini, ...
Timing-related rules: Faster glycogen replenishment, decreased muscle breakdown, faster muscle rebuilding and growth
- In a strenuous workout, take in some easy to digest calories a bit before; during the workout (sports drink) if it's long;
- After all workouts: Consume about 200-300 calories *as soon as possible* after the workout ends, aiming for a mix of 75% carbohydrate and 25% protein. Smoothies are a nice option here because you'll digest them faster.
- Either schedule your workout so you're having a meal after you're done, or continue eating a few hundred more calories in the 2-3 hours afterwords to facilitate glycogen replenishment.
A lot of the above contained an "eat more!" message after workouts; balance by drastically improving overall diet quality by improving nutrient density (== decreasing caloric density). Begin meals with huge salads. Plug things into some of the above-mentioned nutrient calculators and try to satisfy your micronutrient RDA from non-enriched foods (numerous studies have shown that vitamins ingested from foods benefit us way more than when they're taken in isolation - in fact, some, like vitamin E, can be *harmful* along some axes as supplements).
Open questions:
- Workout timing: Morning before or after eating? (My thought on this: Easy or recovery runs before eating; longer or harder runs after a decent meal and waiting a bit).