The Board

GEt on the roids man..
Works for the All Blacks !

Yeah I should have guessed, you're all bloody married and just eat what you're given!

Peanut m & m's for the win!

For me, it comes from taking myself to exhaustion. I have a really strange body; I train hard for six months, wondering why am I still carrying fat, and then all of a sudden it drops off me completely - like within a week or two. No diet change, just a sudden and immediate body fat change. Anyway how much training it takes to get to the level of being completely fucked depends on several factors, 1) how fit I am, 2) the days that have preceded it and 3) what I've been eating.

13 years ago I initially became a vegetarian when I moved in with Karen (who ironically eats meat now) because a) I thought it would be easier and b) I was running 100+ miles/week and simply couldn't eat enough. So I tried it for a month, and my times got quicker - and so I stuck with it (apart from the fish).

Right now I'm acutely aware that whatever I eat in the evening is directly measurable in my training performance next day. It's quite fascinating actually. And it's not just our physical capacities that are affected but also our emotions. Without that cushioning layer life feels raw and more edgy. For me anyway! And I prefer that.

Hopefully I can run a half decent marathon this time. I used to run 2.40-2.50 in training. But on the back of the IM, 5hrs! WTF?! I did 10K in 36m on the back of the Noosa Triathlons (needing a piss). I just don't get it. I think the bike leg - and the food I'm eating on the bike - is crippling me. When I can get the run under 3.20 I'll be happy. Just not dying in fact, would be a step forward.

Vegan triathletes? Try Dave Scott. Here are some other references that might help:

http://espn.go.com/espnw/training/nutri ... triathlete
http://www.care2.com/causes/ironman-tri ... letes.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJIXQCAHRck

Although I tend to trust what Scott has to say because there is no obvious PETA influence on what he has to say because he has added meat back in to his diet in recent years.

I find the science of nutrition is pretty similar to what you find on the technical forum. Nobody seems to know what they are talking about, or if they do they can't agree on it. I've known athletes that swore by an occasional beer (occasional = 1 or 2 beers per week) and others that swore that any alcohol intake was enough to negate the affects of a day or two of training. I've also heard of Japanese weightlifters triaining and competing while consuming not so moderate amounts of sake. Back in the 70's bodybuilders recommended a minimum of 1000 grams of protein intake per day. I think that 60 to 70 grams is the recommended minimum today. If it was easy to understand we wouldn't see hundreds of fad diets out there. I do know that when I hear a conversation about nutrition that starts off with Krebs cycles that I won't miss anything important by tuning to another channel.

I think that the first 80% to 90% is common sense or easy to look up and then the fine tuning that gets you to performing at 110% is an individual thing and what works for you might be totally wrong for someone else. Alcohol is one example - maybe it helps some people relax and get a better nights sleep while others just don't need it. Who knows? Steroids are a another good example. Why is that using PEDs turns some people like Lance Armstrong and Ben Johnson into super humans while others get cancer and die or have their penises shrink and fall off?

Athletes also tend to be a superstitious bunch. If they wear white cotton socks and load up on spaghetti the day they set a PB then they'll probably going to wear white cotton socks and load up on spaghetti for every competition after that and if they don't set a PB next time then they wonder if it's because they didn't wear the same brand of socks.

Anyway, take a look at what this guy has to say about being an athlete on a plant based diet. He has the experience to back up what he says:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cP3NvOs_YzY[/youtube]

Thanks man, that reminds me that I have three carrier bags of walnuts under the sink - one advantage of living under a walnut tree!!! It's good to know that there was someone at the top of this game who was a veggie.

Cheers, Paul

The list is a lot longer than that - http://www.greatveganathletes.com/

Here's a couple of sites you may find helpful:

http://www.vegkitchen.com/nutrition/vegan-athlete/
http://www.nomeatathlete.com/vegetarian-diet-athletes/

Just google "vegan athlete" the list is quite lengthy.

Paul Arden wrote:What do you guys who train a lot eat?

hi Paul

I don't train a lot these days (fishing instead) and was only ever weights; but food as fuel was important.

Milled oats - great source of clean carbs. Couple of scoops & a scoop of protein gives a 500-600 calorie "snack" - I had a couple of weeks of eating 3,500-4k cals a day... hard work without the oats. http://www.myprotein.com/sports-nutriti ... tml?bulk=a

Plenty of olive oil & salads for just feeling good.

I believe that watered down fruit juice with a pinch of salt is similar to to an isotonic drink? (Water, sugar, salt).

good luck with the training in the heat!
iain

Some nice addons:
low fat curd cheese, if that's the right word ... mixed up with some honey or yoghurt to give some flavour.
13gr protein per 100g, no fat no carbs. Lots of glutamine, which helps recovery.

pancakes made of eggwhites (max 1 egg yolk on 3 egg whites), protein, oat flakes, raisins for sweetening => alltogether in the mixer, add fluid (i use milk) => in the pan => great! u can also take it with you during the day.

cheers.

Thanks - I haven't eaten porridge in a long time - but used to be pretty good while tramping in the bush. I'm not sure I can buy it in Hungary! Will give the pancake recipe a go too. Enjoying the bike at the moment, very much into energy gels - one per hour when training. Last year I made the mistake of eating muesli bars on the bike and had gut problems on the run. Going to stick to the gels this year.

In my late 20s/early 30s I was running 100 miles/week. I used to make up my own muesli bars, but I would eat them afterwards, not during.

Cheers, Paul