The nutrition equation
The best part about my training protocol before my first intermediate distance race was that 24 hours prior I was to eat a big breakfast.
Yep. A nice big breakfast with pancakes, eggs, homefries and toast.
Granted, I tapered my food the rest of the day. It wasn't a one-day let's-see-how-much-food-Amy-can-shove-in-her-mouth day.
But breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. And anyone who tells me to enjoy it in full force, well, that's reason to celebrate in my book.
There is a bit of a fallacy that when you're training you can eat anything you want.
In what I've read and experienced, that's not exactly true.
In fact, I've heard of people training for the Ironman who actually gain weight either because they think they can eat anything and everything or because they just need to consume a vast amount of calories for energy and naturally end up staying the same weight or gaining a few pounds -- despite the fact that their training has become the equivalent of a part time job.
There are people who could care less about what they eat. They just go out, race and train and have fun.
There are others who count every single gram of fat, protein and carbohydrate in order to optimize performance.
Me? I like somewhere in the middle, please.
As someone who struggled with weight in college and those early adult years, eating wisely was something that became important to me. It seemed an important step to taking care of myself and my health something which was difficult for me at times.
And so, in order to keep myself healthy and energized and in a physical spot to enjoy my training and racing, I pay attention to my diet.
From time to time I try to track what I'm eating, mostly out of curiosity and because I find the whole nutrition thing terribly interesting, even if I have a stash of Coffee Crisp candy bars in my freezer.
Just in time for the Tour de France, I stumbled upon a new partnership between The Daily Plate and Lance Armstrong's Livestrong Foundation.
At the Livestrong website there is a tab for "Daily Plate." Registration with the site is free and it's the best online food journal program I have ever seen. You can enter generic foods or brand names or restaurants or even cooking magazine recipes and get a complete nutritional breakdown. With a click you can add it to your plate for that day and watch as the program calculates how much you ate and break it down among fats, proteins and carbohydrates.
It's a great tool if you want to lose weight or if you just want to see what it is you're eating.
Granted, I didn't use this on Sunday, when I allowed myself to enjoy my friends and junk food. I ate ice cream and brownies and cookies and had a glass or two of chilled white wine.
The point for me is that I allow myself enjoyment and a balance. I've heard some diet and nutrition people in the past say that you should not say you "can't" eat something because then it becomes "forbidden" and if you eat a little bit you will feel guilty.
I'm starting to see that "can't" isn't only about guilt. It's also about limiting yourself.
And the more I can ease up on those limits, on those all-or-nothing areas of my mind that paralyze me to inaction, the more I'll be able to enjoy where I am, right now.
