Exercise and diet

[Wisteria]

Does anyone have good recommendations for a healthy, calorie appropriate diet when significantly upping one's exercise level? I started training for a sprint triathlon and while it's been awesome and I feel really good, I also feel . . . so . . . tired . . . and I'm pretty sure it's because I'm not getting enough calories. Or sleep. I know how to fix the sleep problem, but I'm not doing so great with the eating part. Especially what and how much is appropriate to eat before/after exercising.

[Marduk]

Without knowing your body type and weight, all I can safely say is to increase carb intake, and if you're doing any sort of weight training along with it, to also increase protein intake. It really is dependent on your size, though.

For example, when I was wrestling, I took in about 6000-7000 calories a day and still didn't gain any weight. However, I wrestled at 189. A buddy of mine wrestled at 112, and he ate somewhere in the realm of 3500-4000.

[Wisteria]

Um, that sounds like a *lot* of calories. I'm definitely not eating in that range
Since people have been confessing all kinds of things on this board, I shouldn't have any qualms about saying that I'm 5'7" and 150. Also along with the training looking to bring that into the neighborhood of 140. That is not a hard and fast goal or the main objective, but it would be a nice side benefit.
And I know people talk about eating carbs all the time, but that seems so general to me. What kinds of things can I take to work with me that are healthy and I can eat during the day so I don't get lightheaded when I get out of the pool?

[thebigcheese]

Whenever I start feeling funky and I suspect that my diet is the culprit, I try to look for the imbalance. Have I eaten any meat lately? Any servings of vegetables? I don't think you need to be an intense calorie counter, just pay more attention to what you've been eating lately. If you're missing any major food groups, try to fix the balance. But for increased exercise, people typically add more servings of pasta and bread products into their diets. They are complex carbohydrates, so they give you extra energy without the burnout of simple carbohydrates (like candy and soda). Also, whenever your metabolism starts running in high gear, you tend to get hungry more often -- so you definitely need to be eating three solid meals, or perhaps even six smaller meals.

Side note: when I was a hard core runner in high school, I found that my desire for unhealthy food decreased a TON. Even the thought of fast food disgusted me. Fries? Gross. Candy? No thanks. It was one of the weirdest and most awesome times of my life. I also had a crazy appetite, so I pretty much got to eat whatever I wanted without any penalties. And that is one of the many reasons why exercise is AWESOME.

[thebigcheese]

What kinds of things can I take to work with me that are healthy and I can eat during the day

Do you like sandwiches? Those are generally pretty portable. You could also try things like granola bars, but I personally feel like they are too small -- unless you eat several of them. I'm not sure about things like pretzels...the salt in them might outweigh the benefit.

[Marduk]

If you are having issues actually DURING the workout, you can eat a fruit or two 10-15 minutes before actually working out (yeah, the "1 hour before entering the pool" thing was bullcrap.) Things like bananas are fantastic for a quick energy boost prior to a workout.

[wired]

You're probably already doing this, but just to be absolutely sure, I'll say you should also monitor your water in-take. Being dehydrated can killed your energy levels and make you want to sleep a ton. When training for high intensity, high endurance activities, you should be aiming to have nearly clear urine to make sure your being hydrated adequately.

[thebigcheese]

the "1 hour before entering the pool" thing was bullcrap

I'm not sure about this one. A couple years ago, I had a lunch break right before my swimming class. If I ate too much before, or ate the wrong kinds of foods, I would often get these horrible stomach cramps during my swimming class. So I don't know...there might be some truth to that.

[Unit of Energy]

The issue with the eating before the pool has more to do with eating before a workout than any actual correlation between food and being in water being an issue.

[Whistler]

I have a problem with eating enough too, I think. I've tried eating more food, but... I get tired of eating! Have any of you tried protein shakes?

[thebigcheese]

I've tried eating more food, but... I get tired of eating!

Ha! There were many days when I felt like I couldn't keep up with my stomach. It seemed like I would get hungry on the hour, every hour. There is a hidden cost for exercising: grocery bills. I once heard that Michael Phelps consumes 7,000-10,000 calories per day. His breakfast for one day was equivalent to my breakfast for 10 days.

Have any of you tried protein shakes?

I have not tried them personally, but I've heard that they're all gross.

[krebscout]

Since people have been confessing all kinds of things on this board, I shouldn't have any qualms about saying that I'm 5'7" and 150.

This is a confession? Seems like a pretty healthy weight to me. I'm 5'6", and I whittled myself down to 145 before I got pregnant again and was dang proud of it. It's not my ideal BMI yet, but pretty good.

The problem of not eating enough is so foreign to me. I would love to average out our respective appetites, Whistler.

[Sky Bones]

Hey Wisteria, if you're still trying to figure all of this out, you can send me an e-mail with some more specifics (or submit a question... I promise I'd answer it by 100 hours). My husband is a professional personal trainer and he lives and breathes this kind of stuff. I'd have him give you some suggestions now, but he's at work. I know he'd be more than happy to help you out!

[Wisteria]

Dang, yo. I will do that, Sky Bones! And no, my height and weight is not a deep, dirty secret. That was mostly a joke. But I have been brainwashed enough by Western society to have a little trepidation in revealing my weight

[Marduk]

Whistler, I'm of the opinion that anyone who says that they get tired of eating needs to learn to cook better. There is no shortage of delicious food in this world.

[Wisteria]

I think I can relate to you, whistler. I agree with Marduk that there's no shortage of delicious food in the world and I take great pleasure from making and trying new things. But I like doing so many other things too that cooking doesn't hold my attention for long periods of time and being hungry and eating every hour seems like time I would want to spend doing other things. This has also been a struggle with exercising in the past- it's not always that I don't want to exercise, it's also that there are so many other ways I want to spend my time.

[Whistler]

Hmm... my husband is a good cook, but usually the things he makes aren't my favorites; it's possible that with so many new foods I'm not eating as much. But even when I eat what I feel like is tons I can't gain weight. For now I think I'll just blame the birth control meds.

[Dragon Lady]

Huh. This intrigues me. I have the opposite problem. I have no problem gaining weight (though, even though my BMI says I'm overweight, or at the border of normal and overweight, I don't look or feel like I am. And I stay within the same 5 lb. range. It's not like I'm gaining tons of weight), but I have a lot of problems trying to convince myself to exercise. I'll change my diet long before I can convince myself to exercise. And the only things that have ever worked (and only short term) is when I realize that it's hindering me physically. Like, maybe that's the reason I haven't gotten pregnant? (Speculation when all other reasonable answers run out.) Or when I passed out at the temple because apparently my circulatory system is bad enough that I can't kneel for long. Both have gotten me to exercise regularly for … a week or two. And then I struggle getting the desire back. Any advice for this other end of the spectrum?

[Katya]

Any advice for this other end of the spectrum?

For me, the biggest difference has been finding a kind of exercise that I actually like. Running and playing sports may be a more intense kind of exercise, but I don't like either of those, so I prefer to walk, lift weights, and do light yoga.

[Dragon Lady]

The only one I've found thus far is walking. Now that it's warming up, Dragon Baby and I walk a lot more. Like to the library--a mile each way. So it's not nothing. And that makes me feel good but I need more aerobic stuff, too. I have an exercise bike, but I can't always convince myself to ride it.