EATING RIGHT

By Rick Crawford

For elite endurance athletes, whose training is often high volume and high intensity, I recommend a super high quality diet consisting of small, frequent meals. Essentially, this diet encourages lean protein sources (fish, poultry, beef, eggs, pork, etc), and loads of fruits and vegetables, while avoiding post-agricultural-revolution products like dairy, grains and all products thereof. Of course athletes have some flex and greater caloric needs than sedentary people, but the basic tenets of this diet should be closely followed. I am lenient on dairy and whole grains as long as they are clean and as integral and unprocessed as possible.

Building blocks and energy are the two main factors of our physical constitution. These two aspects must be met, and considering the high demands endurance athletes impose upon themselves, anything lacking will become a limiter. Too much energy and not enough of the building blocks and co-factors that go with it will expose a limiter. Too many building blocks and not enough energy to use it will also yield negative results. The balance is critical.
Timing of meals and types of meals are very important. Frequency and glycemic affect are the two most critical elements to understand and manage. Meals should be small and frequent. Outside of exercise windows (during and ~2 hours after workouts), only low glycemic foods should be consumed. Protein and fruits and vegetables fit into this category and should make up all normal dietary meals. Grains can fit in too but not if they have been ground to powder and processed. Post exercise is the time to indulge in higher glycemic foods (pasta, bread, sweets, dried fruits). Sweets should be limited to very small portions as a desert after a low glycemic meal, and are allowed in calculated amounts within exercise metabolic window. Macronutrient profile should be roughly 50% carb, 25% protein, 25% fat.
A good way to eat real food in the ideal frequency is to prepare all the food the night before or the morning of the day to be consumed. A rather large thermal container is best for keeping food fresh. A day’s worth of meals will be carried in this container to be grazed from constantly and regularly throughout the day. like dripping real food. The ideal base for this bucket of food is spinach (alkaline and rich in micronutrient/fiber) and/or leafy greens. Add fresh veggies and fruit. these can be consumed on an unlimited basis. Walnuts are the best nut to provide the right fatty acid balance. a handful of walnuts add body and calories to the mix. A handful of raisins (alkaline, but high glycemic) are ok and pick up the flavor. Add protein (calculate based on 1 gram per pound of lean body mass per day) i.e., hard-boiled eggs, fish, chicken breast, lean beef or pork, etc. Dress with a mix of canola oil/olive oil (50/50), lemon juice, a lit tle balsamic vinegar, and your favorite spices (go easy on salt). Graze until gone. Be as creative as you wish as long as you follow the rules.

Sugar and salt are the big enemies to health and immunity. Athletes are not exempt from this. This diet will provide minerals in the proper ratios. Use salt sparingly to flavor foods. Try to sensitize your palate to the taste of fresh foods. Sugar and salt tend to mask flavor with their strength. Athletes need sodium and greater amounts of potassium. This diet supplies huge amounts of potassium, and sodium should be supplied sparingly. This is the ratio humans perform best with. Fact, humans are meant to ideally consume potassium/sodium ratios of 3-5:1, while in our current reality, we consume 10-15:1 sodium/potassium. no wonder hypertension and heart-disease are rampant. Sugar is no better, causing acidification of the blood, wiping out immunity, and causing disease on an epidemic level. just say no. That said, athletes need salt and sugar to live. Sugar is good fuel during and after workouts. Salt is required at higher amounts for athle tes who train regularly in extreme heat to maintain adequate sodium levels. Just be aware that out there, sugar and salt are everywhere and have to be metered carefully.
Avoid all processed foods. Almost all are polluted with sugar and salt. It is interesting to note that bacteria can’t live in high concentrations of either sugar or salt. that should be a strong indicator that humans can’t either. Manufacturers preserve foods with sugar and salt and they are everywhere. Just say no. Humans don’t survive so well with sugar and salt either. it’s just the scale that allows us to exist longer in an environment saturated with it. Know what your food has in it, and know what it is expected to do once it’s inside your body. If you don’t know, then find out.
It is important to note that modern-day agriculture practices have left much of our food deficient and polluted. That’s why supplementation is critical in my opinion. Athletes have higher demands, and food may not supply the necessary nutrients. It only takes one limiter in the seemingly infinite list of essential materials to cause a problem. Supplement wisely… that’s a topic for another few articles. Supplements are an important part of staying healthy these days.

Eating right causes metabolism to optimize, which always yields lean. This should be a way of life for healthy people, especially athletes. Athletes can’t get away with eating poorly just because they are working out all the time. That extra demand on the athlete’s body means that it needs better nutrition to handle the load. Quality proteins provide the amino acids to do all the metabolic chemistry this is needed to meet the extra load. Quality fruits and veggies provide energy, minerals, vitamins, fiber, and a multitude of known and unknown micronutrients to fuel the body’s needs. It is the way we were meant to eat. No calorie counting needed with this diet. metabolism will zoom and athletes can eat more calories and still lean down, with the dividend being better recovery. Good food, good health, and optimized performance. what’s not to like?

www.dedicatedathlete.com

A little about Rick Crawford

http://www.targetraining.com/racing/roster/roster_crawford.html

It’s official–2007 is here and the DAs are warming up…as the Bay Area weather cools down. The Pits and Skins and both weaving together a sweet schedule of events that include Raid the North Extreme and Big Blue’s Bend AR. Of course we’ve all got our on eye on the closest ball–the BAAR Brawl! See y’all in the dirt!!