Oh ok... because that's one heck of a lot of protein, it got me worried.

Back to the original question... I really really believe that if you are going to spend 10-15 hours training per week, it's worth ever minute to spend an hour or so to sit down and prepare your weekly nutrition... so that you don't have to be taking in shakes. I don't think it's really necessary for most athletes for the volume put in.

For elite athletes, it's a different story, because for the same 2 hours of training, they are putting in a heck of a lot more volume and intensity on a daily basis (it adds up) than the rest of the age-groupers. The perceived effort level may be the same but they are putting out a lot more calories and doing much more damage...

For food ideas: I cook up obscene amounts of chicken, beef, fish that I keep in my fridge (once or twice a week) with cut up veggies ready to be cooked. I buy the ready chopped up veggies to go in ommelettes that i make after training and throw it all together to cook while I'm getting dressed/ready to go to work. A few times a week I cook up a batch of lentils and brown rice to go with the protein. In my fridge I keep yogourt, fresh fruit/berries, cottage cheese, soy milk, (all the chopped up veggies)... In the cupboard I keep All-bran Guardian, grape-nuts, all-bran buds, all-bran honey flakes, some canned soup for when I feel like eating salty food and a whole bunch of other things (oh yeah, canned tuna which is good in chick pea and/or bean and/or whole wheat pasta salad). Plenty of protein there.

http://This message has been edited by dragonsrouges (edited Sep-12-2007).

Hey caffeinated...

I didn't get a chance to read your post about the kilo/pounds before posting mine (i guess you posted while I was writing) but I understand...

I just believe in getting protein from a less processed food source MOST of the time, given the number of hours we put in, I think it's well worth the time to plan out. I don't trust every site and use them as guidelines as well but in this case my common sense told me that the amount was excessive.

But back to the original question, I'd go for the chocolate milk rather than the heavy cream as you said as well... more natural and not as fattening. I suspect better tasting as well!!

This has turned out to be a good thread on nutrition, and I have wanted to ask another question sort of related. Sorry for the hijack,m843172.

What do you all take for supplementation. I am an age grouper who does ok in triathlon, but I look forward to my gym time more than most. While I am not a bodybuilder I do take it very seriously. I should also state that I do not consider body weight a major factor in my diet and training. I keep more of an eye on hydration and bodyfat, I know it is harder to tri when heavier but I only do sprint tri's and after years I have found the increase in muscle helps me go faster for such a short period of time.

In keeping with the thread I consume 1.5-2 grams of protein per Kilo of BW daily. I start my day with 1/2 cup of whole grain total and a protein shake which is 140 cals and 30g protein. From what I have read and talked about it is important for all athletes to consume some protein upon waking to stop the catabolic process from sleeping. I eat a yogurt, with some benefiber mixed in, and a piece of fruit 3-3.5 hours later. I have a raw spinach and grilled chicken salad, with a cup of fruit and a 1000mg fish oil pill at lunch. Another piece of chicken and 3 Branch Chain Amino Acid pills a few hours later. Post workout I take 5mg of creatine, coupled with another 30g protein shake. If it is a recovery or easy workout I skip the additional protein and just take the creatine. Dinner is what it is, always as healthy as possible, but not too strict. I take 3 more BCAA's and a half of a multivitamin before bed.

I have tinkered with this for a couple of years now and this is what I am doing now. When I am more focused on Tri's I consume a few more calories to keep up with my workouts.
To answer my own question: I take Protein, fish oil, BCAA, creatine, fiber and multivitamin daily.

I am asking as I am always looking to better myself and my workouts, I have such little time to train that I make every workout the best it can be, and recovery is a fickle thing to nail down. I find it is obviously very dependent on the workout duration and intensity, but the things I consume fuel me very well for each day no matter what comes my way,

I love nutrition talk by the way(if this post was not long enough for you to tell), and I fully agree with considering meal preparation a necessary item to schedule and stick to. It is a big part of my week, and one that I share with my kids so that they understand the benefits of eating healthy.

quote:<HR>Originally posted by valleysuper:
I should also state that I do not consider body weight a major factor in my diet and training. I keep more of an eye on hydration and bodyfat, I know it is harder to tri when heavier but I only do sprint tri's and after years I have found the increase in muscle helps me go faster for such a short period of time.
<HR>

Valley - How many calories is that total? Seems like with your total activity level, and that you seem to be in control of your nutrition, you should be able to reduce your total calories and lose any extra weight you're carrying.

Also on the creatine. It's my understanding that it's best to cycle off of creatine after a while. A few months on and a few months off.

I don't think creatine is for everyone, and I also think there are lots of other things that you can do that will have a much bigger ROI (and safer) than taking creatine... If it was that great, every elite triathlete would be on it...

http://www.wellnessletter.com/html/ds/dsCreatine.php[/URL" target="_blank">

A few of my teammates qualified for and competed at Ironman Worlds in Hawaii and none of them are on creatine, they just plan out their meals very well, they don't even take protein supplements. It can be done!

I think we complicate things un-necessarily... It shouldn't be this difficult. If it's this hard now, imagine when you're trying to take off a split second off a swim/bike/run time... how complicated a science that must be.

If an average or even above average age-grouper is supplementing this much on protein, by the same ratio, for the extra mileage/volume, how much would an elite triathlete have to consume?!

http://www.foodandsport.com/protein.htm[/URL" target="_blank">