Triathlon Diet Plans

Training for a triathlon is a fun, challenging way to stay in shape and have a healthy lifestyle. Many people who train for triathlons are looking for special diets that will help them with their goals, be it weight loss, better performance, allergy management, or all of the above. There are a few guidelines to keep in mind as well as some more specific diets you can try to see if they help with your goals.

Types

A triathlon diet can also help you lose weight, maintain weight, gain lean muscle mass, or improve recovery after workouts. Finally, some people need a triathlon diet that helps them manage food allergies, such as gluten or dairy intolerance or nut allergies.

In all cases, a triathlon diet must first meet your unique demands by fueling your workouts properly. Even if your goal is weight loss, you must eat enough to support your body while training rigorously.

Considerations

Eating for weight loss is the most common reason why a triathlete looks for a specific diet plan. To lose weight while training for triathlons, you need to separate your training nutrition from your daily nutrition before you attempt to create a calorie deficit.

Your training nutrition includes the food you eat just prior to, during and immediately after your workouts. This is not the place to try to cut calories unless you feel you are eating more than you should. The foods you eat just after exercise will make a difference in how well you absorb your training and recover from workouts.

You should consume between 30 and 60 g of carbohydrates per hour for any exercise that lasts longer than one hour, according to triathlon coach Andrew Dollar. Additionally, it is very important to eat a meal within 30 minutes of finishing a hard training session that contains a 4-to-1 ratio of carbs to protein to optimize recovery. This can be easily accomplished with a large glass of chocolate milk or with a commercial recovery drink.

Guidelines

The International Society of Sports Medicine provides recommendations for macro-nutrient intake for endurance athletes. These recommendations provide for optimal nutrition, recovery, and health in athletes training every day for an hour or more.

Carbohydrate intake is a vital part of a triathlon diet, as it provides the needed energy for exercise. A diet that is that is between 55 and 65 percent carbohydrate should supply the needs of a triathlete without providing any excess carbohydrate that might be stored as fat.

Finally, fat should make up 30 percent of a triathlon diet. Good fats like those found in fatty fish, avocados and olive oil can help with recovery and the inflammation that occurs as a result of exercise.

Best Bets

It's always a good idea to limit your intake of processed foods. Whether you are trying to lose weight, gain speed or avoid allergens, you will benefit from a focus on whole foods. Triathletes need to eat high-quality protein, such as meat, poultry, fish, eggs and seafood. When choosing carbohydrate sources, keep in mind that while triathletes may need more carbs than a non-athlete, too many carbs may still lead to weight gain. Some triathlon coaches are now recommending that athlete periodize their carbohydrate intake throughout their yearly training cycles, which allows or higher carbohydrate intake when training volume is high and a lower intake when training volume is low. This is meant to improve metabolic efficiency, or how much fat your body can burn during exercise.

Cautions

Triathlon training places a serious demand on the body. If you are trying to achieve sports performance while also trying to lose weight, it is imperative that you fuel your body with the nutrition it needs. Women especially need to be careful to avoid the Female Athlete Triad, which is defined by the Female Athlete Triad Coalition as "a syndrome of three interrelated conditions that exist on a continuum of severity, including energy deficit or disordered eating, menstrual disturbances and amenorrhea, or bone loss and osteoporosis." All of these symptoms originate from undernourishment of the athlete, and care must be taken to not damage your body in an attempt to maintain a certain physique.