Quick & Easy Meal Planning & Prep for Athletes, Part 4

This post is part of an ongoing series of articles addressing meal planning, prep, and menu ideas for endurance athletes. To view the first, second, and third articles in this series, please click on the corresponding links.

As promised earlier, today's post will provide some healthy, quick, and easy meal ideas with links to corresponding recipes (from my recipe blog) that can be used during training season. Listed below are two ideas for each dish category:

Breakfast:
1. Homemade Muesli - Deceptively simple and packed with high-energy nutrients, this is a great choice for those days when you just don't feel like eating the usual (i.e., store-bought, boxed cereals). It's also an excellent alternative to hot cereal, especially when the warmer weather rolls around. I often make big batches of it and then store it in a large, resealable plastic bag.

2. Blueberry-Oatmeal Buttermilk Pancakes - When most people think of pancakes, probably the last thing that comes to mind is health. ;) However, that's what sets these pancakes apart. They're healthy AND delicious, not to mention, extremely quick and easy to make; plus, they're real people-pleasers for both children and adults alike. They just taste like regular, honest-to-goodness pancakes, but the great thing is that the batter isn't made with a single drop of butter. Surprise your family by making them this special treat on a weekend day, and just watch their faces light up with smiles. :) There's nothing quite like the taste of light and airy buttermilk pancakes with warm, gooey blueberries that just melt in your mouth.

Lunches & Dinners:

1. Teriyaki Salmon Burgers - This meal is a nice alternative to regular (beef) hamburgers, especially if you're trying to up your Omega-3's and reduce your weekly red meat consumption for health reasons. Not only is salmon a rich source of Omega-3's, which are great for reducing post-exercise inflammation, but it's also a great source of protein. For more nutrients and less contaminants, be sure to choose wild salmon over farm-raised whenever possible. Wild salmon contains more Omega-3's than farm-raised; it's also 20% higher in protein but 20% lower in fat.
2. "Cheat Sheet" Chili - Made with lean ground turkey meat, beans, vegetables, tomatoes, and a bunch of dried spices, this dish is great for those times when you are tired from a busy day of work and workouts and just don't feel like putting in a lot of effort to cook. :) This chili is also portable and freezes well, so you can make it in advance and take it to work with you or eat it for future dinners. It's a huge time-saver!

Salads:

1. Shirazi salad - This recipe contains just 3 major vegetables (OK, technically a tomato is a fruit, so 1 fruit and 2 vegetables) and a very short list of ingredients. Plus, you don't even have to turn on the stove. Can't get much easier than that, eh?! It's not just healthy, but it's so fresh, crisp, and delicious! Try it for lunch and add a protein source like shrimp, grilled chicken or beef, or if you're vegan/vegetarian, add tofu, black beans, or chickpeas instead. Or serve it for dinner as a prelude to other Mediterranean courses like falafel, pita spread with hummus or babaganoush, or shish kebabs made on the grill.
2. Cucumber, Tomato, & Artichoke Salad - Here'a another very simple but tasty, 3-ingredient salad. The dressing is easy enough to make, and you can make it ahead to save time. Or, do I what I do: Plan ahead and make a large batch of dressing, which can be poured onto salads in future. (The dressing will actually keep for quite a while.)

Recovery Snacks & Beverages:

1. Almond-Cherry-Sesame Crunch Bars - These energy bars are not only easy to make but they also make great on-the-go snacks as well. They can either be eaten as a regular snack during the day, eaten as recovery snacks, or consumed as fuel a few hours before a workout. If you're in a rush to get out the door in the morning but don't want to miss breakfast, you can also grab them to take with you as you're walking out the door. This high-energy bar is basically a complete meal in bar form, so it will provide you with all of the essential nutrients to keep you going throughout your busy day. And, it's much healthier for you (and fresher-tasting!) than most commercially sold energy and meal replacement bars.

2. All-Natural, Watermelon-Coconut Sports Recovery Drink - This drink is ideal for endurance athletes because it's got the perfect mix of key ingredients to ensure proper recovery (i.e., essential electrolytes, Omega-3's and powerful antioxidants) and contains the recommended 4:1 carbs to protein ratio to replenish glycogen stores and repair muscle. For maximum effectiveness, be sure to consume this drink 15-20 minutes after a workout. If you're short on time, you can skip the green tea and just replace it with more coconut water, or just brew some green tea in advance and store it in the fridge for future drink-mixing.

If you'd like more healthy, athlete-centric recipe ideas, you are welcome to visit my recipe blog or check out the list of fitness and nutritional lifestyle books that feature my recipes, menu plans, and sports nutrition content. These books are part of Brett Stewart's 7 Weeks to Fitness series (from Ulysses Press).

Best wishes for health & happiness,

-Corey (a.k.a. "Cyberpenguin.")

 For more tips on healthy eating, sports nutrition, and wellness, feel free to follow my public Facebook feed, recipe/nutrition blog, Cooking with Corey, and/or running blog, See Corey Run. My recipes and sports nutrition insights will also be featured in an upcoming series of nutritional lifestyle books for athletes. For more information, please visit The Athlete's Cookbook Facebook page.

Quick & Easy Meal Planning & Prep for Athletes, Part 3

This post is part of an ongoing series of articles addressing meal planning, prep, and menu ideas for endurance athletes. To view the first and second articles in this series, please click here and here, respectively.

Today, I'll be concluding my list of food prep shortcuts and practical time-saving strategies to help athletes better plan and prepare their meals:

8. Think and plan for your long-term nutritional needs.

• Take inventory of your pantry and keep a list of commonly used, healthy non-perishables. Stock up on nutritious dry goods (i.e., staples like legumes and whole grains, etc.).'

• Make and freeze commonly used ingredients for future use. For example, if you are boiling a chicken, save the meat for other dishes (i.e., chicken tacos or tamales, etc.) and then freeze the stock. Then you can defrost the stock at a future date and use it to make quick, easy soups or add it to entrées for additional flavor. If you purée fresh pumpkin to use as an ingredient for pumpkin pie in the fall, then you can freeze the leftovers and use them in December to make pumpkin soup for the holidays. (Or, if you're like most people, you'll probably just use the canned stuff. I like to make it fresh and then freeze it at its optimal ripeness to maximize flavor and nutritional content.)  -->Tip: To prevent freezer burn, keep your freezer well-stocked, at a constant temperature, and fill your containers as full as possible before freezing the contents. If you are freezing items in double-layered plastic freezer bags to conserve space, be sure to remove as many air bubbles as possible before sealing.

• Stock up on frozen fruit, and use it for smoothies; it'll also double as an ice cube replacement; however, unlike ice cubes, frozen fruit won't water down your smoothies. :) 

9. Do as much kitchen prep work in advance as possible, wisely utilizing free time on nights and weekends. This makes the process of preparing meals go immeasurably faster. This way, when it's time to cook and serve dinner for the family, you'll be able to relax a bit more and spend more time with your family, as a good deal of the prep work has already been done.

• Depending upon how long something keeps, you can either prepare a particular component of a meal (i.e., a simple salad dressing, easy homemade tomato sauce, etc.) or the entire meal itself (i.e., soup, etc.) a day or two in advance and, then based upon what it is, either refrigerate it or freeze it for future use. For example, make the peanut sauce for the chicken satay a day or two in advance and then refrigerate it. Or, marinate the fish the night before, dumping all of the ingredients into a resealable plastic bag and then tossing them into the refrigerator. Then, all you have to do is take it out of the fridge the next day and cook. :) Or, an even more efficient technique is to marinate two different main courses in the same prep session, placing them into the fridge in separate resealable plastic bags. That way, you've just prepped for two consecutive nights of meals and are way ahead of the game.

• Cook a single, large meal on a weekend and then refrigerate any leftovers, which can then be served as different meals to be eaten over the first few days of the upcoming week. Or, prepare several meals at once (for more variety) and freeze them for future use. If you'll be using the former strategy, just be sure to pick dishes that won't spoil after a day or two. (For example, cooked meats, tomato sauces, soups, and some homemade condiments will keep longer than cooked rice or refrigerated, raw marinated meats.) For those refrigerated dinners with a shorter shelf-life, it's probably best not to make as much and just eat the leftovers for the next day's lunch. If you'll be using the latter strategy (i.e., freezing leftovers), just be sure to pick dishes that are known to freeze well.

• Make more than you need and freeze the leftovers. This is a slight variation on the above suggestion, except that one large meal is made with the express intention of freezing the remainder, versus eating it over the next several days. Eating leftovers saves both time and money, and freezing them means you won't waste food and also won't have to eat them the next day if you don't feel like it. :)

• Another strategy is to also pick entrée recipes that share many common ingredients and prepare them in advance. For example, chop up the garlic, shallots, and other common ingredients, divide up the portion sizes for each recipe, and put each one in a covered container or resealable plastic bags. Use them for lunch and then dinner, or for two nights of dinner in a row. This will save you a lot of time especially when the week starts to get really busy. This is a great technique to use when you don't have enough time to prepare entire meals in advance but would like to get a jump on the food prep nonetheless.

• You can also save yourself time and money by premixing non-refrigerated items like your own healthy snack mixes or DIY dried spice mixes, etc., which take virtually no time at all. See my recipe site (i.e., Cooking with Corey) for some corresponding examples. (Click on the "snacks" and "spice mixes" tags to view some of these recipe ideas.

10. Cut down on kitchen prep work by using healthy, pre-prepared ingredients with zero or minimal processing. Here are some practical examples:

• If you're short on time, go to the fresh produce and/or "organic/health food" aisles and select the healthiest choices. It's actually rather easy to toss together a simple, produce-centric meal with little to no effort. (In some cases, you might not even have to turn on the burner or your stove or fire up your grill.) Add a simple healthy protein source et le voilà, you have a quick and easy meal. -->Tip: Avoid pre-washed bags of salad as they often contain substandard lettuce that is often soaked or rinsed in chlorine bleach. (The same goes for many other types of bagged produce as well.) Not only does this process strip the salad of its nutrients by denaturing (i.e., destroying) molecules containing valuable phytonutrients, but the cumulative effect of repeatedly ingesting these denatured molecules has a rather deleterious effect upon cell composition (and hence tissues) in the human body.

•  Don't forget to check out your supermarket deli or salad bar for healthy selections. Depending upon where you go or what stores are available to you, you might be pleasantly surprised by some of the amazing selections you can find if you just know where to look. I've often found healthy food selections even in some of the most generic of supermarkets. For example, our Safeway has several fresh and healthy gourmet selections that can either be used as components for a meal or the meal itself. Look for items like precooked organic, free range chickens or turkeys (i.e., roasters), Mediterranean selections like tabouleh and hummus, or pre-prepared ingredients like fresh roasted red peppers, etc. It's a lot less expensive than a restaurant and also means you'll be spending far less time in the kitchen.

• Don't forget to ask the butcher or the fishmonger to pre-prepare (i.e., pre-cut, fillet, and/or debone, etc.) selections for you. They can expertly prepare food for you in no time at all, which can save you a whole lot of time in the kitchen. You can also ask them to cut pieces into individual portion sizes of your choosing. Remember that 3-4 oz. of meat/fish counts as one serving. (A serving of bone-in selections is going to be a little bit heavier, and varies according to the particular cut you choose.)

• Certain kinds of canned or frozen produce will also work in a pinch. The key to keeping it healthy in this particular instance is to think "no or low" when it comes to processing, sodium, and preservatives. For example, you could use no-sugar, low-sodium tomato sauce from a can to make eggplant tomato marinara. When available, I tend to pick frozen over canned. This is because certain types of frozen produce can sometimes contain more nutrients than some of the "fresh" selections in the produce aisle as frozen foods are typically picked fresh and frozen at the peak of their freshness. Other pre-packaged alternatives include some of the non-refrigerated cartons found in the organic/health food aisles. For example, low sodium organic soups can make decent substitutions when you don't have time to cook from scratch.

• Use precooked selections that you've either bought or pre-prepared yourself. Use shelled, precooked shrimp that's already been deveined. Use last night's chicken you made for soup meat, sandwiches, or chicken enchiladas.

• Choose foods that cook quickly or can be served raw. For example, buy no-bake lasagna noodles or choose mussels, which cook in 5 minutes flat. And then there are California sushi rolls, which can be bought fresh at the supermarket and require no cooking at all.

• If you're in a rush, use dried spices instead of fresh to save time. That way, there's no chopping involved. :)

• And last but not least, remember that "pre-prepared" doesn't always have to mean that it's made by someone else. :) Seize the moment (when you can carve out the time) and pre-prepare nutritious, easy-to-make meals and/or meal components yourself. That way, you'll keep things fresh, simple, efficient, and healthy.

And that's a wrap. :) Next up in the “Quick & Easy Mealing Planning & Prep” series is part 4, in which I'll be providing quick and easy meal ideas and recipes that can be used during race training season.

-Corey (a.k.a. "Cyberpenguin.")

For more tips on healthy eating, sports nutrition, and wellness, feel free to follow my public Facebook feed, recipe/nutrition blog, Cooking with Corey, and/or running blog, See Corey Run. My recipes and sports nutrition insights will also be featured in an upcoming series of nutritional lifestyle books for athletes. For more information, please visit The Athlete's Cookbook Facebook page.

Quick & Easy Meal Planning & Prep for Athletes, Part 2

This post is part of an ongoing series of articles addressing meal planning, prep, and menu ideas for endurance athletes. To view the previous article in this series, please click here.

Today, I'll be offering a list of food prep shortcuts and practical strategies that athletes can use to save time and better plan their meals.

1. Multi-task in the kitchen. Chop the vegetables while you're waiting for the water (for the soup or pasta, etc.) to come to a rolling boil. Soak the lentils overnight for the next night's dinner while you're unwinding in the evening after dinner. If you happen to come home for lunch, set out the kitchen tools and non-perishable ingredients and you plan to use for that night's dinner and place them on the kitchen countertop before you leave to go back to work. You get the idea. Try to multitask in the kitchen as much as possible to expedite meal prep as much as possible.

2. Delegate small, easily manageable, age- and skill-level appropriate (!) food prep tasks to your children or other family members. This time-saving strategy is also a great way to involve your entire family in a fun group activity. Not only is it great for family bonding and bringing everyone closer together, but it's also an opportunity to get them excited about food and cooking, and to educate them about food preparation and healthy food/lifestyle choices.

3. Use thinly sliced cuts or tenderized meat whenever possible, since these preparations will take less time to cook. When made in a grill pan, thinly sliced or tenderized boneless chicken breasts only take about 4-5 minutes per side. Not only does food cook faster, but a grill pan will also drain any excess fats/oils away from the meat. Toss together a salad and some fruit for dessert, and you're all set for dinner. :)

4. Use your outdoor grill. Grilling can be a lot healthier than letting ingredients soak in oil or their own fats. If you've got a good attitude and a hearty constitution, you can actually grill outside all year round. My own family has been known to grill in the dead of winter. Yes, even when it snows. We just put on our parkas, hats, and gloves and go outside and grill. :) A word of caution when grilling in outerwear: Please leave the scarves inside of the house, unless you want to catch on fire. ;) Of course, make sure your grill has a hood before you attempt grilling in adverse challenging weather conditions. Lol.

5. Fill your hydration system bottles in advance and store them on a refrigerator door shelf.
That way, you'll have them ready at a moment's notice. This is especially handy for those times when you might be half-asleep (and thus, a little bit forgetful) as you head out the door for your early morning workout. ;) If you're like me, you've got a lot of available fridge door shelf space, because that's where all of the refrigerated, processed/pickled/preserved food in many households would typically go. ;) After all, there's no need to store something that doesn't exist in one's house. :)

6. Find quality kitchen gadgets that cut your prep time in half. They don't have to be expensive, just well-made and functional. Start out by equipping your kitchen with the most basic and practical of time-saving devices -- i.e., tools like a chef's knife, lemon reamer (and/or citrus juicer -- the glass jars fitted with a citrus juicer attachment are particularly practical), vegetable peeler, jar opener, tongs, cooking and baking spatulas, cutting board, strainer, colander, funnel, soup ladle, basting brush, whisk, salad spinner, blender, food processor, etc.-- and then, if you have the means and the kitchen space, expand and supplement from there (i.e., microplane zester, oil diffuser, meat mallet/tenderizer, mandoline and slash-resistant safety gloves, immersion hand blender, electric stand mixer, etc.). However, only buy what you know you'll truly use and have enough room to store. This way, it'll be easier to keep your kitchen clean and orderly, versus letting it slowly slide into a cluttered, organizational nightmare. ;) Nothing wastes more time and energy than the frustrating (and sometimes fruitless!) task of searching for buried kitchenware and then, once found, having to gingerly untangle/extract them from the other surrounding kitchen implements lest it cause a major cacophonous disturbance. Simply put, one's kitchen prep should not resemble a game of Jenga. ;)

7. Make sure you're using the correct, as well as the best, tools and the techniques for the job. Kitchen prep goes a lot faster when you know which tools to use and how to use them. :) Here are some quick tips to help you in that regard:

• Use a chef's knife to chop vegetables and sharpen it when necessary. While a paring knife or a steak knife might still be able to do the job, a sharpened chef's knife will allow you to chop a great deal faster. :) If you don't have much previous experience or skill in this area, watch YouTube videos to improve your knife skills and then practice these techniques the next time you're preparing food in the kitchen. 

• Use the edge of a spoon to peel fresh ginger instead of a vegetable peeler. Not only will you preserve more of the ginger this way, but the peeling will actually go much faster. This is because you can get a better and much closer grip with a spoon, plus there are no blades to worry about. Also, due to fresh ginger root's rough and knobby surface, a spoon does a better job of peeling around the bumps and hard to reach spots. A lot of the time, a peeler just won't cut it, quite literally. :)

• Learn the quickest way to peel garlic. Most intermediate-level amateur chefs already know the traditionally recommended method, i.e., whacking a garlic clove with the side of a chef's knife. However, did you know that there's a much better and faster way that to peel garlic doesn't even require a knife? And the best part? It won't leave your hands smelling like garlic. :)

And thus ends part 2. There are more quick and easy food prep shortcuts and strategies yet to come. (Part 3 will, of course, continue where part 2 left off....)

-Corey (a.k.a. "Cyberpenguin.")

For more tips on healthy eating, sports nutrition, and wellness, feel free to follow my public Facebook feed, recipe/nutrition blog, Cooking with Corey, and/or running blog, See Corey Run. My recipes and sports nutrition insights will also be featured in an upcoming series of nutritional lifestyle books for athletes. For more information, please visit The Athlete's Cookbook Facebook page.

Quick & Easy Meal Planning & Prep for Athletes, Part 1

There's no doubt about it: we endurance athletes are busy people. Over the years, we’ve become adept at juggling our many activities, events, and responsibilities, honing our carefully timed schedules like a well-oiled machine. Our training snaps into place like it’s the central interlocking piece of a 5000-piece jigsaw puzzle. :)

When we’re in training mode, particularly for long distance events, time is at a premium. Even for the seasoned athletes among us, the planning and execution phases of our training still takes time. Of course, this is because we’re constantly in search of new strategies to improve our performance and are continually learning from our mistakes. We keep up with the latest information and incorporate it into the process, refining it and making corresponding adjustments and course corrections where necessary. Training is a continual growth process, and its planning and execution phases require a great deal of time and energy. It preoccupy our thoughts and permeates our being. It’s one of the hallmarks of being an endurance athlete, because that’s just how we’re built.

As part of this process, good general and sports nutrition is an obvious must for any athlete. So, we must allocate time for the planning of this very important cornerstone of our training as well. However, once we’ve gotten some initial strategies in place to manage this aspect, we can minimize and reallocate the time spent on this activity, and then pretty much cruise on auto-pilot. And, like our training regimen, menu planning and cooking are most successful when they're accomplished with forethought and a plan. :) To help you out in this regard, I will be providing some quick time-saving tips for both meal planning and cooking, which will be serialized into a sequence of separate posts. And so, without further ado, below is my first recommendation and topic of discussion in this series:

Use technology to help you master your meal planning, grocery shopping, and cooking. I know I’ve stated this in a previous post, but it’s such a crucial part of the equation that it bears repeating all the same. :) There are so many useful online resources, mobile apps, desktop/online widgets, and computer software products to help you organize and manage these activities. I personally prefer using online platforms and smartphone apps, as the former offers the advantage of centralized databases that can be accessed from virtually anywhere while the later is mobile and any stored data can be synchronized to the cloud or one’s computer or mobile devices for backup purposes. So of course, these are the types of tools I’ll be specifically addressing below. This list is by no means meant to be an all-inclusive but rather a brief review of useful resources that have, at one point or another, come across my radar:

iPhone/iPad/iTouch Apps:
1. MealBoard: It's inexpensive -- i.e., only $2 (!), but you get a lot for those $2. I love it because it ensures that I stay organized and on track with my cooking, eating, and grocery shopping, which in turn, is also excellent for overall time-management. The app is feature-rich and allows for a high-degree of customization: it allows you to link to recipes from the web or add your own. You can then populate your grocery shopping list based on your meal plan. You can also make meal plan templates from existing meal plans you'd previously created so that you don't have to manually type everything out each week. Any time you can automate and organize tasks, that'll free up more time for training and other life activities.
2. Groceries: Here’s another inexpensive app ($1.99) that I absolutely love. Simple and elegantly designed, this app is truly a time-saver. I use it instead of MealBoard’s built-in grocery shopping list because it's got a lot more features for this specific functionality and frankly, is far better designed for the task. You can create multiple customizable lists, add new items, and favorite items you most commonly purchase. You can also find existing items and quickly add new ones right from the search bar. Also, when grocery items are added to lists, they are organized by aisles, which also really saves a lot of time when you’re walking through the supermarket. And, if your grocery store is organized a little bit differently than the typical generic grocery store, you can even add or rename aisle categories or delete the ones you don’t ever use. And last but certainly not least, grocery lists can be sent to any number of recipients and then easily imported into the Groceries app on their mobile devices. This feature is particularly useful for those "honey do" lists, especially for those after-work or weekend shopping trips when one's mate might be in a different location. :)

Android Apps:
Since I’ve never owned a Droid smartphone, I can’t offer my own personal opinions on these apps, go into any great detail, or compare them to similar iPhone apps, except to say that below is a list of some highly rated equivalents. :)
1. Mighty Grocery Shopping List ($3.99).
2. Grocery Gadget (cost varies by platform). Also available for the iPhone and various other mobile platforms.)
3. Food Planner (free).

Online Tools:
Please note that I haven’t personally used these, since I use smartphone apps instead. However, these are the ones that, upon brief inspection, look like they are the most promising (and highly rated) of the bunch.
1. Meals Matter (free).
2. How Does She Do It (free). It’s also available as an app for both iPhone and Droid, neither of which I’ve tried.
3. Food on the Table (free). There are also Droid and iPhone apps, but again, I haven't tried either.
4. eMeals (paid service).
5. cozi (free).
6. GroceryiQ (free): This site gives you two options: You can create online grocery lists or use their online grocery shopping list app for both iPhone and Android. However, since the iPhone app got very mixed reviews, this is why I’ve listed it under the “online tools” category instead. :) Who knows, maybe the Droid version is better. However, it does have a barcode scanner feature, integrated online coupons, and the ability to store coupons directly to your savings card, among other features, all of which seem like they’d be highly useful.
6. Online supermarket-specific shopping lists: Several supermarkets now allow you to create (free) online shopping lists directly from their websites as well.

Printables:
No smartphone or just don’t feel like typing your lists into a mobile device or a computer? No worries, you can still stay organized. :) The solution is simple: Get a binder and fill it with weekly (or monthly) meal planning calendar pages, using an online template. (If you only need to plan weekly dinners, this template will probably suit you best.)

And that concludes the first post in the "Quick & Easy Meal Planning & Prep for Athletes" series. Feel free to comment below if you’ve had experience with any of these tools. We'd love to hear your feedback about your experiences, as it would very likely benefit other readers of this blog as well. Thank you!

Wishing you health, happiness, and a successful training season,

-Corey

For more tips on healthy eating, sports nutrition, and wellness, feel free to follow my public Facebook feed, recipe/nutrition blog, Cooking with Corey, and/or running blog, See Corey Run. My recipes and sports nutrition insights will also be featured in an upcoming series of nutritional lifestyle books for athletes. For more information, please visit The Athlete's Cookbook Facebook page.

Healthy Eating: Some Tips for Staying on Track & Strengthening Your Resolve :)

We all know that exercise is only part of the equation. Of course, good nutrition is another, highly significant part of that equation as well. And, as athletes, we all know that it's also an essential component in helping to boost our athletic performance. Simply put, an athlete cannot maximize their health and fitness potential without it.

Of course, the tricky part is establishing and maintaining our path to good nutrition. Sometimes we might find that it can be especially challenging when we're trying to form these new patterns, particularly because both eating and exercise have added psychological elements to them. ;) While this is something that's important to be aware of and acknowledge, we also need to recognize that we have a choice in the matter and don't need to let it rule us or our behaviors. Usually, when we fall off course, it's because we've let our less helpful emotions take hold and/or have switched from a state of awareness to unconsciousness, and just need to return to that former state, reestablish a sense of balance, and get back to basics. We have the option to make conscious choices, but in order to do this, we first need to be conscious of that fact. :) Then, we can find ways to change and reinforce those changes until they stick.

So what are some ways that we can stay on track and reinforce our healthy habits? The solution is actually fairly simple and straightforward. The way to healthy eating is no different than the way to forming consistent patterns of exercise: We can overcome these challenges and master these struggles within ourselves with a bit of planning and reinforcement of gradually introduced, small changes until they supplant those older, less healthy habits. This way, these newly formed exercise and healthy eating patterns have a much better chance of success.

Of course, a lot of our current eating and exercise patterns are just done out of habit. So, since any established pattern of less-than-healthy eating had to be established at one point or another, whether it was consciously established or not ;), it can be unestablished by consciously practicing a new behavior pattern and then reinforcing it until it replaces the old pattern.

Also, technology can be of great assistance in helping to solidify these new behavior patterns through continual (electronic) reminders to reinforce regular planning and practice. For those of you with iPhones and iPads, meal planning and grocery shopping apps like MealBoard and Groceries can be particularly helpful in that regard. Of course, there are Android equivalents like Mighty Grocery Shopping List, Grocery Gadget, Food Planner, and the like, all of which have been highly rated as well. The simple fact of the matter is this: If we plan out each meal and snack on a weekly or biweekly basis with nutrition in mind, then we're less likely to succumb to unhealthy selections as a last-minute, irrational impulse, especially when our blood sugar starts to drop and/or our hunger starts to kick in. After all, there's less of a temptation to look elsewhere when you've got a readily available, healthy and nourishing selection on hand.

Another useful tactic is to pack veggies for snacks during the day and couple them with a protein source like hummus or healthy Omega 3 rich nuts (i.e., walnuts, pistachios), etc. This gives us a "battle plan," so to speak, to stave off any potential hunger pangs (that are often due to lack of proper planning), which in turn, keeps us from grabbing other, less healthy things.

So why is this combination particularly effective? Protein helps to sustain one's blood sugar while the veggies contain slow-release carbs and fiber to help sustain us (for a much longer duration than carbs containing simple starches) and satisfy our hunger. And, the healthy fats also help to create a feeling of satiety as well. The first part of the above snack (i.e., the veggies) also helps us to fulfill the recommended daily allowance of eating at least 4-5 servings of veggies per day, while the latter (i.e., walnuts, pistachios, etc.) helps us to fit in some much-needed Omega-3 fatty acids to help reduce inflammation, which is particularly useful to athletes, as these powerful Omega 3 fatty acids can reduce post-exercise induced inflammation.

As for my own practices, I'll usually save any "fun," sweet (but still healthy) snacks for right after dinner, especially if I'm in the mood for a healthy dessert. This is when I'll typically eat a fruit I love and sometimes mix it with Greek yoghurt drizzled with a small amount of honey. (This snack also has the added advantage of taking little kitchen prep that takes no time at all.) Or, I'll premake all-natural fruit pops or smoothies using the same ingredients. For small fruits like raspberries, I'll mix them in after I blend together the other ingredients. For larger fruits, like strawberries, I'll slice them first. If the fruit is really sweet, I'l sometimes add a small squeeze of lemon to the mix to balance the flavors.

Of course, I don't always want a snack like this, so about once a week, usually on the weekends, if I'm really craving something sweet or salty, I'll allow myself to have a snack in a reasonable, pre-determined, measured portion size that isn't a veggie or a fruit. :) That way, I won't go bonkers and eat a whole chocolate cake. Lol. Of course, that's an exaggeration for humorous effect, but you get my point. In moderation, the practice of consuming a special treat every once in a while, that is, if our decision is a conscious one, is a perfectly normal and reasonable behavior. If a person eats like a normal healthy person as a cumulative practice, then that once-in-a-while treat can be put into perspective, as it's the overall trend that truly matters. The larger picture of achieving good health and a sense of well-being for the long-term is what's truly important.

I hope you find these tips helpful in your quest to eat more healthfully! As they say, a failure to plan is planning to fail. Or, put in a more positive light, planning is 95% of the battle right there. And we all know this to be true because as athletes we practice this very principle to guide us to success in our own race training.

I wish you lots of success in your quest for fitness and health.

-Corey

For more tips on healthy eating, sports nutrition, and wellness, feel free to follow my public Facebook feed, recipe/nutrition blog, Cooking with Corey, and/or running blog, See Corey Run.

About Pushing Beyond Perceived Limits

I had just about resigned myself to the fact that my run pace would be around the 10:00 to 10:15 mark.  No matter how hard I tried, no matter what I did, it always came back to that.  Sometimes I would venture into the 9:50ish pace but would quickly go back to that very familiar point.

And then my heel (plantar fasciitis) showed its ugly face.  I was sidelined for some three months.  No running whatsoever.  I was advised to let it heal by letting it rest, amongst other things.  So that I did.  I ran The Nashville Half Marathon on November 12th and the pain was so intense, I could hardly finish the race.  Did not lace up a running shoe until February 1st, this year.

Started running slow pace  and short distances.  A few minutes at a time, a couple of times a week.  Did not worry about pace; just wanted to run and run without pain.  Everything was going just as I had hoped.  Well, just as I had hoped and as my coach had hoped and as my doctor had hoped.  Things were looking up.

As times passed, so did the miles and the time.  I would venture into longer runs but still held it to just a couple of times per week.  I was told to be patient.

And then came March 14th., the day I decided to let it all hang out.  Did not hold back, did not look back!  When it was all said and done the total mileage for that day was 4.3 miles at a 9.13 pace!  Never had I gone that far, that fast.  Ever!

Then on March 17th., the distance was 7.55 miles at a 9:47 pace.  To say that I was happy is an understatement.  That was followed this past Wednesday with a 4.45 mile run at 9:03 pace.  I was in awe!

But can I hold that pace on a longer run?  That was answered Saturday morning as I ran 10.01 miles in 1:32 at a pace of 9:12!

There are a couple of reasons why I believe this is taking place.  First, during the winter months, while I was not able to run, I hit the gym.  I worked on my core and I worked on my legs.  I also read and learned a lot about nutrition.  Which brings me to the second reason...

All the research I did on the subject made me realize that I needed to tweak my nutrition somewhat.  I've been eating healthy for a long time, but still some changes needed to be made.  In came the help of my nutrition coach, Jessica from FTP Coaching.

With her help I've been able to make some very important changes to what, and specially when, I eat in relation to my training blocks.  Don't really want to get into specific details about this on this post mostly because I'm still trying to wrap my arms around this whole thing.  All I can say is that it's made a difference!

I stay in pretty close contact with my tri coach Barry of Endurance Geeks, and so I asked him "where is this new found speed coming from?" he simply replied "strength, less frequent, more quality runs and nutrition."  He went on to tell me to "Enjoy it."

Thanks Barry, I think I will!

So what have I learned from all this?  Most, if not all limitations I had where put on myself, by myself.  I had a perception of what I could do, and it was totally different from what I could "really" do.  With a little hard work and determination, we can all break those self imposed barriers called "limitations". So what about yours?  What barriers are you working on shattering through?

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About The Off-Season

As triathletes and runners, do we have such a thing as an "off-season"?  We may look forward to less training, in volume and intensity, but can we afford to take "any" time off?

For me the answer is no. Not that I can't afford to take the time off because I sure I could, but I don't really want to sit around and do nothing.  After I finished Ironman Louisville I took what seemed to be just a few days off.  Mostly to rest my mind and refuel my spirit, to ponder and enjoy the immensity of what I had just gone through.  Yes, they were tired.

When the time came to get back to training I asked my coach to train me to run a sub 2 hour half marathon.  For those of you wondering what the big deal is... well, for me it's huge in two ways.  One, I have never trained or raced for time. It has always been to "finish" doing the very best I could.  And second I ran a 1:57:something three years ago and have not come close since.

I have three half marathons on my schedule already, but I have given up the idea of a sub 2 hr for a couple of reasons.  One... my heels are killing me. This is the first time ever I have to deal with pain, not discomfort but pure, intense pain.  Self diagnosis:  Plantar Fascitis.  I have a doctors appointment but not till mid November.  Don't they know we need things repaired, like today!  And second, running for time was stressing me out to no end.  I was not enjoying my training runs, at all.  This is not acceptable.

Another item on the off-season schedule is to plan next year's schedule.  I have started on that.

 

2012 Wish List

As you can see this schedule is not set in stone.  It has been written on a dry erase board so that it can be modified.  One thing is for sure, I plan on at least two Ironman 70.3 events.  The first one will be the Florida 70.3 Ironman on May 12th and the second is yet to be determined.

Strength Training will also be a big part of my off-season.  I did P90X last year and was extremely pleased with the results.  I have already started again, but I have added a few Insanity sets to the mix.  Just to keep it interesting.

I will train my weaknesses. I will concentrate on improving my swim.  It is still by far my weakest link. This does not mean that I will swim mega laps, for improvement in the water will only come from improved technique and this can only be achieved through drill specific sets.

During the past twelve months I learned more about Nutrition than I have during my entire life.  I am going to continue working on improving my eating habits.

And not last but definitely the most important part of my off-season will be my family.  During this year, they sacrificed a bunch to help me achieve my goal and dream.  When deciding what to do at any particular time, they will be the first choice.

So the plan for this triathlete's off-season is simple.  Family first, then whatever happens.  No structured training, no specific goals.  I will run for the fun of it, I will swim for the heck of it and I will spin/bike just because.  I will not stress.  I will not worry.  I will be happy!

What is your plan for the off season?  What will you do?

(BTW... Please click "like" on the top of the right side panel ->>> to "like" my facebook page.  Thanks!)

About A New Contributor To This Blog

I am extremely blessed to have access to this platform to document the musings of a journey that started some four years ago and has taken me through some fantastic and unbelievable places accompanied by some equally amazing family and friends.

This vehicle has also provided me with the opportunity to be a source of information and in a minuscule degree a source of inspiration to anyone who is in need of a "little push".

But I know my limits.  There are areas in which I am not versed well enough to be able to intelligently discuss.  One such area is Nutrition for the Endurance Athlete.  This area seems to be a topic that always draws plenty of discussion and interest, specially from those new(er) to the distance running or triathlon life style.

This is where my friend Corey Irwin comes in.  As a professional healthy gourmet chef, author, and running and wellness coach, Corey actively promotes total body fitness, balanced nutrition, and long range, preventive health via her nutrition/recipe and running websites.  I am lucky to be able to announce that Corey will join this blog as a contributing author.  Please watch for her upcoming posts.

Chef Corey Irwin

Corey Irwin, Runner

To learn more about Corey and her upcoming cookbook, visit her "about me" page to link to one of her websites and/or blog.

Why Should I Train With A Heart Rate Monitor?

Guest post by Coach Barry Baird of Endurance Geeks.

"One of the questions I hear time and again relate to how someone actually benefits from a VO2 test and establishing heart rate training zones. So I would like to take this opportunity to explore the question in some detail.

No doubt you’ve heard the terms “Aerobic” and “Anaerobic” thrown around in conversation. For anyone that is aspiring to peak endurance performance – or just wanting to drop a few pounds and stay in shape – these terms are ultra important. Luckily, the concepts are relatively simple:

·         The Aerobic system burns mostly fat

·         The Anaerobic system burns mostly carbohydrates

As a source of fuel, fat is certainly the most abundant; it provides hours of energy. Carbohydrates, in the form of muscle and liver glycogen, deliver energy – but it comes at a higher cost. Glycogen is consumed faster than it can be replaced.

Now, one thing to keep in mind is that the systems are not either on or off. In other words, we’re always burning some mixture of fats and carbohydrates to produce energy. That’s why energy gels, nutrition bars, and other products providing concentrated carbohydrates are used on long rides and runs – we need to keep replenishing our carbohydrates.

So the key for endurance athletes and those looking to stay fit and trim is to burn the most abundant fuel available – fat! Or, a higher percentage of fats relative to carbohydrates.

But how do we control what fuels we burn?

It’s All In The Zones

Unlocking your metabolism is as easy as strapping on a heart rate monitor and exercising within specific zones. A key heart rate indicator is Anaerobic Threshold (AT). AT indicates the point at which your body can no longer deliver oxygen to your muscles in quantities necessary to burn fat as a primary fuel source. As the stores of muscle glycogen are depleted, your energy begins to decrease – and if you’re able to continue exercising through the fatigue, eventually liver glycogen is utilized…and that’s pretty much when you either “hit the wall” or “bonk.” Not a good feeling!

There is a variety of methods for determining Anaerobic Threshold – problem is, most methods are merely averages of people in your age and weight group.

A Better Way

A more accurate way to get your Anaerobic Threshold and target heart rate zones is to measure how much oxygen your body is using as you increase the intensity of your workout. This can be accomplished through VO2 testing. Through a simple, graded exercise test, you can target Anaerobic Threshold and determine a range of zones corresponding to recovery, aerobic or endurance, tempo, and interval workouts.

Beyond the Aerobic Zone

Of course, as an athlete, you know you have to take things outside the endurance zone – Race Pace Runs, Fartleks, Track Intervals…workouts that push your body into new levels of fitness. It just comes down to knowing when and how much intensity to add. And that’s where knowing your heart rate zones can make all the difference.

Benefits of Knowing Your Zones

With all that being said, what are the advantages of VO2 testing and knowing your heart rate training zones. By far, the biggest advantage is that you get accurate answers (not from a one size fits all formula) and take the guess work out of training. Here are some more of the specifics…

• Monitor Your Intensity Level: Are your recovery days truly allowing your body to recover? Are your speed intervals truly pushing you to the next level or do it just “feel” like you are giving an adequate effort. If you know your zones, you know you are training at the right level to maximize performance.

• Prevent Over-Training: For some very competitive athletes, every workout can be a fine line between optimal training and over-training. Heart rate zone training helps to avoid unnecessary stress on your body. You can maximize the efficiency of your training, while minimizing the potential for injury.

 

• Prevent Under-Training: Usually less common, but some athletes are not tapping into their true potential and can handle more intense training. There are some potential Ironmen/Ironwomen/Boston Qualifiers out there, and they don’t even know it!

• Pacing: What intensity level should I be at for endurance workouts, tempo workouts, speed work on the track, etc.? Am I aerobic or anaerobic? Knowing your zones eliminates the guess work." 

P90X ~ Week 5 ~ YES, I'm Still Doing This!

One of the most surprising things about the P90X program is how many people doubt others' ability or resolve to stick to it.

Most everyone I talk to, besides those that know me well enough to know better and those that follow me closely on Facebook or DailyMile want to know if  "I'm still doing P90X".

I have talked to several folks that have started but did not finish.  Most find a way to stop somewhere around week two or three.  I'm not sure I understand why.

I didn't jump into this without first doing the research.  I knew exactly what kind of commitment was required, both physical and mental.  Not to mention the time; it takes a lot of time!

So, how's it going?  I'm not sure I can see much of a physical change.  I have not developed any "guns" and a "six pack" still long ways away, but this was and is not my goal. I cannot afford to put on muscle mass, for if I did, I would have to carry that with me when swimming, cycling and running.

I feel stronger, leaner, tighter.  I can do more push ups, pull ups and more reps with heavier weights.  But the biggest, most noticeable change is that I can run longer, smoother and more efficient.  This I have enjoyed!

I am having some trouble with my diet.  I have never been one to count calories, much less protein or carb grams, but I understand how important this is, so I have recruited the help of my brother to come up with easy to fix, well balanced meals.  If you have any suggestions please send them my way.  Keep in mind that I cannot eat shell fish...

Motivation Comes From the Most Unlikely Sources

A couple of weeks ago, I was discussing my IM Louisville training plans with a triathlete friend.  I mentioned to him that for the remainder of this physical year, my intention was to, in addition to maintaining my swim, bike and run base, I would work very hard on strength and core conditioning.
We both agreed that this was a great plan to have.  He disagreed with me (although he did not come out and say so), however, with my plan.
I have been researching strength and conditioning programs suited for the triathlete.  With the help of my tri coach, Endurance Geeks' Barry Baird, we came to the conclusion that if I had the motivation and dedication required, that P90X would be the route to go.

So I have made the commitment to the program.  Additionally, I have made the commitment to the nutrition plan required to make the best of the program.  I have been reading everything I can get my hands and eyes on and I have learned a lot.
As I mentioned this to my friend, his remark was one that was very surprising to me.  He said:  "I have yet to meet anyone that has stuck to the program and finished it."
I am pretty sure that my friend did not understand at that point that by making that one simple, innocent statement, he was giving the the final motivation to get this done.  Yes, motivation comes from the most unlikely sources.
So, this morning I started the program.  First on the agenda was the "Chest & Back" followed by the "Ab Ripper X".  It was hard and tough and I can only guess that it is going to get harder and tougher.  The "Ab Ripper X" was brutal.  But, motivated to continue to the end I stand.  By the end of this, my friend will no longer be able to say that he has not met "anyone" that has finished P90X.

Nutrition Is A Full Time Job

Or is it?

Amongst the many things endurance athletes have to contend with is nutrition. I say "contend with" because for me is more of a job than an adventure. I have to plan my meals and dates with my wife and kids around this carb loading thing.

There used to be a time when the question was asked: "Where (or what) would you like to eat"? and my answer would be an automatic: "Oh, it doesn't matter, you know I like, and will eat just about anything". Life was simpler back then, I left it up to my wife and daughters to pick the dinner menu or restaurant of their choice. Not so any longer.

I don't stress over what I eat, but I do watch what I eat. Miles are piling up as the date to my first marathon gets closer so I have to make sure that I have the right mix of carbs and protein with every meal.

I had been getting very tired the past few weeks. I made an appointment with my doctor just to make sure I was not getting anemic. I also wanted to make sure that the extra stress on this old body was going to be okay. They drew blood and he ordered a treadmill stress test...just to make sure.

The treadmill thing was somewhat funny... to me, not the nurse performing the test. My heart rate wouldn't go where she wanted it so after some nine minutes she cranked the incline to the max. That did it.

Reviewing the results with the doctor he couldn't help but laugh. He told me that the average time (to get the heart rate to max) for someone my age was two minutes. It had taken me 9 minutes and 45 seconds. I smiled. He also told me that the blood test was normal. So we got to talking about my training and eating habits, and then he asked: "what do you eat and when do you eat after your workouts"?

I knew I'd been had. I knew I should have been doing this all along. Recovery food is something you read and are told numerous times. But, NOOOO... attention I paid none. The simple truth of the matter is that I never had the proper nutrition within the prescribed thirty minutes post workout.

As the doctor smiled he knew right then that I knew what I had to do.

I bought a box of EAS recovery, high protein drinks. I started taking one after each and every workout. I can feel the difference.

So for now, is another bowl of pasta for me!