|
Athletic Diet
17/f. I'm not the best athlete, but I run as much as I have time for (between 5-10 miles per week). I ran a 5k this year and want to improve overall for next year.
I've heard that athletes shouldn't eat much red meat. That's not hard for me- but the problem is that I want to get all the nutrients I need (like iron) while still eating the protein and carbs that I need. I tend to gravitate to fruit and grains (oatmeal, bread, bagels, pasta, etc) most of the time. That's definitely not a balanced diet.
So, here's the question... what can I eat (other than bread and fruit) that will be healthy and give me energy? Can I eat red meat, chicken, turkey, or ham? And finally... I'm not completely opposed to going vegetarian if that would be absolutely best for my workout... so if that is my only option, does anyone have any tips/thoughts on that?
[ ]
Want to answer more questions in the Health & Fitness category?
Maybe give some free advice about: Nutrition?
Hey there,
Eating a balanced diet that is suitable for sports performance is not as hard as you may think. They key is to vary your diet, to stick to wholesome unprocessed foods, to limit your intake of empty calories, and to limit your intake of saturated fats (fats found in animal products).
So, while it follows that you can become a vegetarian (something I would always encourage for ethical reasons), it does in no way mean that you need to become one.
Good protein sources include: Chicken, turkey, lean beef, fish (particularly tuna), eggs (in moderation), egg whites (as many as you want), low fat cottage cheese, skim milk, protein powders, etc.
Good carb sources include: Oats, basmati rice, whole wheat bread, whole wheat pasta, fruit, grains, etc.
Good fat sources include: Oily fish, nuts, seeds, olive oil, canola, flax oil/ seeds, olives, etc. (of these good sources of omega 3- which must be consumed daily- include oily fish, flax, walnuts... or of course one can get it through fish oil or omega 3 capsules).
On top of this vegetables are an essential source of vitamins, minerals, and fibre. They should be consumed daily.
It actually sounds as though your diet is fairly decent. Of the things you mentioned I would aim to exclude bagels and ham. With the rest its just a question of the right proportions. You can do this by feel, or you can try to use a formula if you want.
One example of this is ISSA's 1-2-3 rule. With this formula 1 part of your calories comes from fats, 2 from protein, and 3 from carbs (there are 9 cals to each g of fat and 4 cals to each gram of carb/ protein). So for a hypothetical 2000 calorie diet the distribution would be 37g fat, 167g protein, and 250g of carbs.
On top of this I would also recommend that you take a multi vitamin pill every morning.
Good luck.
]
More Questions: |