Carbs. Lots and lots of carbs.
When I tell people this they look at me like I've grown a third eye. Evidently there's a theory that carbs make you fat. I call bullshit. Eating more calories than you require on a regular basis will cause you to gain weight. Eating fewer calories than you require on a regular basis will cause you to lose weight. To my knowledge there is no scientific evidence that proves otherwise. You can lose weight on nothing but candy bars if you eat few enough of them. You could theoretically gain weight on nothing but broccoli, but you'd have to eat about 20 pounds a day. You can lose or gain weight using any combination of fat, carbs and protein.
Of course I'm not terribly interested in weight loss. I weigh roughly 160 pounds which is just within the recommended BMI for a woman my height. I guess I could strive to weigh less, but I don't notice the 5 or 10 pounds worth of difference on skates nearly as much as I did when I was running or swimming. The last time I mentioned weight loss to my physical therapist she looked at me and said, "yeah, you'd have to lose a lot of muscle if you really wanted to lose a lot of weight." Screw that. In her Sports Nutrition Guidebook, Nancy Clark doesn't recommend that you try and weigh less than you did when you were 18. In that regard, I'm dead on. I suppose I would feel differently if I had been very overweight as a teenager, but I wasn't.
So as far as food is concerned, I want to know which foods I can use to fill, but not exceed my caloric needs for the day while giving me good nutrition and lots of energy. I want it to be relatively cheap and easy enough to be able to commit to it day after day, year after year. I don't want to go crazy counting calories or calculating percentages of calories from fat/protein/carbs. I want to eat mac and cheese and beer every now and again without feeling guilty. I'm fortunate enough not to suffer from food allergies or sensitivities. That brings us back to the carbs...
Carbs are cheap and so am I. Potatoes, whole wheat pasta, homemade polenta, quinoa in bulk, whole wheat bread, brown rice in bulk, dry beans, popcorn. Back when I was a starving artist and marathon training, I fed myself on $35 a week and I did it with carbs. People are constantly complaining that eating well is expensive but I haven't necessarily found that to be true. Produce is a little more expensive, so buy what's local and in season, and prepared food is comparatively very expensive, but whole high carb foods cost very little.
Carbs are easy to prepare. Here are some meal ideas for days when you have fifteen minutes or less to prepare them:
1. Microwave a potato. Douse it in salsa and some canned or pre-prepared beans. Add a little olive oil to make it stick to your ribs.
2. Cut up a meatless sausage and fry it in a nonstick pan with polenta and spinach. No oil necessary, but if you're extra hungry you can add a little.
3. Make oatmeal with milk in the microwave. Add fruit to make it palatable (I hate oatmeal, but my body loves it an hour before hard workouts) Actually cereal is a great easy meal or snack for any time of day
4. Pasta + canned diced tomatoes + garlic sauteed in olive oil + a fried egg
5. Beans and cornbread
You can add fruit, veggies, milk or yogurt to any of the above for a fairly high carb nutritious inexpensive meal.
How Many Carbs are Enough?
I try to aim for a runner's diet of between 55% and 60% of my calories from carbs. Yes, that's a lot, but it's not more than a lot of nutritionists recommend for young healthy active people. I'm 27. I skate 10 hours a week or more and I try to cross train up to an additional 8 hours a week (although it's been about a month since I was managing that much). I sometimes exercise 4 hours in one day. That's a lot too. In the past I've tried low carb and I FEEL LIKE I'M GOING TO DIE. I get winded going up stairs, my muscles ache constantly and I turn into a total bitch. It's a bad scene. I think my body just needs more easy to burn energy than a low carb diet can provide. On the other hand, I have a friend who is an Ironman triathlete who eats on paleo (which I believe is lowish on carbs) and loves it. You should find what works for you.
Now, I said earlier that I didn't want to calculate the percentage of calories in my diet that come from carbs/fat/protein. I don't. I let other people do it for me. It's called the food pyramid. If it's been awhile since you looked at the food pyramid you might check it out. They've changed it a little since we were kids, but not much. There are still a lot of grains. If you calculate out their recommendations, it works out to about 55% carbs. Perfect.
I Hate Guilt.
Since the way I eat is pretty loosely defined it gives me the freedom not to beat myself up if I slip and eat something unhealthy. I prefer to think that eating poorly has enough in the way of natural consequences that I don't need to torture myself mentally too.
X-Training:
No Skating today - practice was canceled due to impending doom (aka record snowfall)
 |
| Yup. That's Seattle in snow. It's a fucking disaster. |
15 minutes core
15 minutes balance board
2 X 30 pushups
<originally posted on 1.17.12>
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