Need some meal ideas for training

Fingz999

looking at upping my game on the fitness side i ride at least once a week for a few hours at the moment and its great but i have weekends away etc coming up so i want to be able to tackle climbs etc better so im going to be out on my bike alot more a week, but while making this change i want to up my game completely so im at a much higher fitness rate i want to change my diet while i can so if someone turned around to me in a years time and said theres a marathon on in a few months fancy it i know that i will be able to do it.

so im after some meal ideas from you guys i know chicken and pasta etc are good but what do you eat on a daily basis

breakfast?
lunch at work? (normally id have a sandwich but what type or is there something else?)
dinner?
any snacks?

i have a blender so il be looking at smoothies soon to but i know theres some ideas for that on here already

thanks in advance.

pilch

Just eat healthily, cut the processed food out as much as possible, eat lots of fresh veg, lean meat & fish, fruits, nuts & seeds, you don't need to go mad at this stage, just cut out most of the crap stuff and increase your exercise periods.

Pasta is always a good bet for energy, but don't OD on it or you will just stick the weight on!

Porridge for breakfast!

1mancity2

Try to avoid fat which is pretty odvious, as pilch says try to eat health but don't over do it, oh and drink beetroot juice (secret weapon that)

njee20

Try to avoid fat which is pretty odvious,

Depends who you talk to... avoiding sugar is generally reckoned to be a better idea!

Are you trying to lose weight, or just have enough energy?

Fingz999

Just going for energy really

TheEnglishman

I'm eating a lot of chicken and salmon meals at the moment. There's a million ways to make a chicken breast interesting (without the skin!) and then it's something like couscous/cracked wheat/veg risotto.

Again there's a million ways to make an onion, carrot, stick celery, leek ( think that's called a sofritto?) go with a can of plum tomato. Fry the veg gently for 10 mins, add the toms, gently simmer (i put it in the slow cooker while I'm out on a ride) and you have a really good base sauce. Then add the sauce to pasta, new pots, jacket spuds.

Meat wise just grill a salmon fillet, chicken fillet or meat of your choice (a well hung rump steak can be fantastic!)

Or get Jamie Olivers 30 minute meals - loads of ideas and if you take out all the 'frilly' bits they're dead easy. Nigel Slater's another one who does really good quick recipe books.

Or just the supermarket recipe cards when you walk in the door - pick one you like the sound of, buy all the ingredients and mix and match stuff as you get better

adm1

For lunch at work - if you have a microwave available - Innocent make some great "daal pots". Vegetarian meals in a pot that taste great (and I'm not a veggie) based around pulses and good healthy stuff. Strange, but recommended. Take 2 minutes in the nuke oven.

And in general, remove sugar from your diet and cut out as much "white" or processed food as you can bear. Replace with "brown" versions of the same thing.

djfleming22

I like porridge or special k in the morning for breakfast or have it after a long ride beats taking something really heavy..... i like a banana or apple midday....also try eating a salad with chicken or tuna and mixed with pasta plenty of carbs also during the week a like mackerel and pasta as well .... Mrs hates the smell of mackerel but its really good for you.... i do take a protein drink after a ride, people have mixed thoughts about if its helps you or not but i think it does so that's why i have carbs only and no protein foods after a ride as i take them through the drink.

Just try different things and see how your stomach and system reacts and you feel but as most people have said try staying away from processed foods and that's a big start.

t.m.h.n.e.t

djfleming22 wrote:

I like porridge or special k in the morning for breakfast or have it after a long ride beats taking something really heavy..... i like a banana or apple midday....also try eating a salad with chicken or tuna and mixed with pasta plenty of carbs also during the week a like mackerel and pasta as well .... Mrs hates the smell of mackerel but its really good for you.... i do take a protein drink after a ride, people have mixed thoughts about if its helps you or not but i think it does so that's why i have carbs only and no protein foods after a ride as i take them through the drink.

Just try different things and see how your stomach and system reacts and you feel but as most people have said try staying away from processed foods and that's a big start.

The carbs and protein together would be better really. As the carbs are sucked back into muscle tissue to refil your glycogen stores,they take the protein with it.

DCR00

T.M.H.N.E.T wrote:

djfleming22 wrote:

I like porridge or special k in the morning for breakfast or have it after a long ride beats taking something really heavy..... i like a banana or apple midday....also try eating a salad with chicken or tuna and mixed with pasta plenty of carbs also during the week a like mackerel and pasta as well .... Mrs hates the smell of mackerel but its really good for you.... i do take a protein drink after a ride, people have mixed thoughts about if its helps you or not but i think it does so that's why i have carbs only and no protein foods after a ride as i take them through the drink.

Just try different things and see how your stomach and system reacts and you feel but as most people have said try staying away from processed foods and that's a big start.

The carbs and protein together would be better really. As the carbs are sucked back into muscle tissue to refil your glycogen stores,they take the protein with it.

this

have a look on Wikipedia at the articles on Glycogen and Insulin

solid explanation of what you body does with food and its relation to exercise

As for the food element, balance is important

There is nothing wrong with fat, in fact it’s essential, even saturated fat, but obviously in moderation

As said before, avoid refined/added sugar, and anything that’s been pre-made, and a lot of caffeine

I tend to alter my intake depending on my level of activity. For example, today is a rest day for me, so normal breakfast (Weetabix and 2x toast), banana mid morning, chicken salad for lunch and something for tea (not sure yet). On training days (either running and/or weight work) I would take on more cals mid-morning and in the afternoon, usually about an hour before training. Plus I would be having a recovery shake after training (both running and lifting).

I tend to use MRP (meal replacement powder) to increase cals, especially in the AM as I find it hard to chomp down on chicken before lunch. Plus im out on the road a lot, so they are an easy way to get a balanced meal.

Plenty of water as well

jakjtb

i try to keep my carbs down and my protein up but im in a fat burning stage at the moment.

breakfast is usualy wheatabix or porridge
dinner is eggs of some description except fried and lean bacon with a bit of toast, brown only
tea is whatever mother dearest has made from her slimming world stuff but a smaller portion.

then off to the gym

Girya

Breakfast -eggs and salad
Lunch - sardines, mackerel salad
Dinner - meat, veg, salad, berries, colourful food, sweet potatoes, squash. Very rare I have anything grain, rice or potato

Add in a few protein shakes, heavy training session throw in a creatine/carb glycogen recovery drink.

Post 'long' ride, home made protein mix; milk, chia seed, 2x raw egg yolk, almond butter, vanilla extract, cinnamon

.blitz

Simply follow a low GI diet there are loads on the Internet and use a good source of protein to recover after a ride.

Caffeine also helps you will need 5mg or so per kg of bodyweight which is a lot e.g. a couple of expressos 40 mins or so before you ride

Girya

The eat fat get fat theory is bogus
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8WA5wcaHp4

Two of the greatest lobby groups, agriculture and pharmaceuticals, sell you grain, and sell statins (the biggest money they have)

andhr

Breakfast - porridge or oat-containing cereal; also worth having fresh citrus fruit (grapefruit or oranges) to boost vitamin c and add small amount of carbs to start the day.

Snack - snack on nuts (pref not salted), or good quality protein (protein shake?), minimise simple sugars as found in chocolates/sweets/biscuits

Lunch at work - if there's a microwave and a small freezer anywhere, consider getting some of those frozen fresh veg single steamer bags and cooked chicken breast (ideally with some marinade to make it taste reasonable). The two together get 2 of your 5 a day and a big lump of lean protein, plus a bunch of vitamins.

Dinner - if you're riding the following day have this later (7pm ish) and have plenty complex carbs - potatoes (not chips), pasta, bread, meat; red meat is higher in fat but good if you're riding or training the following day, as it will be used and not stored. If you're not riding the following day, reduce carbs - smaller amounts or none, and increase green and orange veg.

A lot depends on your weight at the moment, and if that factors into your fitness; if you're wanting to trim a bit then replace red meat with white meat (turkey/chicken) or non-oily fish, as it's leaner.

This was a whole bunch of advice I got from a nutritionalist friend, and it seems to work...

bwtmc

Just try to eat healthy most the time, an easy way to do that is just keep eating what you are already (...providing its not total crap) just change it slightly, so rather than pasta... whole grain pasta, white bread... fuck that off for a nice seeded loaf... get the idea??

Other than that try to think in the mind set of a cave man, if it doesn't come out of the ground, off a tree/plant.... or from an animal, then try steer clear... as much as you can.

protein is your freind... you pretty much cant eat enough.

If you need abit more advice you can pm me, i could suggest a few recipe ideas. Other than that it might be worth getting yourself a few months worth of mens health there is lots of useful info in there, and some good meal ideas.

Sorry if this reply was abit rushed.... im in a rush :P

Jak