I Forgot to Eat

I am not doing so well with the “fourth” leg of the triathlon – nutrition.

I knew the whole “eat during a race thing” was going to an issue. Haven’t even started to address that yet.

What I didn’t realize, until a few weeks ago, is that incorporating healthy habits during training would be a challenge.

Before I go any further, please know, I do not lack for overall caloric consumption. I am a social eater – and, especially recently, allow myself to enjoy the whole food experience with friends and family. So, I splurge, probably more than I should, at parties or evenings out. I’ve lost my holiday pooch – but the pounds are not melting off my body. There is no reason to worry.

On a regular, nothing special planned type of day, I’ll sometimes forget to eat. This is a habit developed from years and years of struggling to keep my weight down by focusing on non-food related activities. With training dominating more of my time – fitting in meals or snacks is further pushed to the wayside. I’ll forget my resolution to grab a piece of fruit on my way out the door to work. On weekends, I’ll submerge myself in house chores – and discover it is 2:00 pm and nothing besides water, Gatorade and a Starbucks latte has crossed my lips – even after a two hour bike/run workout.

Take a recent Monday, when I woke up early for a Guppy lesson, proud that I grabbed a bag of sports jelly beans to munch on during the drive to the pool, swam for an hour, headed off to work, ate a sandwich and a fruit cup for lunch, went to a two hour weight and bike workout with just a Gatorade in my stomach – and arrived home around 8:30, not feeling terribly hungry, nor tempted by anything in our rather scantily clad refrigerator. But about three hours later, my belly finally reminded me, with big hearty growls, that it was empty. I didn’t want to eat. I’d tried eating after a late workout – and that kept me up, too – in a much more uncomfortable way – between the adrenalin still pumping through my body and the food working its way through my digestive track.

So I need to figure out – and, more importantly, carry through – a meal plan that provides enough sustenance for training, but that works with my busy schedule - as well as my reluctance to eat too close to a workout. To realize it is just as important to plan for small, healthy snacks throughout the day as it is to plan my weekly training. To take the time to pack my lunch bag as well as my gym bag. And to incorporate greater consistency, with more food on a regular day and less binging during social outings.