In our previous piece, Deceuninck – Quick-Step nutritionist Marije Jongedijk gave us advice on the right things to eat during lockdown, when we may not be able to train as much as we would like.
Now that we all know that we have to eat enough vegetables, fruit and whole grains to have a healthy basic diet, how do we stick to our diets during the stressful times like we currently face? Here, Marije has given us some more advice on looking after our nutrition.
- What is your goal?
It is important that you establish a goal for yourself. Do you want to gain muscle? Do you want to lose fat mass or is your goal just to live healthier? Set a goal for yourself and write it down. Make it SMART (smart = specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and timed)! And keep in mind that you don’t have to be perfect! Just being better than you were yesterday and one step closer to your goal is already great.
- What can influence your goal?
As well your food intake, have a look what else will influence your nutrition. Do you get more hungry when you train? Does your mental health, such as boredom or frustration influence your intake? Think about how this affects your diet and try to spot a pattern that might help you to manage the situation. For example, if you eat or drink alcohol at a certain time of day, is it because you are bored? What can you do to occupy yourself at that time?
- Make a checklist
Think about which parts of your nutrition you want to improve, to give yourself a focus. For example, is it to eat more fruit and veg, to lose weight, or to improve performance? Make yourself a list with work-points, you can use the following checklist:
o Is my basic diet sufficient? Is their enough variation? Do I take enough vegetables & fruit? Do I limit the intake of red meet & soda drinks?
o Do I use the 80/20 rule? In order to be healthy and balanced, you don’t always have to make 100% healthy food choices. 80% is enough!
o Is my carbohydrate intake adapted to my physical activity of the day? Or do I eat quite the same quantities every day?
o Do I mainly choose whole grains such as brown rice, whole wheat bread, quinoa? Do I limit taking fast sugars such as white pasta, sugared drinks and jam on the intensive training days/competition days and around the time of exercise?
o Do I consume protein at least four times a day to boost the recovery and building of my muscles? (One portion of protein should be around 0,4 g protein/kg BW or 20-25 g).
o Do I pay enough attention to hydration and exercise?
– E.g. What is my average sweat rate in certain circumstances and how much should I drink to manage that?
o Do I take the right sport nutrition such as 6D isotonic sports drinks, recovery shakes and sports snacks when required? Especially when the duration of the exercise is > 1.5 hour and very intensive! Do I drink at least 1.5 litres of water a day?
o Am I taking the right supplements to help reach my goal? Are they safe and scientifically grounded?
- Do I need an expert? You don’t need a coach for everything and there are of course things that you can manage perfectly yourself. But do you feel like you need an extra motivation, or maybe your knowledge isn’t enough and the eye of an expert would help? Look to speak to an expert of source the information you need to fill those gaps.
What is you biggest motivation to reach your goal? Keep that in mind every day!
Photo credit: ©Sigfrid Eggers
