The 7 Fuelling Mistakes to Leave Behind in 2024 to Improve Your Performance
Are you making these fuelling mistakes that are hindering your progress? With so much nutrition information out there… it can be difficult to figure out what to do.
These are some of the top mistakes I see clients making before working with me. Once we fix them, amazing things happen! They feel more energized, perform better in their workouts, sleep better, have less cravings and much more!
Check out today’s podcast… are you making any of these mistakes?
Full transcript of the episode:
Hey everyone. Welcome back to another episode of The Fuelled Triathlete. Today, I’m talking about seven fueling mistakes that you should let go in 2024 to improve your performance as a triathlete. So working with triathletes over the years, these are some common things that I see that I think we should really let go of. So let’s get right into it.
Now the first mistake is not eating enough fruits and vegetables, or just thinking you can get those nutrients from fruits and vegetables from greens powders.
So, fruits and vegetables are a huge source of so many different nutrients that can really improve your performance, especially your recovery as an endurance athlete, not to mention all of the fiber in there as well. So when you hear fruits and vegetables, probably hear of things like antioxidants and phytochemicals, but what does this actually mean?
So intense physical activity creates free radicals and these can damage cells in the body and prolong recovery. Antioxidants can help to reduce these free radicals and reduce muscle damage and really just help you recover more quickly. And when you can recover more quickly, you can work out hard the next training session, and really that’s going to help improve your fitness levels and adapt to your training. So I think when it comes to fruits and vegetables, a couple tips I have are try to include some type of fruit or vegetable with all of your meals. And aim for color.
Try to hit a rainbow of colors throughout the week at a very minimum, try to get a dark green and an orange vegetable every day as these are really rich in nutrients. So just a couple of nutrients to highlight. So anthocyanins is a type of phytochemical and it’s found in purple dark red vegetables. So things like berries, especially blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, plums, cherries, purple cabbage. These anthocyanins have been shown to reduce inflammatory markers. You’ve probably heard a little bit about beets and it’s because of their, nitrate content.
So beets contain a natural source of nitrates. And when we eat this, this is converted to nitric oxide. So nitric oxide increases vasodilation. Basically what this means is your blood vessels expand and they relax when they’re vasodalted and when they do that, blood flow can increase through your blood vessels. So oxygen rich blood flow through your blood vessels. And this just means that nutrients can get to your muscles more quickly. So you can work at a higher intensity for longer periods of time. These are also found in dark leafy greens.
So there’s a number of different types of antioxidants and nutrients found in fruits and vegetables. And I think that when we think about nutrition, a lot of times we think about the macro nutrients.
So our carbohydrates, our protein and our fats. But we also want to think of our micronutrients , meaning the nutrients we get in smaller amounts. So vitamins and minerals, as well as these antioxidants and phytochemicals or plant chemicals.
Fruits and vegetables also contain a lots of fiber.
So fiber is really great for our gut health. And basically if you’re someone who’s trying to work on your gut health and taking probiotics or eating probiotic, rich foods, If you’re not getting enough fiber, you’re not getting enough of that, food for the good bacteria. So they need that to survive.
Whether if you’re someone who’s in that habit of kind of not eating enough fruits or vegetables, or again, trying to get all your nutrients from powders, it’s much better to get it through whole foods if you can. You’re not getting the fiber if you’re eating those greens powders
My best tip, I would say for getting enough fruits and vegetables is to use frozen fruits and vegetables. I would say most of the produce that we use, or a lot of it is frozen. And they’re just as nutritious. They don’t lose their nutrient content. I use things like frozen berries in, my oatmeal in the morning. I’ll put it into smoothies. I just add it to my yogurt bowls. And then frozen vegetables are really a time-saver with dinner and really helped me get enough vegetables at dinner because I can either microwave them or stir fry them and just cook them up really quickly. Other ways to get enough fruits and vegetables would be to prepare them at the start of the week. So chop up and wash fruits and vegetables that you can have for snacks, or, you know, it’s a little bit more expensive, but maybe you can buy them already pre-chopped like salad kids or veggie trays and things like that. So let’s try to get enough fruits and vegetables. Kind of varies in terms of how much you need, but aiming for around at least three servings of fruit per day and anywhere from maybe two and a half to three and a half cups of vegetables per day at a minimum.
Okay, so mistake number two is under fueling during long training sessions as a way to save calories or manage your weight. So I see this quite often where, getting into sessions over 75 minutes, over 90 minutes, people feeling like they don’t really need to fuel these workouts until it gets really long until it gets to three hours, even. So while yes, you may be able to get through that workout.
Are you going to feel your best? Maybe not. Are you going to perform the way that you want to? Maybe not. And the reason also to fuel these longer training sessions as opposed to save calories is because you’re going to recover more quickly. So the fuel that we use during training is coming from our muscle glycogen stores, as well as our blood sugar. So, if you can fuel during these training sessions, you’re using less of your muscle glycogen stores and you’re kind of starting that recovery process earlier. If you’re doing a long training session and you feeling like you can just get through your workouts, imagine if you fueled that, how better you’d feel.
You’d probably maybe be able to feel stronger, hit better paces, have a better workout overall, which is better for your fitness levels and your weight management goals as well. When it comes to weight management the fuel before, during and after training is not the time to be cutting those calories. Fuel your workouts so that you have a good workout, you feel good, you recover well and you know, work on maybe the nutrition outside of that training session, but this is not the time to compromise that. As well, if you’re someone who is training for a long distance endurance event then starting to fuel these longer training sessions is a good way to train your gut and figure out the type of fueling strategy that you want to have on race day. We burn a lot of calories and energy during long training sessions. So start to replace some of that back by fueling your workouts. Now there’s general recommendations in terms of how much carbs we should be fueling. I typically recommend over 75 minutes up to about two hours, then have at least 30 grams of carbohydrates per hour. Two to three hours 60 grams of carbs. And then over three hours, 60 to 90 grams plus. So kind of depends in terms of the type of session you’re doing, what your goals are.
We’ll definitely be doing some more podcasts in the new year about fueling these long workouts and fueling your races as we get closer to that and out of the off season.
Okay. So the next mistake I see is skipping or delaying recovery, nutrition. This just relays your whole recovery process. And so it kind of can impact how well you adapt to your training. It can impact your muscle protein synthesis. So if you’re looking to rebuild your muscles or build your muscle stronger than you delaying that recovery nutrition by hours and hours is not going to be beneficial to your performance.
I’ve done a podcast I think it’s episode number two, all about recovery nutrition. I like to recommend, try to get something into you as soon as you can after your workout. Make sure that you have some protein and carbohydrates.
Now, I think there’s many reasons for delaying recovery nutrition. Sometimes it’s intentional, but sometimes it’s not, it’s kind of, we don’t really maybe realize we’re doing it. So I know for some clients I work with they’re not just feeling hungry. They’re not feeling ready to eat. It can be just because you’re not home in time. You know, we do a training runs or training rides with people we’re driving out to meet them, it can be a while after, after we actually kind of have our chat or stretch and then drive home. That that nutrition can be delayed. So bringing something with you, like a bar that has some carbs and some protein or a protein drink, just some type of snack to at least get that recovery nutrition started until you have your meal later. I also find that, if you’re skipping that recovery nutrition maybe to save calories. It’s going to backfire because you end up feeling more hungry later on and actually have increased cravings.
I also find that when I work with clients who tend to skip their recovery nutrition after these hard workouts or long workouts they’re so tired the rest of the day. And once they actually start prioritizing that recovery nutrition, getting some carbs and protein after their workouts, they feel so much better. They have more energy. They’re less sore. So listen to episode number two, if you want to learn some more details about what, when and how much to eat after. Along those same lines, just to kind of add an aside on recovery nutrition is not thinking about recovery nutrition for your races.
So I know that a lot of us can put a lot of thought and energy and thinking into eating the days leading up to the race before the race and then during, and then it comes to recovery nutrition, and you just totally forget about that. Sometimes there’s not a lot of options that you feel you want to eat after race. Appetite can be really down or you’re just craving certain types of things, but try to get some protein after your races. Maybe it’s a protein drink, maybe it’s a protein bar or something that you can tolerate, but try not to delay that nutrition after race for too long and take that recovery nutrition into consideration into your planning as. As well.
So another mistake that I see is eating salad for lunch. So you’re probably thinking what I just told you to eat more fruits and vegetables. But when I say eating a salad for lunch, I mean, like that’s pretty much it. You’re just eating vegetables, maybe a little bit of protein, low fat dressing, and no carbs. As a triathlete, this is not a well balanced meal. You’re going to feel hangry later. You’re not gonna have the right energy for your workouts. A well-balanced meal for a triathlete is going to include some fruits and vegetables, carbohydrates, protein, and fats.
We need all of those together to help us feel satisfied and feel nourished. And if you think about your lunch meal, if you’re in a morning exerciser ,lunch meals, kind of helping partly recover from that workout, or if you’re someone who works out after work then, then your lunch is kind of your main meal that’s fueling that workout.
So you want to have that good balance of all of those nutrients. You want to include carbohydrates from some whole grains like rice, pasta, bread, wraps, potatoes, sweet potatoes. You want to include some protein, chicken tofu beans, fish, meat, tuna, lots of different options there, as well as some fruits and vegetables. And don’t forget those healthy fats.
So if you’d like to have a salad, for example, I like to have salads at my lunch, but I start with a base of some spinach, a couple of different types of veggies. I add on either some cooked quinoa, some cooked rice, you know, depending on the day it could be some cubed sweet potatoes or regular potatoes. Always have a good amount of protein. So for you, your protein needs can really vary, but you may need anywhere from 25 to 40 grams of protein. So make sure you get that and then add in some healthy fats. It can be easy to compare yourself to other people if you eat with colleagues and maybe they’re more sedentary, it may seem like you’re eating more fuel than them. You really don’t know what their needs are, how active they are, what they’re eating at other times of the day.
So really focus on your own plate and fueling your body the way that you need to and make sure that at your meals, you have a balance of all of the food groups.
The next mistake I see is going into your race without a nutrition plan that specifically for you, and that you’ve practiced in training. So it’s easy to Google half iron man or full iron man or marathon nutrition plans. But really you’re going to see your best performance if you can get something custom made for you, whether something you’re trialing out and researching, or you’re working with a dietician to figure that out for you. Because there’s a couple of components of your race nutrition.
So first we’re going to look at hydration, how much fluids do you need? Your training partner or someone online may need different amount of fluids because there’s so many factors that come into play. For example, what’s your own sweat rate. What’s going to be the climate or the temperature of the race that you’re doing.
So, figuring out your own sweat rate and putting together a hydration plan that’s going to prevent you become from being coming dehydrated is going to vary. Along with fluid is actually the sodium. So sodium content is going to vary as well based on your own genetics. So again, following how much sodium someone is taking may be more or less than what you need. And then carbohydrates. So you can look at carbohydrate guidelines and figure that out. But you want to look at where are those carbohydrates coming from? Do you want to do real foods? Some people like to do food on the bike, or do you want to do supplements?
Do you want to do all liquids? All gels. There’s so many different ways of doing it. So the main part is that I want you to know that everybody is unique. People have different needs. Don’t follow something that worked for another person. Make sure it’s something that is tailored to your own needs and something that you can practice before race day. When it’s been practiced it really helps with that competence on race day as well. Not only that performance piece. So if this is something that you are looking for help with next year, this is something I help my clients with. I’ve done this for people with half ironmans, full ironmans, marathons, ultramarathons and again, every plan is unique. No one has been alike. And I teach my clients how to figure out their own sweat , how to figure out sodium sweat, concentration. And we put together a plan for how many carbs we need and how we’re going to get that. So, if you have any questions about that send me a message or follow me on Instagram send me a message there.
Another thing we want to avoid is just blindly following the latest fad diets or trends that are out there. As triathletes we have unique nutrition needs. So we’re not the same as someone just working out at the gym or someone who is sedentary. We want to take into consideration that we have a lot of fuel needs. Especially carbohydrates.
So a lot of fad diets do tend to have you eliminating carbohydrates or avoiding all sugar. But as we know, carbohydrates have such an important role in your fuel and avoiding sugar really is, there are times as a triathlete when we do need to have some sugar or refined carbohydrates to fuel our training, or maybe just before training as these are more tolerable on the gut, those refined carbohydrates, meaning kind of the lower fiber ones.
We want to make sure we’re fueling our body properly so that we’re not getting into a situation of low energy availability where we’re not consuming enough energy. A lot of fad diets can be very restrictive in that sense, and it can lead to some performance and health consequences. As well as triathletes we do need carbohydrates for fuel. That can be in the form of, whole healthy high fiber carb sources. But at the same time, there is a time and place for needing more refined carbohydrates or sugar.
And these are kind of two food groups that tend to be vilified a lot. So keep in mind to that you, as a triathlete are unique and really consider that before looking to fad diets and know that a lot of fat diets are just that they’re not things that are going to kind of stick. What I teach and when I work with my clients is finding a balanced way of eating that meets your nutrition needs that feels good, that you can sustain. Because a lot of fad diets are just are not that they’re not sustainable.
And lastly, the last mistake I want you to try to avoid for 2024 is buying all of the latest supplements without first making sure your daily nutrition needs are met. So I like to think of performance nutrition in a pyramid. At the base of the nutrition pyramid is our day to day nutrition. Are we getting enough calories? Are we getting the right amounts of carbs, protein and fats? And are we meeting our micronutrient needs, our vitamins and minerals? You got to take care of that before you move up the pyramid. Adding kind of supplements is not going to necessarily fix a poor, unbalanced diet. And the middle of the pyramid. Once we kind of get our base ready, then we can start looking into adding layers of sports nutrition. So adding in pre and post-workout strategies, adding and fueling during our training. So doing that is going to help fuel those workouts, help us recover.
And then once we got that, then we can add those things on top. So things that might have a performance benefit, like, creatine or caffeine, beta alanine. So supplements are just that they’re there to kind of add to your diet. Along the same lines or just taking any micronutrient or multivitamin supplements before you get a look at your diet, what are you actually missing out on?
We don’t want to just start taking iron supplements if we don’t know that our iron’s low.
So there certainly is a time and place for certain types of supplements. But I would say try to make sure that your day to day nutrition needs are met, you’re paying attention to your pre and post-workout, your during training or hydration.
Then if you want to kind of add some extra things to improve your performance then that would be the time to look at that and consider if you want to spend your money on those type of things.
Okay. So that’s that. These are common mistakes I see triathletes making and I want you to hopefully let go of these in 2024 if you really want to improve your performance as a triathlete, and really have a great race season.
So, thank you so much for listening today. If you are someone who makes a mistake of not fueling well before and after your workouts, then head to the show notes and you will find my pre and post-workout nutrition guide.
It gives you so many examples of foods to eat before training, as well as after training. And also tons of recipes for recovery nutrition, breakfast, lunch, dinners, and snacks. Always, I really appreciate you listening.
And if you could do me a big favor and just help me continue to grow the podcast and help more people find the show, then please leave a rating and review, have a great week. And we’ll see you next week!