the endurance diet
been working on figuring out what exactly are the targets we should be hitting.
PROTEIN, 12-20%.CARBOHYDRATES, 50-60%: Ninety 90% of the carbohydrates are from complex whole food produce while less than -10% of the carbohydrates as processed simple sugar. Fiber intake ratio is minimally 30 grams soluble fiber to 10 grams insoluble fiber.
FATS, 15%: Fat intake is recommended at no more than 5% saturated fats to 10% poly-mono unsaturated fats, translating to the ratio to 1 saturated "bad" fat for every 3 "good" mono-polyunsaturated fats.
there's 5% missing in there. any ideas?
a couple of issues to weigh (no pun intended):
protein intake
the "endurance diet" specifies 12-20% calories from protein. another source specifies 1.2g/kg body weight for days of excercise lasting 1-1.5 hrs, 1.4g/kg for days with exercise lasting 2-4 hrs, 1.7g/kg for 4+ hrs (actually, they said 5 or more, leaving us to only guess at what to do for 4-5 hrs) and finally, 2.0g/kg for strength or short distance speed. too much protein is certainly a problem, so i expect that a person needs to consider their protein needs in those absolute terms, but keep in mind their daily totals and how it fits in. for me, at 170 lbs, i need a mere 92-109 grams as i rode only 2 hrs. for a total calorie count, i'd be 1840-3066 to keep my protein calories 12-20% (at 92g) or 2180-3633, so this seems reasonable.
carbohydrate
first thing: calories from carbohydrate should only count net carbs right? that is, fiber doesn't contribute calories. i haven't seen anything to indicate otherwise. i almost never eat anything that isn't whole grain. its really the only way to go. for baking, consider whole wheat pastry flour. i find it in bulk at our local co-op and whole foods. i use that in cookies and pancakes and nobody has ever been the wiser.
fat
man, the stuff is everywhere! i've seen recomendations for persons of my activity level to consume as much as 30% calories from fat. i don't know. i haven't traditionally been to afraid of fat, but i also have a higher body fat than most competitive cyclists. try to get mostly unsaturated fats from plants and nuts. choose non-fat dairy products and supplement with nut fats. look for omega fatty acids as well. i like flax meal. fish is the best.
chew your food.
Comments
Yes, CHEW YOUR FOOD! Thanks for the tofu tribute. Another idea for tofu: it comes in a soft variation. I've bought it at Whole Foods but it may be available in other stores. It comes in a box and I think I found it in the Asian food section. It is very good incorporated in blended health drinks.Used with non-fat milk, fruit, wheat germ, flax powder or whatever one chooses, the drink is creamy & tasty. Mom
Posted by: Anonymous | March 2, 2006 11:53 AM