General Diet Plan

I’m not going to pretend that I need to watch my figure. I’m 6ft tall and weigh in at 150lb’s at the moment. My BMI is 20 and I generally eat whatever I want and I very rarely fluctuate or put weight on.

This used to bother me back when I was weight lifting a few years back. I used to get demoralised that I could not sustain a larger weight which seemed to make developing muscle mass more difficult. Now I’m cycling it really does work in my favour. Especially on the hills.

Unfortunately, this often turns into ‘eating anything I want’. Cake, chocolate, pork pies, fast food... you name it, I eat it. The trouble comes when your body doesn't get enough nutrients to repair and build muscle. Your immune system drops and before you know it, your ill... or at very least, feel lethargic and lazy.

During the winter it didn’t really bother me. I was only clocking up long steady miles and the risk of becoming ill was quite low as I wasn’t really pushing my body to the limit.

Now I am in the pre-race season of intervals; which will be closely followed by racing, my body is kept right on the limit. I need to ensure that my body is looked after correctly. Diet and Nutrition is going to be essential to achieving the right amount of training. I am also slightly heavier than I want to be by about 7/8lb so I also need to reduce my weight over the next few weeks. My normal routine for shedding weight is cutting carbs out. Less energy causes your body to burn fat. You need to be careful though. You need energy to train and recover.

My general diet/routine is going to consist of the following:

Breakfast:

Porridge or Muesli. High in carbs, fibre and some dried fruit (sugar) this sets me up well in the morning. This usually means I can last until lunch until I eat again.

Lunch:

Egg noodles, tomato salsa, avocado, tuna in sunflower oil and egg. Small amount of carbs, lots of natural fats and lots of protein. Perfect to provide energy and aid recovery. Tastes bloody lovely and is easy to prepare each day as well. The salsa is made at the beginning of the week and the noodles take 4 mins to cook. I also take in some oranges.

Afternoon snack:

This will usually consist of a homemade flapjack.  No refined sugar. Made purely of oil and banana with some dried fruit. I often treat myself with some jam in the middle... (recipe to follow) I eat this just before I leave work. By the time I get home, I have enough energy inside to perform the necessary interval session when I get home.

Dinner:

This varies massively as LouLou is on the Slimming World diet a like variety. I get to have fat free high protein meals so this works massively in my favour. I would prefer a greater level of fat but this can be added with a drizzle of olive oil if needed. The main thing is the protein. Following a tough session on the turbo a good protein rich meal sets me up for a good recovery during the evening/night. I tend to cut all carbs from this meal if I can. No carbs after lunch means your body has no excess left in your body during the night. No excess energy means no fat storage.

Pudding:

I’m not really a pudding type of guy. I often have a little treat in the form of an ice cream to get my chocolate hit. If I’m feeling particularly strict, I will have full fat yogurt with some fresh fruit. I’m not going to pretend this happens very often... I should enforce this more really.

Additional protein:

I will consume a protein shake every morning when I arrive at work, after every training session and during any recover/foam rolling session to aid muscle repair/development. I use DiscountSuppliments.co.uk’s own brand of protein (Optimum Health) as it is one of the cheapest per serving on the market and tastes great.

I’m not going to pretend this will work for everyone; this is just what I do. I know LouLou has to have a different lunch every day or she gets bored. I ate tuna sandwiches every day for 20 years when I was at school. Also you need to work around your lifestyle and time everything correctly.

If your looking to lose weight or keep your weight stable I would highly recommend not eating carbs after 1pm. Also doing morning exercise without breakfast can kick start fat burning. Just remember to consume carbs and protein as soon as you finish as this will prevent your body from breaking down muscle mass as a source of energy.

You should be consuming protein as often as possible. Breakfast, lunch and dinner should be high in protein and following any exercise it is also essential. If you can’t eat due to work/time/money, protein shakes are a great supplement. I would highly recommend Discount Supplement’s own brand of ‘Optimum Health’ protein if you are on a budget. If you have a bit more cash to splash, Protein Works do some awesome flavours... Bannoffie Pie, Cherry Bakewell etc