Balanced healthy meals, we are all told to have them but what exactly does this look like? Some say plates full of colour, some say half vegetables, ¼ meat, ¼ starchy carbs, big plate small plate, avoid dairy, avoid gluten, don’t eat carbs after 6pm…. The list goes on. Truth it eating well should not and does not need to be complicated.
Establish Your Goal
First off what are you aiming to achieve? You aren’t happy with where you are at now or what your diet looks like but why is this and what would make you happy? That may be to fit into your old jeans, have more energy to play with the kids after school, even run faster/further or better your performance mental and physically in your riding.
A good diet can not only help you look good but also help with energy levels and also mentally your mood, your performance and your concentration. If you think about how you often feel after a Chinese or fast food it will often be sluggish tired and often grumpy/more irritable (well I know I am) and this isn’t a post to say never ever have a takeaway again, of course not, just be more mindful of what we are eating and what we wish to achieve.
Calories in vs calories out
Calories – it was (and still is) often a forbidden word to speak about or bring up and largely depends and it is right in the fact we shouldn’t be so tied to measuring and counting every morsel that enters our mouth but again being mindful and aware of roughly the calories we are consuming.
In weight loss calories in vs calories out is the most important factor in determining success. If we are consuming more than we expend then we are always going to gain. So awareness and tracking the calories you eat even for a period of 2 weeks to get an idea of what your regular diet contains can be invaluable to your success.
Likewise often as athletes (no matter your level, if you ride you are an athlete) we need to be aware of how much and what we are putting into our body. Food is fuel and is a key predictor in your success at competition. Fuel yourself well and you will be able to train harder, recover quicker and be far more focused and relaxed.
FREE Nutrition Printout
Without any understanding or a balanced nutritional plan we cannot expect our body to functional at optimal. Food has the ability to see us thrive or survive but is also extremely personal to you.
This is why I will never provide a general rider nutrition program or diet plan and work with individuals to build their bespoke dietary plan.
However, to get you started as a freebie for my lovely blog readers I have put together a handy printout to help get you started on creating your own nutrition plan with tips and guidance to help you look, feel and perform at your very best.
As you are probably aware the nutrition world much like that of the fitness industry is a minefield of information with a lot of solid knowledge, but also a lot of total rubbish. Which is why I have spent the past year studying with BTN Academy to bring you the very best and up to date information to get the very best results for you.
Please drop me an email if you would like me to send you the starter cheat sheet to help start you on your track to success.
I hope this article has been useful and any questions you may have please pop them below or message me, I really love hearing all your thoughts and feedback 🙂
Hears to a fab week for you all!
Much love,
Sinead x
Side Note….
Tracking calories can become an obsession and therefore it is advised to seek at professional advice when creating a new diet plan to help you not only get the results but in a way that will work best for you in the safest most effective manner.