Most athletes tend to follow a strict training schedule. While following these are recommended for those looking to lose weight or live healthier, it can still be useful to know how a triathlete would exercise between meals.

On average, while it is sometimes recommended to put absurdly high numbers of hours into the physical training sessions, it is mostly recommended to spend about hours a week on triathlon training.

It is important to account for any off days you might have following the training plan, or the inevitable lazy days that usually barge in unannounced.

At the end of the day, even athletes, or those training like one, are human and need to slowly build up a tolerance to a high training load, not jump into the deep end where you are bound to struggle. Set small goals, and this change will feel a lot easier.

A training session should usually fit between mealtimes. This way, your body has time to digest the foods you consume. Generally, it is recommended that in order to be safe and avoid any complications in your next training session, you should wait for at least a couple of hours after eating before beginning any key sessions that would require a lot of energy output from you.

The side effects, while not too serious or out of the realm of what most of us have experienced before, can tend to be rather disruptive. Vomiting, nausea and acid reflux are just a selection of how the body usually reacts to carrying out any kind of training regimen on a full stomach.

It is also important to consider the season and off season of a triathlon period, which can help set a course for a meal or training plan. A triathlon racing season begins in March and finishes in October for many places in the Northern hemisphere, while those in the Southern hemisphere start their triathlon season in November and end it in May.

To start the day, the first objective is to give your body its fuel. Eating the right foods can offer many athletes benefits to their workouts and for most people a boost health-wise. The goal of a triathlon nutrition plan is to eat foods which may help boost performance, with an emphasis on maintaining high energy levels and a high protein and carbohydrate intake.

As part of your morning meal, attempt to eat foods that will give you a decent intake of energy to set a precedent for your day; such as a cereal, yoghurt or even eggs or omelettes.

Not only are these selections nice to have for breakfast, but also give plentiful energy, which is exactly what a triathlete-in-training needs. A few examples could be pairing cereal or porridge with a side of fruits or nuts, or eggs on toast.

Even with dietary requirements to follow, it all comes down to personal preference and what works well with your tastes. When it comes to an appropriate lunch, the options for your meal only increase.

With the understanding that the food should be rich in carbohydrates, you must aim to consume natural sources of vitamins and minerals. Many triathletes eat nutrient-dense foods, such as vitamins and minerals, to not only boost the immune system but also help turn food into energy.

As well as this, it is vital to keep up a high protein intake to help with muscle prep and more importantly muscle repair. Foods high in protein, such as lean meats, poultry and dairy products should suffice. A few well-known examples which could easily be incorporated into your lunch include chicken , beef and pork , which we offer here at Athleat to get you started on your journey.

A few other alternatives could include wraps and soups if you find yourself needing to eat something on a simpler, smaller scale. Though like breakfast, lunch should never be skipped during the day, as it can lead to a lack of energy or focus.

Two factors a triathlete must always consider. In the evening, what athletes eat can be more important than any other meal during the day, as you need to assure that you fill your body with enough energy to use the following morning. Otherwise, athletes run a risk of falling behind on their schedule or having to dim their training intensity, which can have an effect on the rest of the day or even week after.

Like the lunch options, the choices for the evening meal are varied. Despite this, we recommend foods such as steak or potatoes incorporated into your meal to get the most from your food. Snacks are well known for being notoriously unhealthy, simply because of how tempting it is to treat ourselves once too often.

Not every snack can be bad for our health, however, when training for a triathlon, athletes need to snack to keep their blood sugar levels at a steady level.

For simple snacks, try to eat nuts, fruit and other whole foods to keep up a healthy diet. Just as vital to the triathlon diet as much as the food, what you drink can accompany your meal or snacks throughout the day while offering dietary accompaniments your body may need.

Asking any athlete what a vital part of a diet is, would give you only one answer; to keep hydrated throughout the day. Click here to find out more about the importance of drinking regularly while training like a triathlete.

Sports drinks and energy drinks are two popular choices when deciding what to drink under a triathlete diet, mainly due to their ability to replenish glucose levels and electrolytes such as potassium and calcium.

These electrolytes are quickly diminished during workout sessions, and so need to be regularly replenished in order for your body to remain healthy and energised for the day ahead.

Another option would be to blend a fruit smoothie, more popularly referred to as a recovery smoothie. These smoothies are usually made to help your body recuperate after a workout, hence its name. Fruits and vegetables are a great addition to almost any diet.

So, a fruit smoothie would be a great accompaniment to exercises and a simple fuelling strategy before the next one. Being mindful of what they consume, athletes, especially endurance athletes, tend to aim for a high-calorie intake. A fact not widely known by those not familiar with the triathlon training lifestyle is that eating calorie-dense foods is a much healthier option for athletes than including foods in your diet containing few calories.

In order to stay healthy, general advice for any athlete would be to consume between calories per day on average, and in order to avoid relative energy deficiency. That may seem like a lot at first, though is all necessary to fuel the body and provide a healthy weight loss.

During triathlon training, it is possible to lose any unwanted body fat that gets stored away rather than burned away through exercise. Because triathlon training and the diet are built to prepare the body for multiple varied sports, the body not only burns a lot of fat and calories but must also eat a lot of calories too, in order to keep a healthy, steady cycle.

As long as you stick closely to the recommended number of calories per day, and keep to foods rich in vitamins, minerals, protein and carbohydrates, then the body will begin to lose any excess body weight to burn. But no matter if you plan to follow only the diet, eating a varied number of foods, such as the ones we recommend above, is sure to have a positive impact on your body and body composition.

We have previously mentioned that an athlete needs many ways to gather energy, and one of the easier ways to gain that energy is from the food we eat. Carbs are largely considered a great source of energy, making foods high in carbs a worthy addition to this diet.

One common misconception about carbs and protein-rich foods is that athletes will eat them regularly throughout the year. This is actually false, however, as many athletes tend to avoid protein in the coming days before their triathlon, in order to focus on loading up the body with carbs in preparation.

For the most part, training in preparation for a triathlon means finding a good balance of healthy fats, protein and carbs to prevent any imbalances in what your body needs for this demanding training. How about what to eat before triathlon sprint on race morning?

The point of it is really just to top up your carb stores and make you feel good. I would stick to simple carbs so you digest your pre-race breakfast quickly and aren't running on a full stomach. I would also make sure that you are eating something you've tried before, so you know that it doesn't have any adverse effects on your digestive system.

New foods are just risky! You should drink plenty to keep on top of your hydration when you carb load and in the hours before a race too. However, hydration is not as important during a sprint triathlon, because it's not a very long event, so it isn't putting your body under the same amount of strain as a longer endurance event would.

This means you don't need to be super tactical about your fluid intake. For this sort of event, drinking to thirst is a sensible plan. Now for the really interesting part. Is there anything you can do during a sprint triathlon to improve your performance?

If you are expecting your sprint triathlon to take longer than 90 minutes then getting enough carbohydrates during the race is a good idea.

You can use whatever source works better for you - gel, chewie, sports drink - but you should trial this in advance and practice it.

I would suggest using a gel or drink that contains a combination of glucose and fructose, and aiming to consume grams of carbohydrates per hour. You should make sure you practice this in training, especially running at your intended race pace, to make sure you tolerate it well. Whatever product you decide to use, the packet should detail what type of carbohydrate it contains and how much of it.

You can read my review of Maurten products and my review of SIS Beta fuel gel for my breakdown on commonly used triathlon carb products!

The best and easiest time to get these carbs in would be on the bike, and if you really want, you can have a gel at the start of the run. Or even aiming for less than an hour and trying to win the whole thing? Is there anything you can do?

There does seem to be one potential way you can improve your performance! Various studies have shown this, and you can read this round up summary for more information.

That equates 30g of carbohydrates in ml of water. You can then have a sip of it before you head out for your run. You can either spit it out or swallow it - both options are fine! When you finish your race, it is a good idea to have a recovery drink in the form of something like a protein smoothie or chocolate milk.

This will replace some of the glycogen you have used and help your muscles to repair, without feeling too heavy on your stomach.

For the next couple of hours, sticking to simple carbs can help you keep replenishing your glycogen stores. Now is a great time to get a good amount of protein in minimum 20g per meal and healthy fats into your diet is a good way to help with muscle repair and general recovery. I've more or less covered the ins and outs of preparing for, completing and recovering from a sprint triathlon.

Now let me answer any lingering questions you might have! If there's anything I haven't covered, feel free to drop me a line in the comments below! A sprint triathlete should eat a healthy, balanced diet in the training period before the race. This should be low fat, contain enough protein and plenty of fuelling carbs.

In the 24 hours before the race start, a sprint triathlete should eat primarily simple carbohydrates, and much less fat or protein. This will allow them to build up the glycogen stores necessary to get them through the race. This depends on the time it takes you too complete it. If it's less than 90 minutes, energy gels won't have much effect.

If it will take you more than 90 minutes, then an energy gel for sprint triathlon might be sensible. You could also use a carbohydrate based drink. You fuel a sprint triathlon by eating healthily in the weeks preceding your event, then doing some minor carb loading in the 36 hours before your race.

While doing a full carb load might not be as important for a sprint triathlon as it is for an Ironman triathlon, it still helps to top up those energy stores so that you know you will last the duration of the event.

That's a wrap on my tips for sprint triathlon nutrition. I hope you have a better idea of what to eat before sprint triathlon and general nutrition for sprint triathlon!

Keep in mind that no matter what style of eating plan you follow, you want it to be something you can stick with for the long term. Eating before a long workout not only satisfies your stomach and prevents hunger, but it also tops off your energy stores.

Try eating a pre-workout meal that fits the following criteria:. These options meet the high-carb, moderate protein, low-fat, low-fiber criteria:. Some researchers believe that a meal with low glycemic index carbohydrates—carbs that raise the blood sugar level more slowly—is optimal.

However, review studies on this topic are inconclusive. It appears the most important aspect of the pre-exercise meal is simply to include carbs, not necessarily the types of carbs you choose.

Also, do not make drastic changes from how you eat and train to when you eat on event day. You do want to consider selecting carbohydrates that match your own digestive tolerance, though.

For example, many individuals are sensitive to the effects of fiber during exercise—the last thing you want is a mid-race rush to the porta-potty. It's wise for many triathletes to avoid high-fiber fruits, vegetables, or whole grains prior to a big training session or race.

In between your training sessions, you want to make sure you have adequate fueling, not just before your intense workout. Twenty four to 48 hours before your mock-event day and event day, you may need to start fueling up.

Eating too close to your session can cause gastrointestinal upset, while eating too far out can leave you lacking energy. Of course, one to four hours before exercise is still a fairly large time range. How do you know what is best for you?

Practicing is the best way to find out. Try different foods and timing during training to nail down exactly what works best for you, both in terms of gastrointestinal comfort and energy levels.

Eating about an hour before your long run? A bagel with a little cream cheese might be a perfect option for you. Eating four hours beforehand? You might have a bigger meal, like a breakfast hash and a fruit smoothie. During exercise, your nutrition concerns should focus on carbohydrates, hydration, and electrolytes.

For exercise lasting less than an hour, drinking plain water works just fine. Though several electrolytes are lost in sweat, including magnesium, sodium is lost in the largest amounts.

The rate at which you sweat and the sodium that is lost varies from athlete to athlete. Research has shown that high sodium losses in sweat can lead to slightly lower blood sodium levels.

This, combined with fluid overload, may increase the risk of hyponatremia—a dangerous drop in blood sodium levels. Instead of drinking water for long sessions, you can drink a commercial sports drink. You can also use fizzy electrolyte tabs that you add to water.

Or, you can drink water and use a salt replacement product designed for athletes. Your muscles are working hard, and keeping a steady stream of carbs flowing gives them the energy to continue to do so. Aim for 30 to 60 grams of carbohydrate for every hour of exercise.

You will be consuming about 6 to 12 ounces of fluid ounces per hour. Fuel can come in many sources, but they should be rich in easily digestible carbohydrates. You can choose options specifically manufactured for sport, or you can choose grocery store options that will also meet your needs.

For example:. Either of these options would fuel you at that rate of 30 to 60 grams per hour. The only exception to this advice is for fat-adapted ketogenic athletes.

Proper recovery nutrition is a key part of the triathlete diet. Keep in mind that not every workout needs a large recovery meal.

Sometimes recreational athletes make the mistake of eating big recovery meals after every workout, which can contribute to excess calories and weight gain.

Instead, focus on recovery meals and snacks after:. In those three situations, take in carbohydrates along with some protein within 30 to 60 minutes of completing your workout.

You can wait up to two hours for maximum results, but it's ideal to consume carbohydrates and protein ASAP after you finish your workout. Just how much carbohydrate depends on your body weight.

Aim for 1. This may seem like a lot, but it can easily be built into a filling post-workout meal. Along with that carbohydrate, most people should include 15 to 25 grams of protein. Masters-age athletes may experience slower recovery rates compared to younger athletes, possibly due to issues with protein remodeling in the muscles after exercise.

Because of this, some researchers have suggested that older athletes take in a bit more protein after exercise perhaps around 25 to 30 grams. Remember, for shorter sessions you don't have to worry about these amounts. You can maximize recovery after short workouts with a small carbohydrate and protein snack—for example, a glass of chocolate milk or Greek yogurt with fruit.

Your training schedule, body type, genetic makeup, and food preferences are unique to you. Following the basic tenets of healthy eating for athletes, though—like consuming lots of nutrient-dense whole foods and focusing on good pre-exercise and recovery meals—will have you crossing the finish line like a champ.

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Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. By Chrissy Carroll, RD, MPH Chrissy Carroll is a registered dietitian and USAT Level I Triathlon Coach, and the author of "Eat to Peak: Sports Nutrition for Runners and Triathletes.

Use limited data to select advertising. Create profiles for personalised advertising. The idea behind this meal plan is to fill you up with large portions of seasonal produce, making that at least half your plate in most cases.

The other half is made up of protein and carbohydrates. Breakfast — 1 cup quinoa breakfast cereal Cook 1½ cups quinoa with 2½ cups unsweetened almond milk, 2 tablespoons agave and 1 teaspoon vanilla makes 2 servings. Lunch — 1 turkey burger Grate 1 onion into 20 ounces 93 percent lean ground turkey, with 2 tablespoons ketchup, 1 tablespoon each cumin and chili powder, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon pepper makes 4 servings.

RELATED: The Benefits Of A Big Breakfast. Breakfast — 1 cup quinoa breakfast cereal use other serving from Day 1 — ½ cup Greek yogurt — Sliced persimmon and 1 T nuts.

Lunch — 1 turkey burger on whole-wheat bun or bread — Top with whole-grain mustard and pile high with favorite veggies. Dinner — 5 ounces baked salmon Place two 5-ounce pieces salmon into foil with sliced lemon and orange, wrap tightly and bake 15—20 minutes at degrees makes 2 servings.

RELATED: Breakfast Quinoa Recipe. Breakfast — Turkey scramble wrap Scramble 2 eggs with remaining turkey burger crumbled , and ½ cup seasonal veggies.

Serve in whole-wheat or corn tortillas. Dinner — 5 ounces herb grilled chicken Marinate four 5-ounce pieces of chicken breast with chopped parsley, rosemary, thyme, olive oil, salt and pepper.

Grill or roast chicken makes 4 servings. RELATED: Are You Sitting Too Much? Breakfast — Granola parfait Layer ½ cup granola with 1 cup Greek yogurt, kiwi and pomegranate seeds.

Lunch — Fig salad Toss 2 cups mixed greens with 2 fresh figs sliced , 2 tablespoons goat cheese and 1 tablespoon pecans. Top with 1 leftover chicken breast; serve with whole-grain roll. Dinner — Kale pesto Combine ¼ cup prepared pesto with 1 cup sautéed kale in a blender.

RELATED: 10 Essential Foods For Endurance Athletes. Then scramble with 4 eggs and toss with freshly diced green onion 2 servings. Dinner — 5 ounces grilled sirloin — 1 cup baked sweet potato or yam fries Give your yams or sweet potatoes a good scrub, then cut them lengthwise into ½-inch fry-like pieces.

Toss with olive oil and salt, bake on a sheet sprayed with non-stick cooking spray at degrees for 10 minutes per side. Tip: Train in the morning? A hearty breakfast ensures you use those necessary calories to fuel your effort. A post-workout snack is integral for recovery and satiating hunger.

Taper your lunch and then dinner, as fewer calories will be needed during those meals.