Eating right in the offseason

[Rob1991]

I know eating right and staying in shape/physical condition is essential to any athlete during the offseason. Im just not sure of what foods to eat so i can burn calories along with my other workouts (weights/erg). Anyone out there have any suggestions of what foods you can eat that are good for you, cuz im trying to lose the gut to which is kinda hard to do lol....any suggestions would be good.

[keepitlow]

http://www.mypyramid.gov/

[anthonysemone]

FWIW, the idiotic "pyramid" is so full of utter excrement that it isn't even worth talking about. If you want to avail yourself of the most current and sensible approach to manage body fat, there are a host of resources, eg:

www.proteinpower.com and go to the 6Week Cure
www.paleonu.com
www.nutritionandmetabolism.com
www.hyperlipid.com

tony

[TomR]

Eat food, not foodlike substances. If you do not know the difference, go to jail. Do not pass Go.

If you are overweight, then you have to eat less. All the diets out there that promise weight loss basically promote calorie restriction. As the saying goes, "You can't outrun a donut."

If you're a genuine rower, then you need carbs to fuel your workouts. That means vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. Plus protein. Plus fat--nothing hydrogenated. Carrot cake is not a vegetable. Goldfish is not a source of protein.

It's simple, but not easy.

[badocter]

I you are trying to lose weight, then the ammount of milk recommended by the USDA in their food pyramid is going to be very counterproductive. The 3 cups it recommends for me would be a 480 cal hit, the lactose gives many people problems, and doesn't seem very diverse for such a big chunk of a daily intake. Baby mammals drink milk because it makes them grow fast, so if you are trying to slim down, limit the milk to 1/2 a cup of skim (40 cal) on your cereal and drink water instead. Eat your fruit in whole form, not juice. No one would sit down and eat 8 whole oranges in one sitting, but it is surprising how many would drink the equivalent of 8 oranges' worth of juice for a meal.

[Tinus]

In order to have a lower energy uptake than energy expenditure (if that's what you mean with burning calories) choose low caloric foods which satisfy. Otherwise the diet will be hard to keep up with because your body will complain.

Part of this may also be achieved by training your body to be satisfied with different foods and alter your lifestyle. That should not be done to quick or your body or your life style won't change. You need to learn *** DELETE - SPAM *** tricks to make tasty (but also satisfying as tasty may not be enough) foods. You need to incorporate good lifestyle (e.g. have breakfast when you used not to).

Sometimes this can lead to unconventional approaches. The negative image of fat is an example. It is often banned from diets which try to focus on calories. However fat, besides being an essential nutrient, is important for flavour of foods. Eliminating it may create a diet which is difficult to keep up with. Try not to have a diet which is too far away from common sense healthy food. Fat can be used a good thing if used wisely. It can be the moderate caloric food which satisfies a lot... allowing to eat less.

An example how I've personally used this is using raw herring as a snack instead of some high GI carbohydrate food.

Another example is to have a lower intake of liquid carbohydrates. It is proven that these don't satisfy as much (or completely not) as other types of food (solid ones). So get used to drink coffee, tea and water without added sugar. And also, eat something instead of drink something if you feel you are in need of energy.

[Bob S.]

And also, eat something instead of drink something if you feel you are in need of energy.

If you need energy, yes, but for that ordinary hunger feeling, drinking can often take the edge off it - drinking just plain water that is - and lots of it.

Bob S.

[Tinus]

And also, eat something instead of drink something if you feel you are in need of energy.

If you need energy, yes, but for that ordinary hunger feeling, drinking can often take the edge off it - drinking just plain water that is - and lots of it.

Bob S.

That's true. Water is a good food. I had energy drinks, fruit juices or sodas in my mind.

Those should be, imo, the first to tackle when someone wants to loose calories. It has been tested in several settings. Liquid calories make you less satiated then solid calories. So, eliminating those from the diet should make it more easy to decrease caloric intake without decreasing satiation and feeling hungry.

For many people it can be difficult to decrease calorie intake. What they might try to do is focus less on decreasing calorie intake and focus more on increasing satiation. So people who are used to drink a soda during a work break or in the evening can try to switch it for a solid snack even if that snack is not very healthy.
Next step is to eat snacks which satisfy for a long time. E.g. a sandwich with cheese may have a lot of calories but you will held up longer until the next snack compared to eating something with refined sugar.