Body Composition as a Limiter

My biggest limiter is my body composition. As Coach Doug says I have the body of a swimmer and not of a triathlete. The goal is to get closer to the body of a triathlete without cutting calories so much that it negatively affects my training. The "easiest" way to do this is make sure I consume about 500 fewer calories than I burn on a daily basis -- so the more I train the more I can eat. On top of that the calories I consume should all be "core foods," that is lean meats, fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, lean dairy, and legumes. The only time I eat non-whole carbohydrate dense foods such as breads, grains and sports nutrition is during a window before, during and after my training. If you're interested, a lot of this is explained at www.thecorediet.com.

From just existing I burn about 1750 calories a day, you then add to that calories burning in training and subtract 500 to get a target calorie count for the day. The problem becomes rest days, such as yesterday, when I have no training to offset the calories I consume. The goal was, therefore, 1250 calories -- I came close but not exact.

Here's what I ate:

Breakfast - 6:30 a.m. -- Egg white omelet (69 calories / 1 g carbs / 14 g protein / 0 g fat), Spinach (8 calories / 1 g carbs / 1 g protein / 0 g fat) and an apple with cinnamon (72 calories / 19 g carbs / 0 g protein / 0 g fat)



Running Total - 149 calories

For work, I pack all my meals and snacks up at home and carry them to work in my big neoprene bag.

Here's the stack:



Morning Snack - 10:00 a.m. - Greek yogurt (100 calories / 7 g carbs / 18 g protein / 0 g fat, Banana (150 calories / 26 g carbs / 0 g protein / 0 g fat) and 1/4 cup Walnuts (164 calories / 3 g carbs / 4 g protein / 16 g fat)



Running Total - 518 calories

Lunch - 1 p.m. - 4 ounces of Grilled Chicken Breast (0 g carbs / 35 g protein / 4 g fat) & Steamed Broccoli (3 g carbs / 3 g protein / 1 g fat)



Running total - 728 Calories

Afternoon Snack - 4 p.m. - 1/4 cup almonds (207 calories / 7 g carbs / 7 g protein / 18 g fat), Celery (28 calories / 6 g carbs / 1 g protein / 0 g fat) and Hummus (70 calories / 6 g carbs / 3 g protein / 4 g fat)





Running Total - 1033 Calories

Dinner (at Bricco Trattoria in Glastonbury - I won't go to a restaurant unless I can look at the menu beforehand, figure out exactly what I can order and make a decision before showing up so I can make sure to keep things in control) -- Seared scallops (155 calories / 0 g carbs / 30 g protein / 15 g fat), Roasted Root Vegetables (117 calories / 17 g carbs / 4 g protein / 2 g fat) and Celery Root Puree (119 calories / 15 g carbs / 0 g protein / 13 g fat)



Running Total - 1424 Calories

The good news: I wasn't famished all day, I completely avoided processed foods and I consumed a wide variety of fruits and vegetables.

The bad news: I ate too much -- not by a lot, but I was still over my calorie target for the day.

I found the whole exercise of photographing my food really useful, so I think I'll do it again next week on a high volume training day just to compare the differences.