Iron Diet

The best place to begin structuring a permanent nutrition plan is with a working definition of the word, “DIET.” The two most common uses of the word would include either the noun form or the verb form.

Noun form – “the foods eaten, as by a particular person or group.”

Verb form – “to select or limit the food one eats to lose weight.”

For the purpose of this article, think in terms of the noun form of the word diet. An Iron Diet consists of those foods and nutritional items that are consumed as part of a consistent nutritional and fueling methodology for Ironman Triathletes. A productive diet is not only what an Ironman triathlete should consume, but more importantly anybody that wants a healthy and productive nutritional strategy to maximize one’s health over a lifetime.

A vast amount of the information contained in this article is complements of Dr. Derek Alessi. Derek Alessi has a doctorate in exercise science and a masters degree in nutrition. If you are searching for an excellent book that is straightforward and easy to understand on human nutrition, check out, “Lose Fat Forever” by Dr. Derek Alessi which is available at www.amazon.com

Dr. Derek Alessi has been featured in over 250 radio programs and over 50 television shows, as well as various magazines such as Maxim, Iron Man and Men’s Health. You could reach Dr. Derek Alessi at www.alessifit.com

Key Guidelines To Follow And Implement;

1. A healthy and productive eating program is not implemented as a fad. Rather it is a lifelong strategy to maximize health and athletic performance.
2. Starving or severely restricting caloric consumption will slow down your body’s metabolism and condition your body to burn less fat.
3. An effective Ironman should build and sustain lean muscle tissue. Lean muscle tissue will burn more fat and will increase your metabolism.
4. Do NOT skip meals or eating sessions.
5. It’s ok to eat whatever you like, in moderation, one day a week. CHEATING IS LEGAL! (Just don’t do it everyday.)
6. The body requires essential fatty acids such as flax and fish oils, NOT saturated fats and hydrogenated oils.
7. Avoid sugar.
8. Eat your veggies but consume fruit sparingly to obtain antioxidants. Fruits are high in sugar and consumption of fruit yields an insulin response, which can increase your body fat.
9. Drink plenty of water throughout the day.
10. Always consume a post recovery meal which contains carbohydrates and protein within 30 to 60 minutes after the completion of the workout.

Eating Frequently – The key to a healthy and productive eating strategy is to eat frequently. Each day should include approximately six eating sessions per day spaced out about every two to three hours. There should be three meals in the traditional sense (breakfast, lunch and dinner), and three supplemental meals; post recovery, snack #1 and snack #2.

Three Square Meals A Day

For the three square meals in the traditional sense each and every day (breakfast, lunch and dinner), the meal should always include food selections from each of the three columns below;

How much should I eat or what portions should I consume? If you don’t want to count calories, a good rule of thumb is to use the “fist method.” Make a fist and use that as a guide for each of the three selections above. Basically each meal should be about three fistfuls of food. Keep in mind, really big men (like football players) have rather large fists and small women have small fists. Keep portions in perspective of the body mass of the individual athlete.

Post Workout Recovery Meal

Within 30 to 60 minutes of a training session, you should consume your post workout recovery meal. The post recovery meal should contain protein to rebuild the muscles and carbohydrates for glycogen replenishment. Examples of a post workout recovery meal could include one of the following; a Cliff Bar, a recovery drink, a protein shake (that includes carbohydrates, a PowerBar, etc.

Snack #1 - Antioxidants

A mid-morning snack should be off of the antioxidant snack list below. Antioxidants help protect your cells against oxidation. Think of oxidation as rust on metal. This rust is caused by free radicals in the body. Free radicals are unstable oxygen atoms that attack your cells, including DNA damage that leads to cancer. Antioxidants help stabilize free radicals, which keeps the rogue atoms from harming your cells. By eating more antioxidant foods, you will boost the amount of disease-fighting chemicals floating in your bloodstream. Foods that are colorful are often the highest in antioxidants. Keep in mind that some of these selections are fruit which are high in sugar and should be consumed in moderation.

1. Beets
2. Cabbage
3. Guava
4. Purslane
5. Pomegrante
6. Goji berries
7. Dried plums
8. Blueberries
9. Grapes
10. Cherries
11. Broccoli
12. Tomatoes
13. Carrots
14. Cranberries
15. Apples
16. Apricots

Snack #2 – Seeds, nuts and other

A mid-afternoon snack should be high in calcium or essential fatty acids. Portion size should be approximately a small handful as these are calorie dense foods and could include one of the following;

1. Pumpkin seeds
2. Sunflower seeds
3. Almonds
4. Peanuts
5. Pistachios
6. Olives
7. Sesame seeds
8. Avocado
9. Low fat piece of cheese
10. Skim milk

Weight Loss

For those athletes attempting to lean out, the only thing that should change from this eating strategy is the portion sizes for each eating session. If the athlete is not dropping weight as desired, the portions should be slowly reduced while maintaining the frequency and the methodology of the nutritional plan.

Remember, a productive diet is not a fad but rather part of an effective, healthy and permanent lifestyle.