What is the Best Diet for Athletes?

Okay, this post might be counterintuitive to the title.  At Triple Victor, we believe there is no actual “best” diet for our athletes.  Instead we teach a nutritional framework of best practices to help athletes achieve their desired outcomes based on things like their sport and body type.  We understand that most people want a simple answer of eat this… avoid that… or even just a meal plan.  This approach though does not set the stage for continued success, growth, and performance for the athlete without the constant intervention of the nutrition coach.

One such principle we teach for eating is taking a moment to be mindful of what we are consuming; in fact this is one of our core values for overall wellness and racing.  In a recent meta data study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition a research team looked at twenty-four studies and found that evidence indicated that eating when distracted produced a moderate increase in immediate intake with an even greater increase of later intake due to lack of intake memory (Robinson, et al., 2013).  The researchers concluded that incorporation of attentive- eating principles could aid in weight loss and maintenance without the need for conscious calorie counting.  This doesn’t mean you can meditate with a large pizza and think it is like eating a salad though.  This study and or experience at Triple Victor is showing that when athletes think about what they are eating, they tend to make better decisions and consume appropriate amounts.

There are many ways to be mindful when eating.  A great practice that pays dividends to training as well are keeping notes in a food journal or your training log.  This isn’t as detailed as food calorie counting, but allows you to take a moment to assess what you are eating, the timing, and why.  For immediate change you can try removing any distractions during your next meal or changing your environment, such as not eating at your desk during the work day.

If you are looking to increase your sports performance or just want to regain control of your eating habits checkout our nutritional coaching packages here.