Schrup

I had my first appointment with my nutritionist yesterday & thought I'd share it with you guys. First off I'd like to preface by saying that I know a guy who biked for years & still remained heavy until he started to take advice from this nutritionist, I was amazed by his results & that's why I chose her. She also competes in duathlons, something I aspire to do.

First, she asked me what my goals were & I told her that I wanted to lose 25lbs & get in shape to compete in duathlons next year. I told her that I exercise on average of 1.5 hours daily. I had called her the day before & gave her my Fitday login & password so that I didn't have to bring in a log of what I had eaten the last 3 days as she had requested. I was surprised that she hadn't heard of it before & she told me she thought it is an excellent program for free.

She thought that the diet I had been on was very close to what she was to recommend. She want to see my ratios at 30% fat, 55% carbs, 15% protein, I have been a little high on protein & not high enough on unsat fat. Prior to events I can switch to 20% fat, 65% Carb, & 15% protein. I asked about recovery meals & nutrition, she gave me some literature on recovery nutrition. She suggested that I not use propel & gatorade type drinks. She feels that 100% fruit juice & water work better. She said no juice on rest days, 8oz on regular work out days, & 16-24oz on the heavy days when I'm riding & running for 2.5+ hours. I should always try to consume at least 64oz of fluids daily, preferable plain water. I drink a lot of Perrier & she said not as good. She said that gels & Cliff bars are fine for long work outs. I asked her about the whole soy+men thing & she explained it, but it all went over my head. Bottom line is that Cliff bars are safe for me. She said to go easy on vitamins & supplements unless I want spendy pee.

We talked briefly about training, she isn't a trainer, but explained her routine which is 2 days on, one off, three on, one off. She explained a brick & said she does that 2-4 times a month & does either an event or simulated one at least once a month.

Finally, she said I could call her anytime & I asked for her email to try to make my soon to come barrage of questions as convenient as possible for her. It was only $69 for the first visit & $23 for each follow up. She gave me a lot of material to absorb & it will take 2 or 3 weeks to completely adapt. I have another appointment in 4 weeks.

mateo44

Did you get any advice regarding calories?

Of course, you can eat a perfect balance of 30% fat, 55% carbs, 15% protein (or whatever) and still not lose weight if you're eating 5000 calories per day.

Why isn't Perrier as good? I don't drink it much -- just curious...

Schrup

I forgot to add that I'm to take in 2000 calories on rest days, 2500 on work out days & 3000 on heavy days. I think she prefers regular water because of the added sodium & minerials I guess. I'll still drink it along with my Hi Ball Energy.

DannoXYZ 

I have heard of people who drink distilled bottled-water coming down with mineral deficiencies. Well, you can always use energy-drinks with specific electrolyte mix for working out.

ericgu

I like the vast majority of that, but the advice around fruit juice and water is not so good. You are limited on the amount of fructose you can absorb, so the fruit juice may sit poorly in your stomach. It's also a lot sweeter than good sport drinks, so you are unlikely to drink enough to get both get hydrated and to get enough carbs.

RiPHRaPH

I drink a lot of Perrier & she said not as good.

You drink a lot of Perrier?! Oy vay.

Schrup

I drink a lot of Perrier, especially when it's hot & I'm working in the yard, nothing is more refreshing to me. I'll continue, as well as drinking Propel & recovery drinks like accellarade & such. My stomach can't handle a lot of juice as well as it does gatorade type fluids. I'll try to split the difference.

timmhaan

you actually inspired me to make an appointment with a nutritionist myself. i had been putting it off for so long, and it's about time i do it.

IAMBIKE

prior to an event she said to take more carbs and less fat. Do you, or does anybody know how much prior? Does that mean the morning of an event or more like a few days leading up to an event?