NUTRITION BALANCE DURING THE HOLIDAYS
By Jaime Windrow, USA Triathlon Level I Certi fi ed Coach
Y
our athletes work hard all season long to reach performance goals, break pRs and achieve opti mal
body compositi on. Then come the holidays, during which many are taking an off season or short break. Regardless of which holiday you celebrate, if any, this season has one thing common to all: Food. And lots of it! Do you let your athletes run loose and use this ti me of year as an excuse to overindulge, knowing that in the New year there will be many unwanted pounds hanging around? Or, should they avoid all of these treats and sti ck to their regimented eati ng plan? The answer lies somewhere in between — balance.
One of the fi rst things that I ever learned,
while studying for my degree, was that food should not be labeled into categories of good and bad. Also, avoid the term “junk food” when referring to foods that can be considered, shall we say, not quite as healthy as other available opti ons. The message was quite clear: “Everything in moderati on.” However, in this day and age, I think that we can all agree that when it comes to food, our moderati on needs some moderati on. At The Core Diet, rather than focusing on foods to avoid, we try to keep things positi ve.
We stress the importance of consuming foods with very high nutrient density and a low glycemic index. These “Core” foods include
lean meats, fruits, vegetables,
healthy nuts, seeds and oils, as well as lean dairy and legumes. Basically, we want to fi ll our diet with fresh, whole foods that are not processed and packaged in a factory. There are obviously some excepti ons to this, Greek yogurt for one, which we highly recommend, for its inherent nutriti onal value, high protein and probioti cs. But what to do when you want to enjoy
a treat or you just don’t have the ti me to prepare a fresh snack? Do you ever wonder what your dieti ti an chooses? While I cannot speak for all of us, I can tell you that The Core Diet practi ces what it preaches. But, we’re human too, and need to have our litt le indulgences, from ti me to ti me. Here are a few of our favorite picks.
LAURA’S WHOLESOME JUNK FOOD: BITE-LETTES A great alternati ve for a chocolate chip
cookie, these are all natural, with no arti fi cial colors, fl avors or preservati ves, and are made with “ingredients you can pronounce.”
There are seven diff erent fl avors, with my favorite being Oatmeal Chocolate Chip. I fi rst discovered these at a Whole Foods in New york City, and they make the perfect snack for long days. They also provide a good energy boost. The downside is that a serving size only consists of two bite-lett es, and it is prett y much impossible to have only two. For this reason, I only purchase them on special occasions.
TRADER JOE’S DARK CHOCOLATE ALMONDS WITH SEA SALT AND TURBINADO SUGAR This is dieti ti an Rachel’s pick. Whether
you mix these in with other healthy nuts or grab just a few, she says this treat is a “perfect sweet and salty reward with healthy fats and anti oxidants. And a couple will suffi ce your sweet tooth craving.”
TRADER JOE’S FLATTENED BANANAS I was fi rst introduced to this food product
when I joined QT2 Systems and The Core Diet. Some coaches and athletes
talked
about them, but I had never actually seen or tried them. Regardless, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this food item that has only
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