Training: Off-season training part IV - Eating during the off-season

This is the fourth and final installment in this series on off-season training. To start at the beginning, click here.

Part IV – Eating during the off-season

Another fun pass-time in the off-season is to do the following: stand in front of the mirror and watch as your belly grows. Just stand there and watch it. I swear, you’ll see it getting larger by the minute!

This isn’t actually true, but sometimes it feels like it. When runners and triathletes take even a short break, they are often very susceptible to gaining weight. So my last set of tips in preparing for an off-season workout schedule, is to make sure that you are managing your diet properly.

Why do we gain weight in the off-season?
The first and foremost reason for off-season weight gain is related to our lowered energy requirements. As we taper down our exercise, we may continue to eat like the athletes.
When you’re exercising less, you’re burning fewer calories, so the extra calories get stored as fat.

The second reason is the seasonal nature of food in the winter. You get the holidays first, with all those pumpkin pies and bowls of eggnog. Then when January arrives, especially if you live in a colder climate, you’re faced with hearty, warm “comfort foods” to get you through the cold days. I mean can you imagine serving a light chicken salad and lemonade to guests on a stormy winter afternoon for lunch? No way, it’ll be beef stew with bread, and if you live in Portland, probably beer to wash it down.

The problem is the intersection of these two issues: a reduced need for calories along with foods containing more calories. That’s a bad combination.

So here’s an approach to help keep your weight under control:

Step 1: Think about what you eat – You may not actually need to go on a diet to keep from gaining weight, but the first thing to do is to think about your body’s caloric needs. You may be accustomed to inhaling pasta during the season, but if you do that when you’re not exercising you’re going to pack on the pounds. So keep what you’re eating in the front of your mind. Think about it before you eat it.

Step 2: Recognize the differences in your needs – Remember that exercise is fueled primarily by carbohydrate. As an athlete you consume carbohydrate to fuel your workouts. If you’re working-out less, then you need to cut down the carbohydrates as a proportion of your total diet. Since you’re burning less of them, you’ll need less of them.

Step 3: Plan to eat for your workouts – If you’ve been following my guidelines over the last few days, you may have noticed that I prescribed working out on non-consecutive days. What that means to your diet, is that your caloric needs will be different on rest days than on workout days. On a night after a workout, you don’t need to pack in the carbs to get ready for rest the next day. However, on a rest day, you want to be eating some carbohydrates to get ready for your workout the following day. Tailor your intake to your needs.

Step 4: Practice portion control – Without putting yourself on a diet, just remember that a very effective way of controlling how much you eat is to pay attention to portions. If you’re eating at restaurants, holiday buffets, and family gatherings, it can be easy to be presented with mountains of food. Put less food on your plate to avoid over-eating. Go back for seconds for just those things that you really like and watch how much you take on the second trip.

Step 5: avoid the fat and sweets – Watch out for all the sweets running around the holiday dinner table. And remember that many holiday treats are loaded with fat. Holiday favorites like pecan pie and eggnog can be packed with fat. I’m not saying to avoid these foods altogether, just make sure that you are aware of them and eat them sparingly. If you’re in your own kitchen, opt for lighter alternatives such as fat free or “light” eggnog and always read the label to see what’s actually in those foods.

Step 6: Take action - My last piece of advice is to actually do something if you notice your weight inching up. It’s not enough to just think about adjusting your diet, or to recgnize that eggnog is loaded with fat. You have to actually take action and cut down the portion or avoid that food. Thinking about it, and then eating it anyway, will just make you feel bad. You’ll be happier if you approach your eating like an athlete. Tell your family and friends that you’re still in training and you need to watch what you eat in the off-season. Hey, Mom might actually be proud of you. (Seriously, she’s going to make you eat her pie, so just enjoy it.)

So with that, I’ll end this series on off-season training with a bit of a summary:
1) Make sure to take a short break to give your body a chance to recover and to give your mind a fresh lease on your sport next season. (part I)

2) When planning your workout schedule, try to maintain a light workout load on non-consecutive days that includes at least some high-intensity training (quality workouts) to avoid losing your fitness. (part II)

3) Make sure that the workout load you choose actually meets the goal of giving you a break and a chance to recover. (part II)

4) Use the off-season as a chance to work on your problem areas, in particular flexibility, core strength, and quickness. (part III)

5) Don’t (over)eat like an athlete in the off-season. Think about your diet and tailor it to your reduced needs. (part IV)

I hope that you’ve learned something from these articles. We’ll look at early season planning issues in a couple of months. In the mean-time, please keep your training and racing questions coming and keep on reading!

Also, if you’re interested in joining my Boston Marathon training program or one of my other programs next spring, you can find out more by visiting my coaching services page.

Coach Joe English, Portland Oregon, USA

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