Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition

I'm absolutely loving this Florida weather. I find is super easy to get out the door and train. Most of all...NO more looking at the ceiling while swimming!! I am often reminded of my high school swimming days where it seemed like I lived in the water. I swear I was born to be a fish. Currently, I look forward to my afternoon/early evening swims every Tues, Thurs and Sunday and it feels so nice on my body and brain, especially after a morning workout and a full day of studying. I also decided to give my car a break this afternoon, so I took my road bike on a short spin as I biked to the Y for my recovery swim late this afternoon. I am all about keeping the body moving and not feeling the need to "train" every time I "work out". Sometimes I just want to run like a kid (without a garmin), swim for time (not yardage) and spin my legs (without a bike computer). Speaking of summer, I think I am not alone when I mention my love for summer fruit. The colors, flavors an...

Every experience those salty cravings after an intense or long training session? With the temperature approaching 90 degrees, here in warm Florida, I am often at a loss for words when I see/hear the foods/drinks/concoctions that athletes create when dealing with salt cravings during and after exercise (beef jerky anyone?) It is natural to crave salt during and after training, especially if you are sweating profusely. Salt cravings may be due to mild (or severe) dehydration but I find that they are often secondary to athletes not adequately replacing lost electrolytes during exercise. From my own experience, I often crave salty foods at the end of a long weekend training session but I find that with the right recovery nutrition, adequate fluids and a little creativity with meals, I am able to subside those cravings all while replacing lost electrolytes. Because we lose more than just sodium when we sweat, it is important that we don't just reach for table salt during and immediately...

While I am trying to manage my time between training for Kona, studying for the RD exam (which I plan to take near the end of next month), coaching/nutrition and giving myself a little free time (although, I am not sure I have found that yet), I am slowly developing a routine again and it feels absolutely wonderful. For the past 10 months, I have sacrificed a lot for my education and it was stressful and exciting, all at the same time. For the past 3 years, however, my life has been consumed by all things "nutrition/dietetics" and I have welcomed so much fascinating and educational material with an open mind. I have developed a great philosophy for eating for fuel as a health-conscious, vegetarian, endurance athlete and I have been able to apply all my dietetic information to real life settings (with real athletes), thanks to my intensive 6 year education in exercise science and physiology. It is funny that in life, things often come full circle when we least expect them. So...

One of the biggest mistakes that an athlete/fitness enthusiast can make is not recovering after exercise/training. In my opinion, you can't go wrong when recovering after exercise because it is an opportunity to reward your body for the prior session of muscle catabolism and to to compensate for glycogen depletion and to return exercise-induced hormonal changes back to normal. The last issue of Triathlete Magazine got me thinking about my own recovery routine. In the June 2011 issue of Triathlete there were a few pages dedicated to recovery as well as several other tips, tricks and tools to keep you healthy and race-day ready. I find that many athletes get the "summer-training bug" and believe more is more. For me and my athletes, less is more. I believe in the process of training and developing a body that can handle the demands of training. For with periodized training, the body is more efficient at using fuels. Also, because every athlete is psychological and bioche...

According to Karel, I made the best salad "EVER". Pretty exciting, especially coming from my hubby who has tasted many of my salad creations. In the 2011 May issue of Today's Dietitian, there was an excellent article titled "Fruitful Endeavor: adopting a plant-based diet may offer a bounty of benefits" By: Sharon Palmer, RD As you know very well, I am a 17 year vegetarian (lacto-ovo) and a firm believer in plant-based eating. However, as an endurance athlete and lover of exercise and physical activity, I believe that my plant-based diet should be balanced in order to support my energy needs and lifestyle requirements. As my training changes, so does my eating. More specifically, the importance of recovery nutrition increases as the intensity and duration of my workouts increase. But none the less, I always emphasize whole, unprocessed foods on a daily basis in order to provide my body with a plentiful amount of nutrients to support metabolism and bodily processe...

A few posts ago I discussed an article in Nutrition Action (May 2011) titled "Under the Influence". On pg 5 of the article, the topic covered exercise and how exercise can influence what we eat. I suppose that every individual (athlete or fitness enthusiast) has a love/hate relationship with food when it comes to eating for fuel. Because we all love a great sweat, a post-workout meal either complements the workout (specifically, restores muscle glycogen, encourages tissue repair/re-building, enhances immune system functioning) or the meal is seen as a "reward" thus often bringing on feelings of guilt and shame (specifically, due to improper timing/quantity of food/nutrients thus leading to shifts in hormones either during or after exercise and consequently, lending its way to overeating/overindulging). I'd like to share the article topic with you as a way to get you thinking about how you view food and whether or not you eat to exercise or you exercise to eat. ...

I don't mean to toot my own horn but this meal is FABULOUS!! While in Pitt, I did my share of eating out (combined with 9 days on the road for Speed Week the week prior). Inspired by many affordable and costly meals, I could not wait to get home to my little galley kitchen (my kitchen is super small but my creativeness is never limited when it comes to preparing tasty and healthy meals!). Although I am in need of a trip to the grocery store, I had several of the following items in my freezer. Karel did a quick stop at the store on Monday after he picked me up at the airport so with a little creative thinking, I was able to pull together one of my most-favorite meals that I have prepared to-date! Hope you enjoy!! (feel free to use as much/little of the following as you like. You can't go wrong with too many veggies!) Firm tofu (cubed) - I typically use about 1/4th container per person chickpeas Broccoli Slaw Eat Smart (I bought mine at Publix, but you can probably find it in veg...