What To Eat: Triathlon Meals

Training for a tri? Here’s your cheat sheet:

The question I get asked the most while I’m training for a Triathlon is, “What the heck do you eat?”

For starters, I eat a TON of food. I never count calories. I don’t track macros or micros. Why? Because Sam and I eat 90% Whole Foods. What’s a whole food? It’s REAL, unprocessed food that looks as close to its original form as possible. Veggies, fruit, meat, eggs… real, whole, unprocessed foods. When you are eating a diet entirely consisting of whole unprocessed foods, it’s really difficult to overeat.

When I’m in full swing of training for a long distance race, I’m burning on average between 4,000 & 8,000 calories a day, and it’s super important to replenish those calories.

I basically eat everything that Sam eats, but double. I add in more protein, carbohydrates, and some extra fruit and vegetables. Every meal is a balanced plate, consisting of a variety of vegetables, legumes, nuts & fruit along with a good sized portion of lean protein (typically chicken) and a full baked potato, sweet potato, or a cup or 2 of rice.

DURING THE WORKOUT

I only eat 1 specific brand of protein bar (GoMacro) while I’m running or cycling because it’s a balanced meal replacement and they use great ingredients (for the most part). This bar is easy on my GI system, so I stick with it. If you find something that doesn’t upset. your stomach while you’re moving, stick with that.

While I’m actively running or cycling, I try to consume about 250 to 350 calories per hour.

I consume 1 electrolyte drink (LMNT) that contains 1000mg of Sodium plus magnesium & potassium (mixed into 24oz of water) plus an additional 24-36 oz of water, per hour.

POST-WORKOUT

I always replenish after a workout with protein and carbs to speed up my recovery overnight. I usually do 4-5 chicken thighs or a big piece of fish, 1-2 cups of rice or pasta or a potato, and a handful of greens. Once or twice per week I will do a large steak after a training session. When I crave it, I get it.

Putting fluids back in after a workout is crucial too. I’ll try to drink another liter or two of water post-workout.

REM and SWS Sleep is a major part of recovery too, so I’ll drink a Beam before bed to optimize my sleep. Use my Code COLIN15 for 15% off

PRE WORKOUT/ BEFORE-TRAINING MEALS

My breakfast is usually 4-5 eggs, potatoes, and some kind of veggie or breakfast salad with kale, mixed greens, berries and nuts. It mimics exactly what my dinner and lunch meals look like, sub chicken/steak/fish for eggs.

99% of my meals look like this.

When 99% of my meals look like this, it’s totally fine to have an added treat here and there.

CHEAT DAYS

I do not do cheat DAYS. I do not intermittent fast. I eat as much and as frequently as I like, because again, when you’re predominantly eating whole unprocessed foods, it is very difficult to over eat.

Since my training will vary pretty drastically day to day I add meals based on my training volume per day. On a rest day, I still eat clean but since I’m burning fewer calories, I will consume fewer calories. It’s all proportionate.

FOODS I AVOID

Anything with dairy in it (made with milk), anything with processed sugar, anything with processed flour, any processed meats, anything with seed oils (the only oils I will eat are olive, coconut, avocado - we have a blog about that, check it out) any foods that have an ingredient label with any chemicals as ingredients (if you can’t pronounce it, definitely do not eat it), it’s not a food, but alcohol is definitely on this list as well.

If you have any specific questions, always feel free to ask me directly through our IG @samandcolin