Nutrition Clinic

This weekend our team attended a Nutrition Clinic.  Everything the nutritionist talked about wasn't rocket science.  For the most part it was basic common food knowledge of things we should be doing anyway (e.g., drink lots of water, eat more whole foods, etc.).  We spent a lot of time on hydration requirements and understanding the signs of dehydration and over hydration and what happens when the natural sodium ratio within the cells are disrupted (BTW, I had my first "not enough sodium" experience last weekend and it's pretty fascinating to get to know my body in this way). 

One thing she focused on is that training does not equal weight loss.  The body will most likely lean out naturally as the volume of exercise increases IF you eat appropriately to support your energy requirements.  Deliberately trying to lose weight and consume less calories will decrease lean muscle mass, increase the risk of illness and injury, and result in bonks, mood swings, and being overly fatigued.  She said it will make for very uncomfortable and long training/race days.  This was a huge eye opener to me.  While I sure as heck did not sign up for IM to lose weight, (as there are much less grueling ways to achieve that), I did assume that a small amount of weight loss would be a bi-product of the training.  Getting rid of some excess weight will only result in me being able to go faster on the bike and run.  But, after sitting through this clinic, I realize it will require some very careful planning to balance nutrition requirements and ensure the calorie consumption is enough to support the rigorous training requirements.  I guess you could say that would be true for anyone who needs to lose weight, but when 8 hour weekend workouts are included, and we are supposed to consume 200 calories per hour during training, it just adds a whole other layer of complexity.