Avoid these three triathlon nutrition mistakes for a better 2024

Whether you’re a seasoned triathlete, or just starting out, it’s important to avoid common fuelling mistakes that can hinder your performance. Let’s look at some common mistakes that I see with athletes, and how to correct them for better results.

Mistake #1 Skipping Pre-Training Meals, Especially Breakfast

Why are you skipping out on fuel before morning workouts? Is it because you don’t feel comfortable eating before you train and are not a fan of morning eating? Or is it because you’re trying to exercise in a fasted state to get your body to “burn more fat?” Or are you jumping on the bandwagon of Intermittent Fasting and trying to eat within a smaller eating window?
Whatever the reason, you may want to re-think it if you’re an endurance athlete. Eating before morning training (whether it be a full breakfast or a pre-training snack), is important to fuel your body for the workout ahead. It replenishes glycogen stores after an overnight fast and improves your energy levels for your workout.
If you find it hard to eat before a morning workout, start small and train your body to get used to it. Start by having a banana or even some applesauce. If liquids are the only thing you can tolerate, a smoothie, juice or sports drink can give you some quick energy. All these options work well if you have limited time to digest between waking up and your workout (e.g., less than 30 minutes). If you have a longer time, a more balanced meal like oatmeal with fruit and nuts, or toast with peanut butter and a banana are good options for when you have one to two hours to digest your food. It’s important to practice these strategies in training, so that come race day, you have a solid pre-race nutrition plan in place.

Mistake #2 Trying to Skimp on Pre/During/Post Training Fuel to Lose Weight

Along the same lines, many athletes avoid eating before, during or after training, with the goal of restricting calories to lose weight. While training can improve your body composition over time, you must choose whether to focus on performance or body composition at any given time. To fuel for performance, you need to eat before, during and after training to maximize your energy for workouts, along with recovery between workouts. If you want to be more mindful of your eating, it would be better to reduce consumption outside of your training. For example, you could reduce calories consumed while watching TV in the evening. If you fuel around your workouts, you may find your cravings aren’t as overwhelming, which, in the end, could also work in your favour by optimizing your body composition. Making changes to your body composition is best done with the guidance of a dietitian, in the off season, when performance is not your main focus.

Off season nutrition planning – 5 changes that will help you nail your 2024 tri season

Mistake #3 Drinking Too Much Water Without Electrolytes

Hydration is important, but water is only part of the equation. If you are a high-volume, and/or salty sweater, plain water may not always be enough. Include electrolytes (primarily sodium) in hotter weather conditions and when exercising for more than one hour. While individual levels of sodium losses vary, aim to consume 300 to 600 mg sodium per hour during your training. The upper end of the range (or higher) may be useful if you tend to get white streaks on clothing, are prone to cramping, or feel grainy with salt after workouts. These are all signs you are a salty sweater.
Electrolytes can also be useful in your pre and post-training session fluids, to top up and restore sodium balance. However, if you consume a diet with processed foods, or add salt to your food, this may be less important as you’ll already be getting sodium from your diet.

By becoming more aware of common nutrition pitfalls, you can avoid them, and fuel for maximal performance.

Alexis Williams is a registered dietician from Burlington, On. You can find out more about her services at www.blueprintnutrition.ca