In general, triathletes have the best of intentions to eat like champions. This is pretty easy to do when you’re preparing your own meals. It’s harder to do when you have to eat out. What do you do when you go out to dinner and you find yourself immersed in a sea of unfamiliar choices without a wetsuit of knowledge of the menu items to keep you afloat? Well, you pretend like you are eating at Chuck-A-Rama! Really! I am not kidding about this! During the winter, my six-year-old son, Jansen, decided he REALLY wanted to go to Chuck-A-Rama for dinner. My husband and I were way too tired and hungry to argue with Jansen and his brothers so we found ourselves dishing up dinner on the nice warm plates associated with the all-you-can-eat buffet. Ironically, it was easier to eat healthy than I thought it would be. I learned a few things from that experience that I feel are worthy to pass along. So, grab a plate and follow me through this perilous course one buoy at a time.
Buoy #1 – GET YOUR GREENS
When you eat at any restaurant, your first thought should be how am I going to get my raw vegetable? The most obvious answer is the salad bar and the salads on the menu. Even if you are not fond of salads, it is very wise to get a big salad anytime you eat out because not only is it essential food that is packed with nutrients you need to repair your trained body. It will also fill you up quite a bit so you don’t overindulge in other items. Try your very best to get a salad that is made with dark greens like spinach, spring mix and maybe some romaine lettuce. Stay away from salads make from iceberg lettuce. There’s very little nutritional value in iceberg lettuce. If you go through the salad bar, load your salad with as many other raw veggies as you can stand. Avoid the croutons, other crunchy bits of bread products and shredded cheese, but feel free to include beans, nuts and seeds. With a good foundation, it is okay to top your salad off with a vinaigrette dressing of some kind. If you must, then you can go with a “lite†creamy dressing, but remain cautious here. Starting off with a robust salad will set you swimming in the right direction in no time flat.
Buoy #2 – THE MEAT OF THE ISSUE
Your next priority is getting lean animal protein and a small portion of healthy carbohydrate. Getting lean protein is relatively easy at most restaurants. Chicken, fish or turkey are all great choices as long as they are not breaded or friend. If you end up at a place like Squatters, that serves wild buffalo, other game meat like venison or lamb, those are other good lean protein choices as well. Since you are eating out, go ahead and get something you wouldn’t normally fix yourself. I know several people that will order meats at a restaurant that they don’t like cooking at home because of smells or weird raw textures. That’s a great idea. Another tip about meat is to order your red meat and fish as rare as possible. Overcooked protein is damaged protein and your body can’t absorb the protein in damaged tissue very well. Sushi is another great protein option. So, if you like it, go for it!
Buoy #3 – CARB WITH CARE
The carbohydrate serving at restaurants should be kept within reasonable size limits. Most of the time, when you are out for dinner, you haven’t worked out for a while, so you won’t need to eat a ton of carbs. Remember that you should be eating the majority of your carbs during and after your workout, not six hours later. As a rule, you won’t need to get too caught up in what you pick for a carb source as long as you don’t eat a ton. Keep your carb portion to about the size of your fist, and then if you are working out more than 90 minutes a day, you can double that. If you just finished a workout within the last 90 minutes or so, then you can even eat a triple serving, and probably should if you worked out for more than an hour. The smartest carb choices are potatoes, brown or wild rice, fruit and steamed high starch vegetables. A pile of broccoli, or other high water content vegetable, won’t count as a carb source, so you can eat as much as you want and it will keep you regular. Pasta and bread is okay to eat as long as you are careful with how much you are eating. Sometimes getting a big salad with chicken on it and then splitting a pasta dish with a friend works out well.
Buoy #4 – WHAT ABOUT DESSERT?
Sometimes, a great dinner out with the family and friends only gets better with a great dessert. So you just have to get dessert! If you ate a big salad, lots of protein and the right amount of high quality carbs, you should be pretty full. Luckily, this gives you a perfect excuse to share a dessert. If you are going through the line at Chuck-A-Rama, you will end up with a very small dish to put your dessert in. That’s really a good lesson to learn from. You can have your dessert and keep your waistline as long as you avoid overindulgence. I believe the only dates you should make an exception on are race days and your birthday. On those days you deserve and should have as much as you want. In general, if you keep your dessert reasonable, you won’t sink right before you hit the swim finish.
Buoy #5 – HYDRATE
Hydrate all day, every day, but especially when you’re eating out. When you drink water, filtered is still the best choice. If you absolutely have to have something else to drink, then add it to the dessert category. Get a small glass of whatever it is and don’t refill it. Or you can tell yourself that if you eat everything else you are supposed to and then you’re still hungry, then you can get some more. When you’re out on the town, don’t feel bad about brining your own filtered water. Sometimes it’s the only way to ensure that the contents are indeed pure.
Buoy #7 – EXERCISE GOOD JUDGEMENT
If you follow the counsel given above when you eat out, then it will be easy to pick through all the menu choices and find items that will fit your eating requirements as an athlete. You have to learn to order creatively, share, and get used to saying the phrase “No cheese, please.†But you can do that. It is easy to add items to salads and pastas to get enough protein, fruits and vegetables. Luckily for us, many fast food places are becoming more fresh-food oriented restaurants like all the fresh-mex restaurants and sub shops. Wendy’s also has a workable menu. At least the low carb craze has paved the way for more fruits and vegetables in the fast food industry. You are not stuck with only fried foods and refined breads anymore.
Buoy #7 – QUALITY IS WORTH PAYING FOR
Do everything you can to pick eating establishments that offer the freshest food possible and cook with real ingredients. The higher the quality of food, the better you will feel about eating out. Eating high quality food may require you to spend more tie and energy but, spending more on your food will help you spend less at the doctors office in the long run. Your eating habits can be compared to the difference between triathlon swimming in a water skiing wetsuit and one swimming in a tri suit in an open water setting. Both wetsuits work, but the higher quality open water suit will be more comfortable, last longer, keep you afloat and yield a far better performance. Most people would agree that a good wetsuit is money well spent. And since the long-term health of your body is even more important than your swim time, it should be easy to justify buying the best food you can even when eating out.
Wherever you end up, the most important thing to remember is to focus on the first two plate examples. Make sure to eat salad, lean protein and smart carbs. Pick the best quality food you can. If you do that, you will be able to make the best of most any eating out situation, survive the splashing and come out ready to transition into the rest of the day’s rat race.
Debbie Perry is a Certified Sports Nutrition Advisor (CSNA), Certified USA Triathlon Coach and Certified Colgan Power Program Trainer. For more information on Debbie’s consulting services or to ask specific questions regarding nutrition, contact Debbie directly by email at deb@saltlakerunningco.com
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