UKC

Does anyone have a good, cheap meal plan for a climber? Specifically, I'm training 5 days a week, bouldering and sport climbing around 2 hours a session.

Not looking to build muscle... just wanting to complement recovery and get proper lean. So, not a diet, but just a healthy, effective plan that will stop me from eating crap after a training session.

Thanks!

Jake.

In reply to Jake:

i think the better you eat post-training/climbing the less you crave crap as your system is properly supported.

something like a tuna sandwich on good bread, or a salad with some hefty vegetables after training works well (and negates poweders). wash it down with unsweetened fluids.
doesnt have to be tuna - just something thats a good hit of easy access protein and quality carbohydrates.

then just stick with meat and vegetables, with the odd blow out on crap because lifes too short.
i feel bad mentioning the P-word (paleo) so early on - but it doesnt have to have anyhting to do with all that - just simple, natural foods, avoiding over-processed stuff.
if its bread - eat good bread, if its meat - eat good lean stuff etc. not rocket surgery and certainly not a fad diet either.

honestly, unless your alpine climbing or doing non-stop alex honnold stuff, i dont think climbings all that taxing on the system (compared to power lifting, ultra running etc), so doesnt really demand anything special beyond simple good eating - maybe just a bit more good oil and vegetable protein to aid recovery.
decent sleep will do more for tissue repair than gimmicky diets and supplements.

dont freak out if you go hard on the junk food every now and then - just earn it.

for the good stuff, theres a zillion ways of cooking and buying quality food, especially when you look beyond western cuisine. none of it need be expensive.

only 'trick' i think to leaning-up is maybe add some seaweed to your diet as it speeds the metabolism a bit (its a big ingredient in girls slimming teas). its not a wonder food, but combined with good eating it helps. salted nori is cheap and crunchy. sticks to your teeth and look funny too.
sushi once a week doesnt hurt.

maybe eat a bit too during training, to soften the curve

In reply to ice.solo: Great, just what I was looking for! Thanks man!

In reply to Jake: Pizza and loads of it...
You can get your carbs, protein, glucose, fruit & veg all in one tasty "healthy" meal!

In reply to Cameron94: The ultimate meal :P

In reply to Jake:

what i should have maybe mentioned:

if youre seduced into eating crap because youre out (ie not around a kitchen, which is reality) then its not hard to take salads, nuts, tins of stuff, sandwichs etc.

likewise, for a weekly plan - dont go for a day to day dose of stuff as it gets dull fast. the body stores most things, so as long as you get a normal daily amount of basic stuff (protein, vegetables, carbohydrates etc) then once or twice a week factor in a major dose of some element (ie a protein day, or a carb-load day or whatever) and call it good.

no real need to super-dose on one thing or another unless you either feel you need it, or are prepping for/recovering from a major effort.
if your training is periodized to peak and recover etc, then it will be obvious when to tweak your nutrition to go with it.

im a believer too in, when you eat shite - eat shite, and dont feel down about it. parties, travel etc just indulge, get it out of your system for a day or two once or twice every few weeks for the sake of living and stirring the system up, then get back on track.

diet is the foundation for all the rest, so nail it down, feel good about it, evolve it, and reap the results.

In reply to Jake:

Worth buying Racing Weight which is available on Dave Macleod's website.

In general terms I dont think you can go far wrong with unprocessed food cutting out obviously bad things like sweets, biscuits, alcohol.

Limit calories on rest days (hard).

Nutrient timing is key. Carbs before training and a mix of carbs and protein virtually straight after (eggs, skimmed milk are a good source of protein)

Muesli or porridge is handy and filling in staving off hunger.

In reply to Jake:

Excellent advice from Ice Solo and Shark.

Generally I go for high Protein and low (ish) carbs.
The challenge is eating just enough carbs to fuel your workouts. It's easy to overdo it and feel completely empty if your glycogen store is depleted before a workout.

I'm a believer that natural fats are completely fine - don't even limit them. (whole milk, real butter etc)

My personal favorite quick meals are:
Porridge with Protein powder
Omlette with ground oats (if you need to bulk it out with carbs)

One slightly questionable thing I have is dextrose. I make up a dextrose drink if I'm feeling a bit tired in training. It's better to have a good session than to avoid sugar altogether IMHO.

Good luck
Dan

In reply to Jake:

This is an example of what I'm eating at the moment. Lost 5lbs last week and not suffering from any lack of energy. As others have said, it's all about cutting out the carbs and processed food. All the crap basically.

Breakfast - 2 egg omlette, 0% fat yoghurt with fruit
Lunch - soup - make your own, as tinned soup has stupid amounts of salt
Dinner - steak with a very small portion of chips and as much veggies as you can fit on a plate
Snacks - fruit, fruit and more fruit

You can have the odd treat, eg a couple of drinks, a small bit of cake, pack of crisps etc once or twice a week.

The racing weight book is great.

In reply to Jake: Thanks for all the great advice guys

I've switched from doner kebab and chips to chicken shish with extra salad.

It's made a world of difference.

In reply to Jake:

In praise of porridge ... I have to say that if you're cost conscious it's hard to beat porridge for breakfast. I'm always amazed how much cheaper it is than fancy cereals (like Dorset) and how much less I eat of the stuff. Plus it's chock full of protein - which may be why it keeps me full all morning.

Best way to make it IMHO (per person):
1/2 cup oats
1 1/2 cups cold water
good sprinkle of salt (don't worry, it doesn't taste salty!)
Bring to boil and simmer for 1-3 minutes until the consistency looks good. Serve with sliced banana and honey and a splash of milk on top (heresy for a Scot, I know!). Pour cold water into pot immediately and soak for an hour or two - makes it easy to clean. I used to make it with skimmed milk, which I now think is yuk, and causes a lot more burning on the pan.

It's almost universally praised as helpful in reducing cholesterol levels, has lots of roughage for gut health (should reduce bowel cancer risk). Wikipedia says:
---
Oat protein is nearly equivalent in quality to soy protein, which World Health Organization research has shown is equal to meat, milk, and egg protein.[11] The protein content of the hull-less oat kernel (groat) ranges from 12 to 24%, the highest among cereals.
--

In reply to Siderunner:

It's also akin to eating a bowl of sick.

Rather you than me. Fortunately I am allergic to it so do not have to subject myself to eating it.

Neil

In reply to Neil Williams:

Fair comment, it is an acquired taste!
Nowhere near as gross as Marmite/Bovril/Vegemite on toast though

In reply to Siderunner:

That's pretty vile too