The Diet of an Elite Level 100m Runner - Part 4

Part 4  - Putting it all together, & Lifestyle factors

In the last three parts, I explored and explained my diet and supplement choice. Now I will put all of this together, and show you what my general supplement programme looks like. I will also discuss some lifestyle factors that are important to health and performance.

As I discussed in part one, diet has to provide the basis of any good programme, as it is impossible to reach top performance levels without being in really good health. Therefore, my diet is set up to ensure I have adequate fuel to train with, and take on sufficient healthful nutrients to be in good health. Also, please remember that this diet is an example if what I would have during a training stage where I would be looking to cut fat as well as train hard, so some macronutrient value may seem a bit low.

1)    Breakfast

50g Porridge oats with organic skimmed milk, omega seed mix, handful of mixed nuts, and 50g of berries, followed by 2-3-egg omelette (1 whole egg, the rest egg whites). Supplements – multivitamin, vitamin C, vitamin B, vitamin E, glucosamine and chrondritin, probiotic, omega-3, green tea extract.

Here, the porridge provides energy for my morning training session. The nuts and berries provide healthy fats and various vitamins and minerals, and the eggs provide some protein. I also use breakfast as the time to take the majority of my vitamins and minerals for the day.

2)    Pre-training

Exceed with 2 scoops of tyrosine, 1 scoop of ALCAR. Caffeine for hard sessions.

The BCAA from Exceed provides me with some fuel for the training session, with the tyrosine and caffeine providing some stimulation.

3)    Post-training

Protein shake, comprised of: 40g whey protein, 2 scoops Creatine, 2 scoops Leucine, 1 scoop glutamine, 2 scoops OKG, 1 scoop greens powder 30g dextrose.

This is just a standard protein-carb mix shake to enhance recovery from session one.

4)    Lunch

200g fish (Tuna 1xper week, Salmon 3xper week, mackerel 3xper week), whole-wheat pitta, unlimited salad. Supplements – Digestimax

I eat fish for my lunch everyday, as it is a good source of protein and healthy fats. The pitta gives me some low-GI carbohydrates to refuel from the morning session, and also provide some fuel for the afternoon session. The salad provides plenty of nutrients, and Digestimax enhances digestion.

5)    Pre-training

Exceed with tyrosine and ALCAR

6)    Post-session 2

Post-workout shake of 40g whey / casein protein mix

Slower release blend of protein to ensure recovery.

7)    Snack

Piece of fruit and low fat yoghurt

8)    Dinner

200g chicken or 150g beef, 100g sweet potato or 40g brown rice, unlimited steamed vegetables. Supplements – omega-3 and Digestimax

Dinner is similar to lunch, with a protein source, car source, and plenty of veg!

9)    Pre – Bed

40g casein protein, 1 scoop glutamine, 2 scoop Leucine, 2 scoop OKG, 1 scoop greens powder, and 4 x ZMA tablets, multivitamin and vitamin C.

In addition to this diet, various lifestyle factors are important too. For example, there is no point having the best diet in the world if you only sleep for 4 hours a night. Sleep is incredibly important, as it is when the majority of recovery occurs, and hence a lot of anabolic processes too. It is also important to lower your exposure to harmful contaminants, such as cigarette smoke, heavy traffic, certain preservatives and additives.

This has just meant to provide a very brief, un-detailed look at my diet. If you want more information on nutrition, then the following books are the ones that I recommend:

1)    Optimum Sports Nutrition by Michael Colgan

2)    All New Sports Nutrition Guide by Michael Colgan

3)    The Optimum Nutrition Bible by Patrick Holford

4)    Power Eating by Susan Kleiner

5)    Advanced Sports Nutrition by Dan Benardot

6)    Amino Acids And Proteins For The Athlete by Mauro Di Pasquale

The Michael Colgan and Patrick Holford books in particular were real eye openers. If you are an elite athlete, and you are not thinking of nutrition in the way that these guys are, then you are not thinking about it enough!