7 Nutrition Tips to Optimize Your Off-Season So You Can Come Back Stronger and Healthier Than Ever
For many of you, November, December, and maybe even January (or the holiday season) is when you take time off or away from training for a little bit—either to give your body some much needed rest from the daily grind or to enjoy more time with the family/friends during the holidays. A question I get often is how to eat during the off-season. There may be multiple reasons you worry or wonder about this, and all are valid. Here are some of my top tips for athletes as they head into a period of rest so that you come back refreshed and feeling ready to start a new training block stronger than ever!
Continue to eat enough to fuel your body. Just because you aren’t running as much as you were doesn’t mean you should cut calories or limit yourself either. Your body just went through a lot (especially those of you who ran marathon distances or greater). You need to ensure you have adequate calories (i.e., energy from fat, carbs, and protein) as well as the micronutrients (i.e., vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants) necessary to repair and recover from all that work you put in. What are some signs you may not be fueling enough? Lack of energy, you are tired all the time, you find yourself getting sick more frequently, you can’t concentrate or are irritable, or you aren’t able to recover from basic workouts as easily. What eating enough can do for you? Support your immune system, contribute to better sleep and recovery, improve your mood and concentration, support bone health, help with off season goals – like gaining muscle, and more.
Avoid restrictive diets, detoxes, cleanses or fancy supplements. You don’t need them, and they aren’t good for your body. More than anything they can put you in a severe calorie deficit which completely defeats the goal of the off season. Instead of allowing the body to rest and recover, you are putting it under extreme stress which does nothing for you or getting you ready to go into a new training block. Detoxes, cleanses and fancy supplements also do nothing but take your hard-earned money and throw it down the train. A detox or cleanse seems like a good idea in theory – until you realize that fully functioning and hopefully healthy liver of yours does all those things on its own and for free. Stick to a balanced diet – one that includes fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, healthy fats and complex carbs – and limit your alcohol intake every so often – and save your money.
Variety is the spice of life. So, vary up the foods you eat each day and don’t neglect your fruits and vegetables! Just like training – you do a variety of workouts to achieve your end goal. The same is true with your diet. And if there’s one thing that I drive home with the athletes that I work with it’s that you need to eat your fruits and veggies. A green drink doesn’t replace them (and frankly, is another big waist of money). During the off season, aim to fill at least ½ your plate or bowl at each meal with fruits and vegetables. Fresh, frozen, canned, or dried. Roasted, steamed, microwaved or sauteed. All forms and types of cooking styles work as long as you are eating them. Why? They are nutrient powerhouses packed with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants that are helpful not only for repair and recovery but also daily health.
Listen to your hunger and be more mindful. During training, you may have felt like an endless pit of hunger. As you start to taper down and or take a complete break, you may find you are stilly pretty darn hungry. That’s ok – it’s your body saying you need more fuel. Or you may start to notice your hunger levels start to subside. That’s also ok. Everyone is different and it’s important to listen to your hunger and honor it. Check out this article for more on when it’s important to listen to your hunger cues and when it might be less important.
Stay hydrated. This is something I think we all – including myself – could work on. And what better time than during the off season? A good rule of thumb for meeting your daily hydration needs is to drink ½ your body weight in fluid ounces of water (e.g., 150 lb person needs to drink 75 fluid ounces of water/day). Add additional fluids on days you work out. Tips for staying hydrated that go beyond just having a glass of water nearby:
Time your work breaks with a water break. Try to stand up every hour or so and take a sip. Take this a step further by adding regular alarms to your phone to remind you to drink.
Add fruit, veggies, or electrolyte tabs to water to make it more palatable and fun to drink.
Get a fun water bottle that you can refill multiple times a day as an incentive to drink. Set a goal for how many you will drink in a day and make sure to meet it!
Bring water with you everywhere you go. In the car. To the gym. On a walk. Then there’s no excuse not to drink.
Experiment with new fueling options. What better time than now to try that new gel flavor you’ve been wondering about. If it doesn’t sit well with you – at least you it’s not a pivotal training run that you just f’d up! This is especially true for those of you with sensitive stomachs. The time is now to train your gut! If you want to learn more about what that entails, check out this blog post.
Get back to basics. Create a routine that works for you. Never meal prepped before? Start now. Get into a habit of creating a weekly meal plan each week. You don’t have to stick to it to a T, but it can be helpful in saving you time and money as well as reduce stress. Especially when the dreaded ‘what’s for dinner?’ gets asked. Check out this blog post for more meal prep tips and one of my favorite recipes.
Recovery taking longer than you expected? Want to focus on perfecting your nutrition now that you have more time in your schedule? Or just have a question you’d like me to address? Then let’s chat! Schedule a free 30-min discovery session with me today!
