Fueling the Off-Season

After my last race of the season, my bike stays in its travel case. Out of sight, and out of mind. Sometimes it stays there for weeks, and I can safely say I have no interest in consuming another sports gel until absolutely necessary. With a long season of racing comes necessary rest and recovery. Events are winding down, and colder temps setting in for the next few months.

For many, it’s time to take a break. Whether you’re just taking it easy, or fully breaking up with exercise for a few weeks, here’s what you need to know about off season nutrition.

When activity changes, so do your calorie needs

With less training, there’s less need for aggressive calorie intakes. During the season, carbohydrate intake is high to match the demands of training and racing. In the offseason, the body requires less. Focus on increasing intake of fruits and vegetables by making them a bigger percentage of your meal. These foods add volume to your meals, helping you to feel full but offering less calories than your typical starchy carbohydrates. Plus, they offer fiber which adds bulk and can be tricky to incorporate into meals around training for risk of GI upset. Now is a great time to increase fiber which would normally interfere with training sessions. Add fresh raspberries to morning oatmeal or try adding winter squash or artichoke to salads at lunch.

Just because you’re moving less, doesn’t mean you should fully cut out starchy carbs. Would it be “healthy” to fully cut out protein from your diet? Of course not. There’s never a time where it's a good idea to cut out an entire food group. This reasoning holds true for carbohydrates. Again, focus on increasing fiber in starchy carbs. Swap the low fiber versions like white bread for whole grains, or try adding beans, peas, or lentils to soups or stews.

Keep protein intake high

We discussed the importance of protein in the last article, but protein intake is still important in the off season. Protein helps with satiety, keeping you fuller for longer after a meal. This satiety effect can be helpful for people lowering their food intake who were previously used to eating more in order to meet their high activity needs. Get some sort of high-quality protein in with each meal or snack. For those who eat animal products, choose lean cuts of poultry, pork, beef, eggs, or low-fat dairy. Fish or seafood like salmon, tuna, or oysters can offer additional benefit from their omega 3 content. For those plant-based, choose soy products or plant protein powders, and add things like nutritional yeast, beans, and whole grains to meals. Off season is the safest time to make changes to body composition. Whether you’re trying to lose weight or gain muscle, you’ll want to keep protein intake high. Frequent protein intakes of 20-40g with meals and snacks can help stave off muscle losses.

Take time to decompress

I’ve found that the athletes who restrict food during the season, usually have the hardest time in the offseason. Do you not allow yourself to eat ice cream while preparing for a race? Then suddenly are downing a pint a day of Ben and Jerry’s in your time off? Or eating all the Halloween candy in one go?

When people restrict food, it usually comes back to bite them. Restriction can easily turn into an all-or-nothing mentality. The thought process goes like this: If you allow yourself to have one brownie, it tastes great, and I’m not sure when I’ll allow myself to eat this again. I’ve already ruined my diet by eating one, so why not go back for more? And this person ends up eating half the brownie pan.

If I say to you, “you’re absolutely not allowed to eat cookies,” I’m willing to bet you’re going to spend most of your time thinking about those little chocolate chips and if milk chocolate is better than semisweet. If you’ve spent the entire year avoiding certain food groups, you’re more likely to feel a lack of “self-control” when faced with those foods again. Give yourself permission to eat. Tell yourself that this is not your only opportunity to eat and enjoy these foods. They’ll be available to you in the future. Loosening the restriction helps. And this goes for in season nutrition, too. Honestly, if eating an ice cream the week leading into the race leads you to believe you’ve ruined your race, there are likely bigger problems needing to be addressed than the ice cream. It goes without saying, but this statement does not apply to all my milk allergy folks, and a full dairy ice cream could actually ruin your race.

Experiment in the kitchen

Off season means more free time and extra energy to put towards things other than training. Make the foods you love that take a little more effort that you’re willing to devote to in-season. For me, it’s things like the Thai Tom Kha soup, which I love. But during season, it’s hard to muster the energy to make that special trip to the not-so-close Asian market to gather all the ingredients.

Take the time to learn some new kitchen skills. Off season is a great time of year to experiment with new recipes. Try making homemade granola or a sheet pan veggies with in-season produce. Personally, I’ve never had a whole roasted cauliflower, but I think it would be fun to try. Now is also a great time to experiment with recipes that are quick and easy, so when your schedule ramps up again, you have some new go-to ideas that keep things interesting.

Enjoy the holidays

Many things can be true at the same time. Is nutrition important in the off season? Yes, absolutely. Should you focus on creating healthy habits during this time? Yes. Can you eat any of the foods you want for Thanksgiving dinner? Also, yes.

How many meals will a person eat in a year? If they’re not skipping breakfast, lunch, or dinner, it's around 1100 meals, plus snacks. What you eat for one meal out of 1100 is not going to have a huge impact on your health. What matters most is a person’s general habits, and the everyday foods one chooses. So, enjoy the holiday. There’s no reason to stress about one meal, or even one day of eating.

Before you know it, training will start ramping up again for next year. Enjoy the break, and the sports gels will be right where you left them.

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