Help. I'm tired of eating.

[mrs.jacinthe]

Since I've increased swim training, I've developed a terrible case of whatever runger is called for swimmers.  If I don't eat every 2-3 hours, I get nauseous, irritable, and/or lightheaded.  But I've now gotten to a point that's surprising to me - I don't WANT to eat, even when I'm hungry.  Nothing sounds good.  Nothing tastes good.  I'm just forcing food down so I don't feel icky.  I'm trying to balance out my carbs and protein, as well as healthy veggies and fruits, but all I really want is carbs, and even most of THOSE don't sound good.

So, I must be doing something wrong, right?

Here's a sample day, with food and activity - I need either ideas for more variety or corrections to my general intake:

Wake at 5am.  2 cups coffee, banana, baggie of dry cereal.
Masters 6-7am (I'm coaching, so moving around on the deck, but not really active, per se)
Home by 7:30-ish, eat 2 eggs scrambled and some ham
Work (desk job).
10am - starving.  Eat some cheese and cold cuts (lebanon balogna, lately)
Work.
12:30 - hungry.  Nothing sounds good.  Eat (essentially) a burrito bowl with grilled chicken (rice, chicken, lettuce, tomato, salsa, beans, guac - about 550 kcal)
Work.
2:30 - clif bar in the car on the way back to the gym
3pm - teach private lesson, eat apple, then swim (4k yards)
Home again, then R gets home.  
Dinner @6pm-ish - grilled burger on a thin bun, steamed veggies (lately I'm loving TJs soyccotash, which is just weird), possibly some beanitos for extra protein
house-stuff
8:30 - starving again.  Probably eat some fruit and yogurt.
9pm - headed to bed.

I drink plenty of water throughout the day.  Help, what am I doing wrong?

[hannahb]

No advice regarding your diet, sorry. I am always starving right after swimming. My husband and I called it the swimchies (swimming munchies). Hope someone can help!

[Wines Not Whines]

Are you eating a lot of the same things? I get bored with my usual meals and snacks after a while and I need to change things up.

[al320]

I love tjs soycatash!

So i dont swim nearly as much as you do, but it makes me significantly hungrier than even the longest run. What seems to be helping me is that i have a honey stinger waffle in the car on the way home fom e pool, then a glass of chocolate milk as soon as i get home, before i hop in the shower. Ill have breakfast after i shower, get dressed, etc. so basically, i have a bunch of calories right after i swim...that seems to help.

[Susie]

Protein is awesome and all, but you look light on carbs. Dry cereal, the Clif bar, thin bun, what else? I'm not sure it'd fix your problem, but it does seem a little light to me.

[mrs.jacinthe]

There's beans and rice in there too, plus fruit and the bean chips with dinner in this sample day.

Some days I eat a LOT of carbs, some days not so much. But every day is a struggle to eat anything BuT carbs. For example ... this evening for dinner, the only thing that sounded remotely appealing was frozen yogurt and captain crunch from the local froyo bar. So that's what I ate. Even thinking about protein makes me feel a little queasy right now.

Eta: I will eat a legit dinner in an hour or so (probably by forcing myself to eat it) ... the froyo is just a good example of my problem.

[Deleted]

I wonder if a PB sandwich with some honey at 10 am would be more filling. Maybe add another carb source like a sweet potato or brown rice or quinoa at dinner. For recovery after your PM swim, try chocolate milk. You may be going too long without food.

[m1and1m]

I dunno, but I have a similar problem (not swimming though, skating). My caloric needs have gone way up, but my ability to stomach food has gone down.

I'm curious what input you get, maybe it will help me too.

[runaways]

No advice, but I'm having the same problem. I am so tired of eating, and all I really want is junk. It's so frustrating and I hope you figure it out!

[Brit]

How many calories are you eating total? My guess based on that example is 2000-2200. Is it possible that you are just not eating enough?

Also, I second the carbs thing. If I am running a lot I need to shift my eating to be more carb heavy. I typically feel more satisfied with 'heavier' carbs like brown rice, quinoa, sweet potatoes, etc. than I do with bread, cereal, sweets (froyo), etc.

[wambam]

More fat.

[katinthehat]

What about a handful of nuts? I love salty cashews after a swim. Plus, it doesn't take much to get in a good dose of calories.

[beachygal]

Is there any way you could do your long swim before bed? I did a swim class (got up to 2500 yds) that ended at 9:45. I would just shower, go home and have a small snack (<300 calories), then go to bed.

[mrs.jacinthe]

Sept 5, 2013 9:00:11 GMT -5 @vtcupcake said:

Everything is balance. You need protein but too much makes you feel too full for too long. You need fats but the right kinds. Carbs are necessary, but don't eat too much sugar. I think nutrition is way harder than actually putting in the work for the training.

OMG, YES.  I just want someone to bring me food in the right quantities and proportions like I'm training for the Olympics or something.  LOL  I think in the off-season I'm going to do a metabolic analysis and then a sit-down with a nutritionist at the UC Davis Sports Performance center to work on this very thing.

What I'm getting from this post is that the consensus is more "dense" carbs - sweet potatoes, brown/wild rice, etc.  I do like sweet potatoes and I'd be happy to include them far more often.  


Quick question for those who recommended chocolate milk: I haven't liked the stuff since grade school, but I'm guessing that different brands taste differently (horizon versus government surplus probably isn't much of a challenge).  Is there a particular brand you like better than others? 

[katinthehat]

Sept 5, 2013 11:23:11 GMT -5 mrs.jacinthe said:

Sept 5, 2013 9:00:11 GMT -5 @vtcupcake said:

Everything is balance. You need protein but too much makes you feel too full for too long. You need fats but the right kinds. Carbs are necessary, but don't eat too much sugar. I think nutrition is way harder than actually putting in the work for the training.

OMG, YES.  I just want someone to bring me food in the right quantities and proportions like I'm training for the Olympics or something.  LOL  I think in the off-season I'm going to do a metabolic analysis and then a sit-down with a nutritionist at the UC Davis Sports Performance center to work on this very thing.

What I'm getting from this post is that the consensus is more "dense" carbs - sweet potatoes, brown/wild rice, etc.  I do like sweet potatoes and I'd be happy to include them far more often.  


Quick question for those who recommended chocolate milk: I haven't liked the stuff since grade school, but I'm guessing that different brands taste differently (horizon versus government surplus probably isn't much of a challenge).  Is there a particular brand you like better than others? 

If you can find it - Promised Land

[Wines Not Whines]

I buy Trader Joe's chocolate syrup and add it to 2% organic milk. Then I can add however much chocolate I want.

[naldridge]

Chocolate almond milk is awesome. Also, if you are a fancy pants or have a large chocolate milk budget, there are all kinds of fancy new drinking chocolates at the store lately.