An Endurance Athlete’s Guide to Off-Season Nutrition

Off-season nutrition is a critical part of a triathlete and runner’s performance nutrition regimen.

As a triathlete and runner, my personal biggest nutrition challenge is making that transition to the off-season. The good news is, there are plenty of strategies you can put in place to achieve successful off-season nutrition!

The year I trained for Ironman Wisconsin, that 140.6 mile race was the last of my season and when I was all finished up it was hard to adjust back to a normal diet. I had spent the past 9+ months in heavy training and heavy eating. It wasn’t easy to cut back. I sooooo get it.

Let’s talk thru off-season nutrition and what you need to know !

Eating in the Off-Season

With the grind of the training season over with, the off-season usually means reduced training – cutting back on intensity, length, and duration of workouts which means you’re likely going to be burning less calories.

If you’re looking to avoid unwanted weight gain, you’ll want to focus on cutting back on the carbohydrates and your overall portion sizes. Make an effort for your carb sources to come mainly from fruits and starchy veggies (such as potatoes, winter squash, corn, peas).

On the other hand, if your goal is to gain weight in the off-season an efficient way to do this is by adding some healthy fats to your diet, such as avocado, nuts & nut butters or full-fat yogurt.

Additional Off-Season Nutrition Tips:

• Match your carbohydrate intake to your activity level. Use my Athlete’s Guide to Meal Planning that shows you how!
• This is a great time so return back to more whole foods instead of convenient sports products such as energy bars, shakes and protein powders.
• Include lean protein at every meal and snack.
• Have your biggest meal at breakfast, and taper the size of your meals as the day goes on.
• Reach for unsweetened beverages, milk and water as your beverages of choices.

I’d love to hear from you. Do you find the transition to the off-season challenging?

Interested in bingeing more sports nutrition content for triathletes and runners? Check out my post on exercise-induced GI distress!