As training volume increases, it becomes very important to make sure you are fueling well.  The first thing that I do to ensure I stay on track, is to add some high quality snacks, between my main meals.

I have learned on my triathlon journey, that if I don’t prepare ahead of time, to address the hunger that comes along with increased training load, then I will eat “bad” stuff at work.  There are always so many temptations in our office.  There are chocolates and candy bars in bowls everywhere. It seems like someone always brings in donuts, cookies or cinnamon rolls and leaves them by the coffee machine.  After lunch, the leftover catering food appears; pizza, huge deli meat sandwiches or fried chicken.

Don’t get me wrong, I love eating all these things.  The problem occurs when I gorge and overeat on these things, because my body is hungry for fuel.  To avoid these moments, I find it is critical to bring with me to work, those high quality snacks, that I mentioned above.

My standard snack for the morning, is a planned ‘second breakfast’.  My go to option for this meal, is steel-cut oats with some nuts, dried fruit and honey.  Today, I added walnuts and dried cherries.  If I am particularly hungry, I will follow this up with something like a banana.

I also do something similar, when hunger strikes again mid-afternoon.  In this case I am more varied with my choices. I maybe have a whole wheat muffin with nut butter, some home-made rice cakes, a bowl of fruit or some raw vegetables like carrots and celery.

While all these options might not sound as much fun as donuts or pizza, and they are not; I do find that by making smart choices, my energy level stays high and I am set up well for my evening workouts.

Whats snacks do you eat during the day?  I would love to hear some suggestions in the comments below…