Nutrition tips

• It is important to think about what, how much and when you eat.
• Plan three main meals a day and a couple of snacks between them.
• Eat a varied diet. About half of what you eat in a day should be fruit and vegetables. Of the rest, one third should be grains; one third lean meat or fish and plant fats; and one third low fat dairy products. For example, yoghurt, cereal, porridge or eggs work well for breakfast; for lunch, soup and dishes of lean meat or fish with vegetables (better without sauces). Between these meals you can have light snacks: fruit or nuts. In the evening after training: a salad with lean meat or fish.
• Breakfast is a must. It should be one of the most filling meals of the day, based on carbohydrates and protein.
• Heavy and fatty food is not right for dinner. Eat dinner not right before bed but a couple of hours earlier, so there is still time to burn the calories you have taken in.
• The usual diet of a person who trains should be about 60% carbohydrates (fruit, vegetables, grains, wholegrain flour products), 20% protein (legumes, fish, meat, dairy products, eggs) and 20% fat (mostly unsaturated plant fats).
• Keep simple carbohydrates with little nutritional value to a minimum, that is sugar, sweets, juices and fizzy drinks, and flour based dishes. The body quickly turns them into the glucose it needs, but gets no other useful nutrients from them. An excess of such carbohydrates also quickly turns into fat. If you want something sweet, it is better to have dried fruit, nuts or a little dark chocolate in moderation.
• Get protein not only from plant foods (legumes have the most) but also from meat, fish, eggs and dairy products. If you decide to cut out one of these food groups, think about how your body will get enough protein from your diet.
• Try to eat only healthy unsaturated fats, that is plant fats and the fat of fish or red meat, for example nuts, olive oil, avocados and salmon. Avoid fatty dairy products, fatty meat, snacks and fried food.
• Choose lean meat, for example poultry or lean beef. Eating fish at least twice a week is also recommended.
• Whenever you can, eat food cooked at home: you will know what you are eating and can eat food that is as natural as possible. Avoid ready meals.
• Drink enough water (at least 2 litres a day, and replace the fluid you lose during exercise with extra water). You can roughly work out how much fluid you lose in a workout by weighing yourself before and after it. If you weigh less after the workout, you drank too little during it and must make up for it.
• To keep track of your weight, weigh yourself every week at the same time of day, preferably in the morning.

Before, during and after a workout:

• Eat no later than 1 hour before a workout. The less time there is before the workout, the lighter the food should be. Before a workout, try to eat food rich in carbohydrates.
• If the workout lasts more than 2 hours in total, take in at least 30 g of carbohydrates per hour after the first 60 min.
• During a workout, eat natural food that is easy to digest (for example a banana or a cereal bar).
• Within 30 min after a workout, take in carbohydrates, which at that time restore the glycogen in your muscles best. Protein, which helps repair damaged muscle fibres, is also absorbed well at that time. This is essential to restore your condition and repair muscle damage, so that you can train effectively the next day.

Weight loss:

• Do not lose weight drastically. Losing more than 1 kg a week is not recommended for men, or more than 0.5 kg a week for women.
• It is very important not to overeat: eat as much as you planned and put on your plate, not until you feel full.
• Give up unhealthy snacks and limit carbohydrates with little nutritional value (especially sugar) and saturated fats.
• Increase the share of vegetables and fruit in what you eat.
• Keeping a food diary and noting what and how much you eat is recommended.