How do you eat during those recovery weeks at the end of a training plan. I’m going through the last week of SSB1 and i don’t know if i should cut the carbs to a minimum to shave off some weight or will this make me loose gained fitness.
How do you eat on recovery weeks?
Thanks
FWIW I just eat normally. Somehow I am more hungry than normal on the recovery weeks so I figure my body needs the fuel.
In recovery weeks usually two things happen 1) I don’t feel great (fatigued, heavy, tired) which is normal 2) Hungry.
I think it’s important to give your body what it needs, but when I’m not feeling 100% I tend to eat food that isn’t as nutritious for me. So, I try to stay focussed and tell myself that I’m recovering, not on vacation and to eat the same quality as my intense training weeks. I ride in the mornings, which usually means a small carb meal (slice of toast with honey) before the ride and then a more substantial breakfast post-ride. During recovery week I skip the pre-ride meal and do the aerobic rides in a fasted state, but have the regular post-ride meal. The other meals I keep the same. So, overall I’d say I’m probably consuming a slightly smaller intake (200ish calories) than my regular training week. My appetite during recovery weeks seems higher though, but I try to resist this figuring that as long as I’m giving my body a good source of fuel, the appetite is probably a reaction to something else.
Cutting carbs by itself won’t shave off weight. The vital thing is calorie deficit. I’m sure you can run up a small deficit without losing fitness, but I would aim to keep everything balanced, with some good quality protein, lots of veggies, some fruit, and also some high quality slow release carbs. Sweet potato, beans, brown rice, for example. Don’t create the deficit just by eliminating one important nutrient.
In other words, don’t overthink it - eat a healthy balanced diet and keep an eye on the calories if you want to lose weight.
If you take the approach of a normal diet and add fuel during sessions then you don’t need to worry.
Recovery weeks in TR are not idle weeks by any means, you are still training and still repairing muscle.
eat when you feel hungry; your body is rebuilding so don’t starve it of calories; that being said, you may be HUNGRY. Just don’t hang around the kitchen all day and choose fruits and veggies. Get some high quality protein in their and you’ll come back crushing
But can we trust our hunger in this case? I also get food cravings on recovery days and weeks. I worry that it’s just my body anticipating an intense workout that is not coming.
I don’t think so, at least not if you’re like me. The hunger won’t hit hard until 10pm and the dehydration until 2am.