A Day in my Stomach

People seem to think that nutrition isn't important for throwers.

Au contraire, my friends! A javelin thrower needs to sprint down a runway and be able to move in an athletic manner at the end of it. For me and my metabolism, that means watching what I eat to a certain degree! In college, I thought I needed far more Calories than I actually do. I work the hardest I possibly can, but training in mostly short bursts of activity doesn't burn nearly the energy that, say, a 5-mile tempo run or repeat 800s might. I can remember eating primarily pasta and not much else the night before competitions in the past, whereas now I'm all about protein and trying to eat lots of vegetables.

Through a Nutrition, Fitness and Health degree at Purdue, more free time after graduating from college, and simply paying attention to how I feel after eating food, I've figured out a good system for myself. Not every day is the same, of course, but here's what I ate on Tuesday! I had one practice in the morning and a massage in the afternoon.

Breakfast:

-A banana.
-Two scrambled eggs with milk, alfalfa sprouts and spinach.
-A bowl of strawberries, blueberries, flax seeds, vanilla greek yogurt and cottage cheese.
-A water/cranberry juice/lemon juice/dandelion root tea mixture. It is supposed to promote liver function and help you lose water weight, which I think is silly, but it's helping me drink more liquid this week (something I'm not typically great at!).

Snack?:

-A Powerade Zero while lifting and after throwing. I don't know if that counts as a snack.

Lunch:

-A little bit of chocolate milk with a lot more nonfat milk.
-Taco Tuesday at the Olympic Training Center! It happens every week and I love it. Ranchera beef, beans, corn, salsa, sour cream, guacamole, and spring mix lettuce.

Snack?:

-One of the peanut butter cup cupcakes I made on Sunday. Is this a snack or just dessert? I was defenseless; they are awesome. Follow the link for the recipe I looked to for guidance; I used a white cake recipe from the book Russ got me for Christmas instead of a box mix like the link suggests, and made Peanut Butter Buttercream Frosting and Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting (both from the same book). They aren't the prettiest things, sorry. If only you could taste through your screen.

Dinner:

-Water.
-Salad I threw together at the training center after my massage: Spinach, flank steak, tofu, pineapple, steamed veggies, three different kinds of seeds, tomatoes, chickpeas, and balsamic vinegar and olive oil.
-I may or may not have had a few of the peanut butter cups that went in my cupcakes after dinner.

Having my own kitchen has been the best. I have the freedom to make food that tastes good to me, and I swear I eat less than I have for the last two years simply because I have a refrigerator that can house leftovers.