This is the first part of a twelve-part training series written exclusively for Redpoint Nutrition by professional climber, Certified Personal Trainer and Nationally Accredited US Climbing Coach, Brandi Proffitt. Please visit the list of topics in the Women's Climbing Series and the date's they'll be posted here. Don't want to miss out on future posts? Send us an email and let us know you'd like to be added to the Women's Climbing Series email list. We'll ping you everytime a new post is added!
I am often asked how I eat and what types of supplements I take. Below are guidelines that I generally follow when making nutrition choices. For those of you interested in changing your eating habits, I recommend picking one or two items from the list and following it for a week. Introduce new items as you are able. It's important to be realistic about what rules you are really able to follow - habit, preferences, convenience and expense are all issues that will affect your ability to follow any nutrition plan. Allow yourself to make changes slowly so that you have the opportunity to find realistic ways to make new habits stick. Please know that I am not a registered dietician or nutritionist; this information is based solely on my own research and personal and professional experience as an athlete, coach and fitness trainer.
- No fast food
- No high fructose corn syrup (highly processed; high in calories/low in nutritional value; linked to obesity, heart disease and diabetes)
- No soft drinks with high fructose corn syrup and/or phosphoric acid (extremely hard on bones/joints/kidneys; depletes the body of calcium; depletes bone density)
- No partially hydrogenated oils (very hard for your body to process; slows metabolism; linked to weight gain, multiple sclerosis, development of food allergies, arthritis and other joint problems; basically a really cheap way to give foods nice texture)
- No deep fried foods (deep frying produces partially hydrogenated oil)
- No cigarettes
- Limit overall intake of sugar (remember beer & wine have high sugar content) - moderation!
- Limit caffeine to 2 drinks/day.
- Learn to read labels (stay away from foods with very long ingredient lists, especially when you can't pronounce most of the ingredients).
- Cook your own meals as often as possible - make big dishes & keep them for leftovers.
- Eat 1 piece of fresh fruit every day.
- Eat several small meals each day, rather than 2 or 3 really big meals.
- Start your day with breakfast - don't go hours without eating after you wake up. This will help to regulate your metabolism.
- Limit low-quality wheat products, like cheap pasta & pizza. Potatoes, sweet potatoes, brown rice or beans & rice are better alternatives.
- Hydrate - you really do need to consume 8 glasses of water a day. Record the amount of water you drink (iced tea doesn't count) in ounces each day.
- Supplement your diet with high quality vitamins and nutrients - do some research and ask a trusted doctor or nutritionist to determine what supplements are right for you. I take Omega-3 (I like the one from Nutriex), Glucosamine Sulfate (Redpoint Nutrition carries Nutriex Sport, a glucosamine/chondroitin supplement), a mulit-vitamin (like Multi-V) and of course, CRANK.