Dear Marty,  

Getting into and staying in good physical shape is not the easiest thing in the world. We're constantly tempted by other things that may be equally enjoyable in the short term. One of those temptations is skipping your evening workout to sit on the couch, eat a large pepperoni pizza, and watch a movie. :)

Your nutrition/meal choices are one of the variables in your training life you can exercise significant control over.  You don't have to be perfect.  You just do the best you can.  

Overeating and poor daily choices can quickly lead to excessive weight gain, and lead to long term health consequences such as type II diabetes, hypertension, and obesity.  If you battle with overeating or simply don't understand what make good and bad foods, a session or two with a licensed nutritionist would be great for you. Purely from an athletic performance perspective, extra weight slows you down. 

Long term health issues aside, the more serious you are about your multisport endeavors, the more seriously you need to stay on top of your daily nutrition.  With that, here are a few tips:

Skip the soda, except for special occasions. A regular 12 oz soda has 35 grams or about ten teaspoons of sugar in it, and this simple sugar in soda (really high fructose corn syrup) can quickly convert to stored fat.  Exceptions: On the run during a marathon, half-Ironman, or Ironman - the simple sugar in soda is quickly burned off. 

Note: Sugar is not bad. Lots of sugar is bad. :)

Prepare your own meals.  When you make your own food you control a lot of the variables that go into cooking - like pan frying with extra virgin olive oil instead of butter, using antioxidant spices instead of salt to enhance flavor, and using lean meats (or vegetable alternatives) that limit saturated fat intake. 

Note: Fat is not bad. Lots of fat is bad. :)

Eat breakfast. I am amazed at the number of people I speak with that don't eat a real breakfast. I am not saying it is the most important meal of the day - all your choices count. There is, however, significant research indicating that eating breakfast leads to stable blood glucose levels throughout the day (improved insulin sensitivity). This basically will help you to avoid overeating or bad choices later in the day.

Have a post workout meal & rehydrate after longer/harder workouts. You want this ideally within 30 minutes but not later than 60 minutes post workout.  This is not a license to pig out. You don't need to refuel after easy or low intensity workouts. There are lots of articles out there so my summary is: Replace up to / not more than half the calories burned in the workout with a snack or meal containing some mix of mostly carbs and some protein.  You could snack at 30 minutes then have a fuller meal at an hour. Liquid nutrition is easily and quickly absorbed.

Now, you have plenty of choices every day.  Let's line up just a few you can make that will improve your daily nutrition.

• Drink water or watered down fruit/veggie drink instead of soda
• Choose steamed veggies or baked chips/pretzels instead of deep fried french fries
• Choose lean meats, fish, or veggie options over high fat options (re: veggie sausage vs crispy bacon - I can hear you howling with displeasure)
• Eat whole grain bread vs white bread (complex carbs vs simple carbs)
• Cook your own meals using extra virgin olive oil vs butter, lowfat milk vs whole, paprika and turmeric vs salt, and so on
• Eat breakfast
• snack on fruits, nuts, vegetables, and yogurt throughout the day rather than saving it all for a gigantic 7 course dinner
• Drink coffee. Go ahead and have more than one cup.
• Stay hydrated
• Go easy on the salt and sugar
• Go easy on the desserts
• When you dine out make the obvious better choices, at least some of the time
• Chat with a nutritionist if you're having trouble finding your way.

Powerstroke: Speed through force and form DVD 

Premade training plans

Swim workout of the month