A 3min Read

How PLT Nutrition is different to other coaching companies is a surprisingly common question.

Although we can’t speak directly about any nutrition company or compare us to anyone, we can tell you more about what we believe makes PLT Nutrition stand out, what our clients refer to as the ‘PLT Difference’…

1. Our real flexibility. Companies that promote flexible dieting still restrict clients by insisting they apply exacting tracking processes and consuming a set number of calories each day. This is not flexible and can often result in disordered eating.
2. Our relaxed & fluid approach tracking. We don't ask you to track everything like other companies. We teach you how to track and be consistent in the early weeks, then when you have the process understood we take everything down a notch. Many things we don't concern ourselves with tracking. We also apply multiple dietary approaches to avoid the 7 day diet feeling that often fatigues so many people.
3. Our real human contact/coaching. We don't use automation by design. We meet you face to face from the start, no hiding behind canned emails like other companies. Really face to face meetings with your personal coach.
4. Our weekly detailed video check-in. No automation. No 1-liner generic responses. Your PLT Nutrition coach will talk you through your week(s) data and highlight the wins and the challenges, they'll set-out a clear plan for the following week. Seeing your coach talk through your week(s) is a key part of our process to keep you engaged and connected throughout your journey.
5. Our flexibility. We adapt your plan around you each week, making adjustments to your plan most weeks to ensure progress whilst factoring in your personal life and lifestyle.

PLT Nutrition's vision is one where dieting shouldn’t be restrictive in any manner. No restrictions in WHAT you eat & no restrictions in HOW you eat. We won't ever ask you to meet your daily targets, forcing a person to blur their body's natural hunger signals. We ask you to eat when you are hungry and can support this because we have a protocol for higher/lower calorie days.

A “Really Flexible Diet” is one where you have the freedom to eat more or less each day depending on your hunger & metabolism levels. Having the freedom to eat more on heavy training days and less when we are not hungry is true ‘lifestyle dieting’.

Whether a person eats 2 or 8oz of broccoli isn’t going to impact their diet so why do other companies expect someone to account for it?

Allowing you, the client, complete freedom reduces their stressors and increases their chance of success.

Without automation, with only human interaction and hands-on decision making, PLT Nutrition promises to work as a team with each client, meeting them at their goals to ensure the client experience matches their expectations; this is the 'PLT Difference'

Tks
Paul

A 3min Read

Is +5/-5 grams really the gold standard for tracking?

Many people and companies believe in the +5/-5 approach to tracking and it certainly works but at PLT Nutrition we don’t believe it is needed or of any benefit.
The approach asks you to be within +5/-5g of your daily macro targets.
 
It’s benefits:

• It ensures accuracy

 
It’s negatives:

• Its restrictive. It takes a typically flexible diet and makes it less flexible.
• It asks a person to push through and eat even when not hungry. This blunts our body’s natural hunger signals. Eating beyond fullness is a part of why many people are overweight in the first place.
• It can easily become a stressor of a diet and worse, can uncover/ exacerbate obsessive tendencies and result in fatigue and disordered eating.
• It’s unnecessary.

Whether you track your daily fish oil, whether you track 3 or 7oz of broccoli, salad leaves, salsa, marinades etc isn’t going to impact your fat loss or general health goals. No one ever became overweight eating these things.
Yes they are part of your overall calorie intake; yes, you most likely underestimate the number of calories you eat, but whether you track these items isn’t of consequence.
It’s the other parts of your life that are the impactful areas, the parts that should be tracked and controlled.
Fat loss comes from reducing your calorie intake and possibly increasing your calories burned, that’s not likely going to come from reducing broccoli and if that’s your approach it’s the wrong approach.
Your tracking isn’t designed to be an expression of your complete calorie intake or your metabolism. It’s designed to identify the areas of your diet that can be improved and apply control to. If you do this, you can achieve your goals and track in a much more relaxed and fluid manner.
 
There’s nothing wrong with +/-5 if you enjoy that approach - PLT Nutrition just believes it’s unnecessary...
 
And this why we are THE “Really Flexible Dieting” company 💛
tks
Paul

A 5 Min Read
What is PeloFondo?
PeloFondo is a community event for Peloton Riders, focused on long distance mileage.  There is no fee to join the event and riders can choose their distance goal between 35 and 120 miles.  If you haven't already, head on over and Register For The Event. If you're looking for a team to join, by all means please join team PLTnutritionFIT!!

PLT Nutrition provided the nutrition advice for this years event, checkout the video below for the complete details!
Watch the official Pelofondo Video on YouTube!

Pre-Race Day

Before the race its important to be well rested, hydrated and have some good balanced nutrition.
Things to consider:

• 3-4 days out, reduce/eliminate alcohol consumption.
• 48hrs out, focus on good nutrition; lean meats, veggies, potatoes w/skins, hydrate w/electrolytes, salt your food
• Try and get 8hrs sleep each night if you can.
• The night before, be mindful to eat a well balanced meal and to follow that meal with more carbs before bed. Try to include some fructose too to help your liver and aid sleep

Race Day

OK - lets cut to the chase. You want to avoid the bonk! 
 
**What’s the bonk?!
In endurance sports such as cycling and running, hitting the wall or the bonk is a condition of sudden fatigue and loss of energy which is caused by the depletion of glycogen stores in the liver and muscles. Milder instances can be remedied by brief rest and the ingestion of food or drinks containing carbohydrates.
 
If you’re participating in the next PeloFondo on April 17 & 18, especially if you’re riding for more than 2 hours (everyone has various mileage goals) you’re going to want to fuel yourself properly. If you are an experienced endurance athlete, follow your normal protocols for race day given to you by your coach; the following information is for those new to a longer event and the everyday rider.
 
Let’s start with hydration, and let’s start that SOON!
 
Two-three days out you should start to increase your intake of water by 25% or so. If you’re someone who generally drinks very little water (you know who you are) now is a good time to track water so you ensure your body is well hydrated on Saturday morning.
 
Electrolyte powders that we add to water such as Nuun and LMNT are great, if you have them, use them the days before and the day of. Alternatively there are a variety of canned/bottled beverages that will provide you with increased electrolytes, Propel & Gatorade for example, the powders will have higher levels of potassium, sodium and magnesium but use what you can find easily.
 
Now, what about your eating.
 
**If you’ve never participated in any type of endurance event, now is not the time to experiment with foods/products you’ve never had before. You might read information that suggests gels, chews, etc, and these products can be fantastic fueling sources, but if you’ve never used them before, you don’t know how your body is going to react to them and we all know how challenging it can be to 'clip out'...we don't want any emergency bathroom needs!
 
The night before you begin the PeloFondo, be sure to position a good portion of your day’s carbohydrates; its a good idea to eat some fruit/fructose to help your liver and to aid sleep.
 
If you plan on riding longer than 2 hours we suggest you use some gels, chews etc (if you have used them before, see note above) or sweet potatoes, a banana/some easy digesting carb, and/or perhaps a Gatorade style drink 
 
If you plan on riding a long total distance, you should consider breaking it down into 2 hour slots. At the end of each slot consume 30-60g carbs depending on your overall nutrition plan; again some easily digestible carbs, sweet potatoes/fruit and 10-20g of protein, either a shake/some ground turkey/pork/chicken (ground meat is easily digested) - something low fat
 
When you have completed the ride for the day be sure to have a quick 'meal' that is a ratio of 2:1 or 3:1 carbs:protein, perhaps a shake with oats, protein powder, low fat milk; maybe a bowl of cereal & low fat milk. Then a nice balanced mixed macro meal within 2hrs; 20-30g protein, 10-15f, and as many carbs as you have in your plan (and depending how early you ride)
 
If you are splitting your total distance over 2 days you should repeat the above
 
Have fun on PeloFondo weekend please, we always need to smile and have fun
Tks
Patti Lawson
Head Coach