Triathlon
How Braden Currie fuels for IRONMAN and adventure races
Braden Currie clocks up many kilometres of hard, relentless training to prepare for IRONMAN and multi-day adventure races. Here he reveals what his training nutritional plan is for such events.
Braden Currie grew up on a farm in Canterbury, New Zealand. As a result his diet was influenced by those surroundings. It was very much a staple of meat and veg. While it may not have at the time been seen as the best way to fuel for endurance athletes, ironically it now seems to be in fashion as a new-age nutrition approach. The approach these days centres around the paleo diet, and or a low-carb high-fat diet (LCHF). In some ways for Currie, he’s going back to his roots.
Cooking up a storm in the kitchen
© Roy Schott
Tell us about your paleo-style diet currently?
My diet is pretty simple, I tend to eat a lot of paleo-style foods. In the morning, it’s a protein nutrient-dense smoothie with paleo muesli on top. Lunch is a salad, usually with protein, dinner is similar but with some form of vegetable-based carbs such as roast vegetables – kumara, pumpkin, beets.
What was your diet when you started out?
The era at the time was a high-carbohydrate diet both during training and in the lead up to a race. I didn’t put a lot of thought into my nutrition, but still naturally ate reasonably healthy and tended towards meat and three veggies at dinner. Definitely piled up on the muesli and bread at breakfast and throughout the day.
Braden Currie training in Wanaka
© Miles Holden/Red Bull Content Pool
What made you transition back to a paleo/LCHF diet?
A few years ago I did some metabolic testing with The Auckland University of Technology. This data gave me an insight into how heavily I was relying on carbohydrates.
It was clear that if I raced at the intensity I normally did, that I would inevitably blow up due to lack of being able to digest enough carbohydrates. The testing indicated that I was using almost 100 percent carbohydrates for fuel when running at 71 percent of my capacity or at about 14.1kph. As I was racing a lot of long-distance multi-sport and thinking about doing my first IRONMAN, it naturally initiated the process of change in my diet.
Did it take a while to transition?
It wasn’t until I was based in Tahoe for five weeks in preparation for my big race of the year at XTERRA worlds; I had a solid reason to give everything I had in the lead-up to that race. My family and I had travelled especially to Tahoe for me to train. My wife is always the first to remind me that not committing to every aspect of the big picture will inevitably result in an outcome that's less than what I am capable of. She is very persistent in personality with a background in exercise physiology and nutrition, and is often too much of a presence to ignore.
Muesli fresh out of the oven
© Roy Schott
Preparing a protein shake
© Roy Schott
Braden Currie makes sure he's well fed before taking part
© Roy Schott
Add a bit of muesli
© Roy Schott
What did you notice happen as a result of the diet change?
The key things I noticed during this process was that I had more consistent energy throughout the day. I also gained an ability to train for longer without fuel. I was less hungry. My body overall felt better and the calf injury I had been carrying seemed to dissipate entirely. As a result I was hitting higher training volumes than I ever had and feeling really good. Also I was sleeping well, even at altitude.
Are you happy with the changes?
Almost three years have passed and I've never been re-tested to see if there was a change metabolically, but I’m happy with this approach to nutrition and I know it serves me well during training and on race day. I was lucky enough to have a consultation with Asker Jeukendrup from My Sports Science. Asker is at the top of the game when it comes to sports nutrition and consults with many of the world’s best athletes. It was awesome to sit down with him, he gave me confidence in how I approach my nutrition and a few things I can work on too.
Braden’s top tips on transitioning to a paleo diet
1. Plan well
Write a shopping list for the week based on either recipes that you like, or just keep it simple and eat salads with protein at lunch and meat and three veggies for dinner. Breakfast is normally the hardest place to make change as most people rely on a cereal and toast for breakfast. I have a protein smoothie instead, with a coconut cream and unsweetened almond-milk base.
I use a pea protein by Nuzest, not a whey protein and I add MCT oil, raw cacao, LSA and a probiotic powder for gut health. The fruit base is half a banana and organic blueberries.
2. Avoid cafes and restaurants
Try and avoid at least for the first week. It will be way too easy to lapse if you even go near these places.
3. Benefits take time
With a paleo diet you don’t get as hungry as you used to, but it will take a while for this benefit to kick in as you need to effectively come off sugar and you'll get a come down. For the first week rely on an additional smoothie, or veggies with a nut butter to get you through the tough times.
4. Drink water between meals rather than during meals
As an athlete I find I'm probably dehydrated most of the time, but if you try and drink a tonne of water every time you eat it will affect your digestion. If you can drink between meals, you won’t feel as hungry and it will hold you off snacking. I use a strong sugar-free electrolyte called ELETE that ensures I'm hydrated and not taking on empty water.
Currie in race-mode hydration
© Graeme Murray/Red Bull Content Pool
5. Training fuel
Nut butters mixed with coconut oil is the main one I used at the beginning. Now I don’t really eat during training. If it’s a long ride day, I might stop at a café and get a coffee with cream and choose something paleo like a frittata or a raw cake.
If I have a key session that I need to ensure I get the most out of, then I up my carbohydrate intake with roast veggies the day before (lunch and dinner). It takes a while to increase the muscle glycogen stores, so I make sure I plan a day in advance for key sessions. I also use gels once a week for my key brick sessions. This is normally on a Saturday. I do this to train my gut so it is more accustomed to coping with gels on race day.
6. Let go of your attachment to food
Sometimes I think a lot of athletes have a food obsession. Myself included. Someone told me once to take a moment to think about what I'm eating before I eat, and ask myself if the food I'm about to take in will serve me. It makes it pretty simple and it makes me feel good to make the right choices when it comes to food. We all know what good food is and I’ve found that if I tune into the after effects of crap food,it helps me avoid it. I want to feel good. I want to hit every session of my training plan and I want to make sure I make the most of my career without leaving “food for thought”.