Time to drop the "Of course I can eat that, I'm an athlete" attitude...

Since forever, i've pretty much eaten whatever i like. 

And my morning tea, more often than not, resembled something like this...

I've always been fairly active, and when combined with a fast metabolism, i've never had weight issues.

A few years back i realised i'd stacked on a few pounds. Ok, so peaking at 88 kg at age 38 wasn't too much of an issue, but it was 10 kg heavier than i was 10 years earlier and i knew if i didn't get active the weight would keep on adding up...

So long story short, i ended up semi-seriously running and doing triathlon.

Within a year my weight was back down to a more respectable 75 kg.  And it kind of oscillates between the low and mid 70's depending upon what i'm up to.

With my weight back down to a manageable level and training more than every other day i adopted the "OF COURSE I CAN EAT THAT, I'M AN ATHLETE" attitude...

However, now my training is getting more serious, and i'm trying to enter the realms of ultra/endurance events it's time i re-thought this strategy.

I'm trying to become A Finely Tuned Machine...ok, a semi-serious MOP (middle of the pack) athlete, and accordingly i should treat my body as such.

I've been reading about Paleo, Clean Eating, etc, trying to work out what I "should" and "shouldn't" eat...

So it appears that "The Rules" are pretty simple...

1. Reduce Alcohol...yeah, ok...i'm currently doing Dry July, and even when i'm not 5am training kinda sux when you're hung-over... TICK!
2. Reduce Processed Sugars...step away from the sweets jar...TICK!
3. Reduce Salt...don't really have salt, still need to look into salt tabs to reduce those lost during training...can i get them salt reduced ;) ...TICK!
4. Reduce Saturated Fat...main culprits - apart from the obvious "treats" are apparently dairy and meat - don't do dairy (lactose intolerant) and we eat lean meat...TICK!
5. Reduce Refined Grains...steer clear of white bread, white rice, white pasta, and go for "whole" grain varieties...NOT TICK!! Can improve here!!
6. Reduce Processed Foods...not too bad here, eat mostly fresh...Breakfast Cereal...???...PARTIAL TICK!
7. More Fruit and Vege...pretty good here, snacks are generally from this area...TICK!
8. More Water...happy with my water intake...colour chart says i'm well hydrated most of the time...TICK!
9. More Green Tea...generally have Green Tea on the go most of the time...TICK!
10. More Whole Grains...kinda will be taken care of with 5...???...ALMOST TICK!

So looking at that i really don't eat too bad. Just need to:

• swap the white pasta/bread/rice for whole grain alternatives, 
• keep away from the lolly and treat jar, 
• show some restrain when Dry July is over, and
• sort out breakfast!

One thing i'm going to need to see if i can find are some alternatives to energy gels...but on the other hand, if i'm in need of an energy gel, that's because i've used all my stored energy and need the energy from that high processed sugar right then and there!! (Maybe???)

If anybody can help me out here, please feel free to comment.