DIET



People with diabetes have the same nutritional needs as anyone else. Along with exercise and medications (insulin or oral diabetes pills), nutrition is important for good diabetes control. By eating well-balanced meals in the correct amounts, you can keep your blood glucose level as close to normal (non-diabetes level) as possible.

Vinnie believes that the diet is quite often a forgotten part of being a successful athlete, at any level! The amount of training and effort athletes put in, you must look after your body properly. It's one thing being "fit", but to be "fit and healthy", is far more important! He also believes it is important to have a large variety of food in his diet, (as well as a large amount!) and chooses to eat organic food where ever possible.

RACING/TRAINING
During the training sessions or races the diet role in diabetic people is even more important, one can have hypoglycemic crises during a race easily if diet is ignored due to the fact exercise makes sugar levels drop. And the performance can be affected if hyperglycemic occurs.

Vinnie takes around 50grams of complex carbohydrate each hour, that keeps his Glucose levels fine during all exercise duration.


Vinnie´s Words on Hydration


At the race briefing the day prior to a triathlon race, is commom to see athletes walking around with water bottles trying to load themselves with water and get hydrated.

The one thing they don't know is that in most case, they are doing more harm than good by drinking plain water only.

By race day is normal to hear people complaining about cramps: ´´It never happens with me in training´´ the say. Well, you never get your electrolyte unbalanced in training too, that's why!

Drinking plain water the day before a race can dilute electrolytes that are already in your system, the water is going to wash them off, don´t think that with a clear urine you are getting hydrated, you are NOT.

So if you want get hydrated, keep that water and electrolyte inside yourself, I recommend drinking water only in smal amounts or when having a meal with it, another very pratical solution I use is drinking sport drinks, I recommend NUUN as when you travel to a race, you don't want take liters of sports drinks, so take a tube of NUUN and you will be all set.