Rescu. caught up with iron woman, Jordan Mercer, to chat all things from her strict training regime to what a day on her plate looks like for her. Read below for our full interview with the ultimate girl power, Iron Woman, Jordan Mercer.
image via Jordan Mercer Facebook
RESCU: What does your day look like on a plate?
Jordan Mercer: 5am: Before I go to swim training I’ll have a glass of water and half a Blue Dinosaur paleo bar.
7.30am: I have a banana following swim training and then I’m straight off to the gym.
10am: I love to get in the kitchen and make a good brekky. While I’m cooking the eggs and bacon or making omelettes, I’ll have a bowl of muesli, fruit and coconut yoghurt. Breakfast is definitely my favourite meal of the day; it’s usually where I eat the most food as well.
11.30am: I will have a banana or a paleo bar before lunch.
12.30pm: At lunchtime I will eat meat to get some protein with some veggies to create a nice filling salad. I like to cook my kale with coconut oil. It becomes pretty tasty, especially if you put a bit of pepper on top, and cook until that kale becomes really crispy. I also love radicchio cooked in coconut oil again and a little bit of apple cider vinegar. To finish it off I’ll have brown rice or quinoa and sprinkle trail mix on top. I will also sometimes have a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar about an hour before meals as it helps wake up your digestive system
2pm: Before training in the afternoon I usually feel quite tired, so rely on the caffeine in Red Bull along with some trail mix, nuts or a banana. I love fruit before and after training I find that a banana is the only fruit I can have without upsetting my stomach.
5.30pm: Post training I have a banana or a paleo bar.
7pm: For dinner, I have seafood, which is my favourite, and I always make sure we have enough vegetables. I love broccoli and sweet potato as a carb, which I sometimes make as chips that I bake in the oven. If not, I will have some mash and radicchio again. One of my favourite things is avocado, so if I haven’t had that throughout the day I will put that in my salad for dinner.
8:30/9pm: Before bed I’ll have coconut yoghurt with nuts on top and frozen berries. Or if I’m feeling like I deserve it I might sneak one small square of chocolate.
image via pinterest
RESCU: What foods do you cut from your diet and which do you rely on during high training periods?
Jordan Mercer: I cut a lot of foods out of my diet, so it will probably be easier to say what I do include. I have a lot of vegetables as part of my diet, and for carbs I don’t eat a lot of bread and bakery food items, so these will come from rice, quinoa or occasionally pasta. I up the carbs especially when I’m in high training periods, as well as caffeine so I can make it through the day.
RESCU: What’s your secret to curbing your sugar and sweet tooth cravings?
Jordan Mercer: I have a big sweet tooth so I don’t find it easy to avoid. A lot of people say “you train so much so you can eat whatever you want” but I really don’t find that that’s the case. I’d rather be fueling my body with good, honest and hearty food, which helps me to perform at my best – I really feel it when I haven’t eaten properly. What helps me curve my sweet tooth is having substitutes. I really like ice cream and as I can’t indulge in it too often, I use coconut yoghurt instead. I’ll basically just add berries, mash it up and freeze it. It’s amazing what you can trick your body into thinking you’re having!
RESCU: What’s a typical week of working out for you? Do you mix up your training or do you have a typical routine? Does it get more intense nearing competitions or does it get lesser to allow for recovery before a big race?
Jordan Mercer: Throughout the year my training regime will change dramatically. Through the summer season, I’m racing in the Nutri Grain Ironwoman Series, where the races are anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour, so training specifically for that. Now I find myself in the endurance phase, training for races that can go anywhere from three to six hours. In a day I train about five to six hours and I’m usually training multi-discipline every day – Monday through to Saturday, and Sunday I have off. Each day I have swimming, gym or running (I alternate between these rather than doing both in one day), and then in the ocean of an afternoon.
I will always taper for an event, which is one of the most important parts of the training routine. Three weeks out from a race we are still doing some of the most intense training, but then from about a week and a half out, the workload lessens quite significantly. It’s always important to go in slightly undertrained, feeling fresh and healthy, as you’ll perform better, rather than being over-trained and injured or tired.
RESCU: What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learnt in terms of your diet throughout your career?
Jordan Mercer: For a long time I was so ridiculously regimented with my diet that I would frown upon anyone who would even hold lollies in their hand. There were times I became too obsessive with it. It’s helped me learn that diet is more about making informed choices. I had to let go of the guilt I felt when I had something that was bad for me and just really appreciate how happy it made me. Treating myself with something that’s not 100 per cent healthy on the odd occasion is something I now know is important, and as long as it’s just kept to sometimes, it’s ok.