I want to talk a little bit about how you need to eat if you have a tendon issue. Eating to repair tendons isn’t that difficult, but you do need to focus on a couple of important points. First and foremost, tendons are composed of protein, so you need to make sure that you’re getting enough of that macronutrient in your diet. And two, it’s a really good idea to have a few excess calories each day as well.
Extra calories? But won’t that make me fat?
Yes, extra calories will mean that you’re going to put on a bit of extra weight. But let’s keep the end goal in mind. You have a tendon problem, and if it’s tendonosis (as opposed to tendonitis) the tendon has been damaged. In order to repair it, you’d be well advised to eat a little—a little, mind you—over your normal caloric level. Being in a caloric deficit makes it much harder for the body to allocate resources for repair, because it necessarily means taking energy away from something else that needs to be done. If you’re eating a little extra, though, there’s no problem. Your body can keep everything going along smoothly and make the required repairs at the same time. Basically, there’s enough to go around.
It’s the same story with protein. Protein provides the building blocks for almost everything in your body, and most people honestly don’t get enough in their diet. I give specific recommendations in my book, but basically if you’re trying to heal a tendon you need to eat a lot of the stuff.
Here’s an example of a good meal. (It’s good basic nutrition no matter what the circumstances, but especially if you’re trying to repair your tendons.)
Let’s break it down:
First, there is a lot of protein in this meal. One scoop of the powder has 24 grams, and each of the six egg whites (I think I might have eaten a couple before I took the shot) has 3g apiece. That’s a total of 42g…and I’m going to eat another five meals with the same amount through the day. That’s a total of over 200g of protein, and I weigh about 180-185lbs (or 82-84kgs). In other words, more than one gram of protein per pound of bodyweight. I challenge you to keep track of what you eat on a typical day and see if you’re getting that much yourself.
Second, most of the meal is plant-based. I am not a vegan or vegetarian by any means, but there is no question that eating a plant-based diet reduces inflammation in the body. And too much inflammation will only hurt your tendons. So everything except the egg whites is from a plant, including the protein powder.
Third, this breakfast has a lot of carbs for energy. Energy is required for repair. And if you work a normal schedule, carbs are processed best at two points during the day: first thing in the morning and immediately after you exercise. I do eat salads and such with my other meals, because fiber is important, but I limit starches like oatmeal and especially sugary fruits (like the raisons you see) to mornings and within an hour of working out.
So there you have it. An example of a meal that will go a long way toward giving you the building blocks necessary to heal your tendons up quickly. If you want more specific recommendations, along with a program designed to help put your body back in order in the shortest amount of time as possible, you can check out my sales page here.