Peak performance for any sport, besides the actual physical effort, also depends on the correct nutrition. Effective training includes supplying and replacing the nutrients, fluid and energy that your body requires to perform at its best. It is also important to help your body to prepare for and recover from any stressors it may be exposed to. Your nutrition should provide for your individual dietary preferences as well as the energy requirements of your specific sport. For example, the energy requirements of a high intensity intermittent sport, such as squash, will be considerably different from ultra-endurance sports such as an Ironman Triathlon. Your nutrition goals as an athlete may also vary depending on whether you are in a training, competition or recovery phase. Training, competition and recovery Although there is no one optimal diet to suit everyone’s sporting needs, here are but a few general guidelines:
What are an athlete’s specific nutritional needs? As an athlete you should aim to follow a healthy eating plan giving extra emphasis to the total food intake so that you are able to meet the needs of your higher energy requirements. Carbohydrates The daily carbohydrate needs of athletes vary between 5 and 10g carbohydrate/kg body weight per day depending on the type of exercise and the time spent exercising. Concentrated carbohydrate sources like sports drinks, sports bars, compact high sugar foods, liquid meal supplements and carbo-loading supplements are useful when carbo-loading. Classic carbohydrate-loading techniques have been replaced by the "loaf-load" regime. This involves at least 3 days of intake (8-10g carbohydrate/kg body weight per day) and a week of tapered workouts ending in a complete rest day before competition. During the last day before competition one should try and return to a normal eating pattern. However, cut out any food substances in your normal daily diet that may cause gastrointestinal disturbances. Examples of foods providing 50g carbohydrate: Grains Vegetables and Legumes 3 thick slices bread 10 Provita or snackbreads 1 cup pasta 1 heaped cup brown rice 2 cups bran flakes 1 cup baked beans 3 1/3 cups peas/carrots/butternut/mixed veg 3 medium potatoes 1 cup sweet potato Fruit Dairy 3 medium pieces of fruit 3½ tablespoons raisins 2 cups (500ml) fruit juice 4 cups skim or low fat milk/buttermilk 350ml low fat flavored drinking yoghurt 250ml fruit yoghurt Sports products, sugars and sweet 12 ½ teaspoons sugar 60g jelly babies 10 Super C’s 1 Energy Bar 50g Glucose polymer powder (e.g. Energade) 350ml Sustagen Sport (with skim milk) 3 cups (740ml) Energade (6.8%) 2 cups (500ml) Coke or soft drink Proteins Our protein needs are between 1.2 - 2g protein/kg body weight/day and these, unlike the volume of carbohydrate needed, are easily met on a well balanced diet. The exception may be some vegetarians or those who are eating a low calorie diet. In these cases, protein can be supplemented through the addition of skim milk or skim milk powder to meals and by consuming additional egg white, perhaps through an eggnog drink. Expensive protein powders may not be the answer either since excessive dietary protein is stored as fat or broken down. Neither of these is desirable, especially as the process to remove amino acids (broken-down proteins) from the system increases the risk of dehydration. Fats Fat should only provide the balance of energy needs once the carbohydrate and protein requirements have been calculated. Fats should contribute a maximum of 30% of total energy per day. Reasons for limiting fat include the fact that fat is calorie dense, stimulates a desire for more fatty foods and is easily converted to fat and therefore can markedly influence body weight. Saturated fat is also associated with chronic diseases of lifestyle such as heart disease. Vitamins & Minerals Micronutrient supplementation for athletes remains controversial. For athletes with micronutrient deficiencies, for example, under-eaters or chronic low fat high carbohydrate eaters, supplementation may improve performance. There is no scientific evidence to support the use of supplementation to try and improve performance. The random use or overuse of supplements can actually have side effects such as gastrointestinal disturbances. This information provides you with a general and basic introduction to optimising your nutrition. If you would like to determine your individual sporting nutrition requirements, we recommend that you contact a Registered Dietician who is trained in sports nutrition. The author of this article, does not guaranty and or assure of any success rate and or failure rate with diet and sporting achievements. SJ315201003 Name: Mohinder Pal Singh City: Kraków Country: Poland Date: August 21, 2011 |
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