Tip of the Month -- September 2006

Nutrition Guidance

By Brittny Boyd

Part I

Nutrition plays a significant role in providing adequate energy for athletes to perform, as well as aiding in their recovery. Proper food consumption can positively impact training and competitive performance. However, consuming a proper diet has the tendency to be compromised due to certain circumstances, such as traveling. Fortunately there are other some simple solutions, which would allow for the consumption of high-performance foods and fluids while “on the road.”  Here are some guidelines geared towards teams competing away from home, but that can certainly be utilized by all athletes.

Fluids

* It’s easy to become dehydrated while traveling, especially on airplanes. To help prevent dehydration: Drink at regular intervals throughout the day, Carry sports drinks and water with you, Limit caffeinated and alcoholic beverages as they are diuretics and promote fluid loss.

Pack It!

·Take nutrient-dense foods along for the trip.  This is especially important when traveling to a foreign country, where familiar food may be harder to find and food-borne illness may be a concern.

- Sports bars or granola bars

- Dried or regular fruit, nuts, and trail mix

- Pretzels or baked chips

- Whole-grain crackers, bagels, breads, rolls, muffins

- Peanut butter and jelly

- Cans/packets of tuna of chicken

- Nutrition shake

Make a trip to the grocery store

· Meals can be made in a hotel room if there is a microwave and refrigerator available.  Some easy-to-prepare meals are:

 Breakfast

- Bowl of cereal, milk, and a banana

- Bagel with peanut butter

- Cottage Cheese, canned peaches, orange juice

Lunch

- Turkey sandwich, apple, oatmeal raisin cookies, and milk

- Peanut butter and jelly sandwich, baby carrots, granola bar, cranberry juice

Dinner

- Roast beef and cheese sandwich, chocolate chip cookie, juice

- Cheese/chicken quesadilla with salsa lemonade

- Salad with romaine tomatoes, carrots, tuna, cheese, apple and milk

Part II

Along with making the proper food choices, dieting options also tend to be a common concern for some athletes.  There is a large sum of information circulating about certain these options, particularly pertaining to low-carb plans.  Here is some basic information comparing low-carb and high-carb diets:

Athletes should be cautious of participating in dieting options that significantly cut carbohydrates because this could potentially hinder their performance.  Amongst several other functions, carbohydrates serve as a method to aid in the recovery of muscle glycogen stores between training sessions.  This is especially critical for allowing an athlete to train at the intensity of competition for prolonged periods of time.  About 24 hours are needed to replenish muscle glycogen after very hard exercise such as encountered in playing soccer, basketball or tennis intensely for 30-90 minute or interval training in sports such as swimming and running.  You should aim to eat at least enough carbohydrate to meet the fuel requirements of your training program and to optimize restoration of muscle glycogen stores between workouts.  Here are some general guidelines:

- In preparation for a session of moderate of heavy endurance training or competition, your 24-hour recovery diet should include 7-12 grams of carbohydrate/kg

- If you are participating in extreme exercise training (4-6 hours per day or more), your daily diet should include at least 10-12 grams of carbohydrate/kg

- Eat 1.0-1.2 grams of carbohydrate/kg body weight each hour for the first 4 hours

- In preparation for an easy day of moderate-duration, low-intensity training, your 24-hour recovery diet should include 5-7 grams of carbohydrate/kg

**It is important that any athlete who is considering going a special diet for any reason should first consult with a nutritionist or dietitian to ensure a safe experience.**