Eat to Win

Good nutrition is essential for optimal health and top performance during any physical activity. Exercise, whether intensive or mild, increases both fluid and nutrient requirements. Incorporating the right foods and beverages prior to all exercise is essential for peak performance, whether for a brisk walk, heavy workout, or a competition.

This article will provide the weekend warrior, the daily jogger, and the marathon runner with information on how to best develop and maintain a balanced diet that will lead to peak physical performance.

Calories
Calories are the basic units or packages of energy that fuel our body’s daily activities. We get our energy by burning the calories stored in our body’s tissues. When we exercise, our body burns more calories.

In the body, energy is produced primarily from fat and glucose. Fat exists in muscles and in fat cells. Glucose is a sugar and is readily converted into energy. Glucose is stored as glycogen in muscles and in the liver. When the body needs energy and consumes all of the available glucose, it can create more glucose from its glycogen stores.

A proper diet prior to and during a workout or competition can provide a better balance of nutrients so that the opportunity for the body to run out and become exhausted will take longer.

General recommendations for caloric intake range from 2,000 to 6,000 calories per day. The primary goal is to develop a diet that provides enough calories (and maximizes glycogen stores) to closely match the calories you will burn during a workout or competition.

Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are basically substances that serve as sources of energy. Types of carbohydrates found in different foods include complex carbohydrates (starches, fruits, vegetables), which contain fiber, and simple sugars (juice, desserts, sweets).

Complex carbohydrates provide the best source of energy for the weekend warrior or competitive athlete. Complex carbohydrates also have important nutrients that are not available from other food sources or groups, and they are the most important for peak athletic performance.

Carbohydrates are stored in the muscle and liver as glycogen. Glycogen stored in the liver is used mainly for blood-sugar control, while glycogen stored in the muscle is used for energy during exercise.

A diet that is 60 to 65 percent carbohydrates is necessary to maintain the glycogen stored in your muscles. If you are engaged in heavy athletic activity or competition on successive days, you should maintain a diet of 65 to 70 percent of carbohydrates.

For an athletic activity that exceeds 1.5 hours, the previous three days should include approximately eight grams of carbohydrates per kilogram of body weight each day (this comes out to obtaining about 60 percent of your total calories from carbohydrates). For example, if you weigh 150 pounds, then you would need 545 grams of carbohydrate or 2,182 carbohydrate-calories each day.

Glycogen stored in muscle is important because it gives you the needed energy reserve during exercise. This is what allows you to perform at maximum levels. Glycogen can last for up to two hours of nonstop exercise, but will depend on your physical condition. As exercise continues, and glycogen stored in muscle is used up, a greater amount of energy will be generated from fat stores. Our muscles need both fat and glucose to function, so as glycogen stores diminish, we are subject to fatigue.

Fat
The body's most concentrated source of energy comes from fat. Fat contains nine calories per gram, whereas carbohydrates and protein have only four calories per gram.

Since carbohydrates are only available in a limited amount during exercise, the most important function of fat is to provide extra calories to the body.

Increasing your dietary intake of fat during exercise will not improve the use of fat as a fuel. It is the fat already stored in your body, coupled with general conditioning, that will improve the use of fat as a fuel to drive your peak athletic performance.

Therefore, it is important to maintain some level of fat in your body through your diet. And furthermore, good general conditioning will help you to use fat as fuel.

Some of the more usual sources of fat are oil, butter, margarine, salad dressing, sauces, fried foods, and gravy.

Protein
Protein has four calories per gram and is made up of subunits called amino acids . The average person requires .8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight each day.

For athletic people and those engaged in competitive activities, it is recommended to have 1.5 to 2.0 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. The increase in protein requirements is mainly a result of increased caloric needs due to the increase in activity level of the athlete.

Protein drinks, protein bars, and other related supplements are not usually necessary to increase protein. Most diets can easily meet increased needs without supplementation. Increasing protein beyond what the body needs will not contribute to athletic performance or increased muscle mass.

Extra protein cannot be stored. Additionally, too much protein also increases the risk of dehydration because when it is used as energy, its byproduct ( urea ) must be eliminated from the body through the urine.

Good protein sources are lean meat, egg whites, poultry without skin, fish, skim milk, nonfat cheese, dried beans and peas, nuts, and seeds.

Vitamins and Minerals
Deficiencies in certain vitamins can hinge upon peak athletic performance. If a wide variety of nutritional foods are included in the diet and the increased energy intake of the athlete is met, then vitamin and mineral requirements will most likely be met.

Iron is a mineral that needs special attention, as it plays a role in the transport of oxygen to active muscle. Iron deficiency anemia can affect athletic performance.

Women tend to be at higher risk of iron deficiency due to menstruation. Vegetarian athletes also need to be aware of iron levels, since most good sources of iron are in meat and poultry. Sports anemia, sometimes found in early stages of training, is not related to iron deficiency and appears to be the body's adaptation to exercise. Sports anemia is a pseudoanemia that is sometimes experienced by athletes in the early stages of training as a result of an increase in plasma volume. It is not caused by a deficiency of dietary iron—unlike anemia of iron deficiency, the number of red blood cells is normal. An increase in blood volume causes a dilution of red blood-cell concentration. There is no treatment for sports anemia and it will not affect athletic performance.

Calcium intake in conjunction with weight-bearing activities, such as lifting weights, will reduce the risk of developing osteoporosis. Estrogen levels in the female, alcohol and caffeine intake, as well as family history are other factors influencing the risk of osteoporosis.

Hydration

During exercise, we sweat due to an increase in heat production. Water or other fluids serve to cool down our body. If we do not replace fluids fast enough to offset the fluids lost through perspiration, we will become dehydrated.

Dehydration will result in decreased performance, and if not resolved in a timely manner, could result in a host of medical problems. Those engaging in exercise or competition—from the weekend warrior to the competitive athlete, cannot depend on thirst for fluid replacement and should, therefore, force themselves to drink even if they’re not thirsty.

Commercial sports beverages that contain electrolytes may enhance absorption and will also provide a carbohydrate source. Cold water will also be absorbed more rapidly and will decrease body temperature.

It is recommended to use a sports beverage in an extended competition such as a marathon or vigorous workout that lasts for more than one hour. Water is fine for shorter competitions or workouts.

Each pound of weight loss requires two eight-ounce glasses of water for replacement. The American College of Sports Medicine makes the following recommendations on fluid replacement:

• Drink prior to working out. Take in 16 to 20 ounces of fluid (water or sports drink) one to two hours prior to activity.
• Drink twelve ounces of fluid every 15 to 20 minutes of exercise. If working out for more than one hour, choose a sports drink.

After you finish an activity, drink two cups of fluid for every pound lost during your workout. A sports drink offers the added benefit of rebuilding diminished stores of glycogen.

Pre-Workout or Competition

Research shows that proper food and fluid intake prior to working out or engaging in a competition will improve endurance. Results also show that athletes who eat prior to exercise feel better and find the activity less rigorous than those who choose to fast.

The athlete who risks eating and drinking too close to a competition or workout may suffer from gastrointestinal distress such as nausea and cramping.

Specific guidelines for eating prior to a workout or competition are:

• Eat approximately three hours before your competition or workout. Individual preferences may somewhat vary that time.
• Eat foods that contain mostly complex carbohydrates, low-to-moderate amounts of protein, and low amounts of fat.
• If you are preparing for a competition, it is not a good idea to introduce new foods and beverages into your diet.
• Your pre-workout or pre-competition meal should contain 85 to 200 grams of carbohydrates, which will supply 400 to 800 calories.
• If you are nervous or anxious about the upcoming competition, then you may replace your meal with a liquid-nutrition meal supplement.
• Drink 16 to 20 ounces of water or sports drink one to two hours prior to your exercise or competition. This will provide a base of proper hydration for your body.
• Consuming a sports beverage a few minutes prior to exercise or competition will help you maintain your blood glucose levels.
• Drink approximately four to eight ounces of fluid immediately before you start a workout or competition.
• If you are within two to three hours of a workout or competition, decrease the size of your meal.
• High-carbohydrate meals are recommended for pre-workout and pre-competition. Carbohydrate loading is only necessary if you will be performing nonstop activity for more than 90 minutes. If you are engaging in marathons, hiking, biking, or other elongated and constant workouts, then carbohydrate loading may enhance your performance.
• If you are working out or competing at higher altitudes, a carbohydrate diet supplying about 70 percent of your calories may be beneficial.

Some easy-to-prepare and easily portable meals prior to a workout or competition include:

• cereal with skim milk and fruit.
• turkey sandwich with tomato, whole-grain bread—no mayonnaise.
• pasta with low-fat sauce.
• whole-grain bagel and low fat cheese.

During Workout/Competition

Replacing carbohydrates and fluids during exercise that is more than an hour in length can delay fatigue and enhance endurance by maintaining muscle glycogen stores.

Fatigue can be delayed by consuming 30 to 60 grams of carbohydrates per hour (120 to 240 calories from carbohydrates). Carbohydrates are best provided at regular intervals.

Often, sports drinks that contain a variety of nutrients are better tolerated than solid foods during exercise or competition. General recommendations are to drink four to eight ounces of a sports drink every 15 to 20 minutes after the first 30 minutes of exercise. Regardless of thirst, water or a sports drink should be consumed every 15 to 20 minutes during exercise or competition.
 

After Workout/Competition
The immediate goal after a workout or competition should be the replenishment of glycogen stores. Additionally, carbohydrate ingestion should begin as soon as possible, with the ingestion of 30 grams of carbohydrate, or 120 calories, within thirty minutes.

Carbohydrate intake should continue at two-hour intervals for up to four hours. If this does not occur, then glycogen repletion and endurance will be impaired.

The equivalent of two cups (one pint) of fluid should be ingested for each pound of body weight lost. If exercise or competition is in excess of one hour, your body is at risk for excessive sodium and potassium loss. While most electrolytes are replaced at the post-workout or competition meal, sports beverages will be beneficial if the athlete is not hungry or unable to have an appropriate meal.

Other Considerations
Consuming caffeine up to an hour before exercise may delay fatigue, improve endurance, and prolong performance in athletic activities lasting one hour or longer. Caffeine seems to help the body use fat for fuel, which conserves the body's limited glycogen stores, and thereby provides the added endurance and prolongs performance.

The athlete should consider that the benefits of caffeine ingestion may be outweighed by its diuretic effect, which can promote dehydration as a result of increased urination.

Many weekend warriors and competitive athletes want to be bigger, stronger, and faster during the competition and will, prior to engaging in competition, turn to "magic formulas.” Simply put, there is no magic formula to increase muscle mass or improve performance immediately before a competition or vigorous workout.

It is a misconception that ginseng, bee pollen, royal jelly, spirulina, amino acids, brewer's yeast, wheat germ, anabolics, and/or protein powder will provide a competitive advantage during competition. These substances are just overpriced methods to obtain nutrients that are available from food. And many of these supplements, especially if taken in excessive amounts, can be harmful.

Summary
Good daily eating habits are essential for optimal health and performance. For the athletic person or the athlete, careful planning of your food and fluid intake relative to any physical activity is vital to achieve peak performance. Eat to win, and you will.