Base Nutrition for Sport

Endurance Nutrition

Base Nutrition

• Your nutrition should be based around your training sessions
• You want to maximise recovery from training sessions so that subsequent training sessions can produce maximum benefit
• Your base nutrition is to provide you with sufficient energy and nutrients to maintain health, normal function, and repair muscle damage.
• Your base nutrition should also provide plenty of fruits and vegetables to ensure an adequate and safe intake of vitamins and minerals. Therefore try to include at least 3 servings of vegetables and 2 servings of fruit per day

Training for and competing in endurance events involves a very high level of energy expenditure. Therefore you have to choose the best way to fuel your body. As training duration and intensity increases energy expenditure is large and your time for recovery is limited. This is especially relevant if you train more than once per day.

A high carbohydrate diet has traditionally been recommended for endurance events. However, because of your large energy expenditure, it is often difficult to consume enough carbohydrate to cover your energy needs. Fat, which is energy dense, can be added to your diet to help cover your energy requirements.

The level in which you may want to replace fat for carbohydrate in your diet can be based on individual preference and individual tolerance. The best thing to do is experiment. Try increasing your fat intake to a level which suits your body and training schedule.

Carbohydrate

Carbohydrate is an important fuel for exercise. Carbohydrate is important for high intensity exercise, as well as prolonged exercise.

The amount of carbohydrate you need per day for training and competition depends largely on how much fat you wish to add to your diet. As your fat intake increases, your carbohydrate requirements decrease. If you are following a relatively low fat diet, your daily carbohydrate needs for your training have been estimated at 6-8g carbohydrate/kg body weight. Training for events such as Ironman may involve a carbohydrate intake of in excess of 8-10g/kg/day. This amount decreases as you add more fat to your diet. Experiment and see what carbohydrate and fat ratios suit you best.

Your carbohydrate requirement
Body weight=____kg
Body weight (kg) g/kg = ____g to ___g of carbohydrate per day

As a guide, here are the carbohydrate contents of certain foods:

Each of these foods contains approximately 10 grams of carbohydrate

Hints for increasing the carbohydrate content of your diet.

If you feel that a carbohydrate-rich diet suits you, here are a few tips to increase the carbohydrate content of your diet.

Choose foods with a low fibre content to reduce the bulk of your diet.

Choose carbohydrate drinks such as fruit juices as it is often easier to drink high amounts of carbohydrate, than to eat it.

Some high carbohydrate food choices:

• Orange juice
• Ribena and cordials (can make these up as concentrated as you like)
• Sports drinks
• Dried fruit
• Lollies eg. Jellybeans, jubes, snakes etc
• Jam and honey on white bread
• Tinned fruit in syrup
• Muffins

Protein

Protein is important for growth, development of strong muscles and tissues, repair of muscle damage, transport of oxygen around the body (haemoglobin and myoglobin), for reactions in the body (hormones and enzymes), and for the immune system.

Most research suggests that athletes need more protein than those with sedentary lifestyles. However the amount of protein needed in the diets of athletes is nowhere near the amount some athletes are consuming.

Research shows that athletes who are involved in arduous endurance sports should consume 1.4-1.7g protein per kg body weight per day.

Your Protein Requirement
Body weight: ___kg
Body weight (kg) x 1.4-1.7g/kg = ___g to ___g of protein per day

The following is a table of common foods with the protein content per average serving size.

Table: Common dietary sources of protein

Fat

Fat is an important energy source for muscular work. Fat becomes a particularly important fuel during prolonged exercise. Other functions of dietary fat include the production of hormones (eg. testosterone, the body's natural steroid) and a source of fat-soluble vitamins. Some athletes restrict their fat intakes to extremely low levels. In most instances this seems unnecessarily restrictive. Some fat in the diet is essential, and following the New Zealand guidelines for healthy eating should result in an appropriate fat intake. Athletes who are involved in training and events, which entail large energy expense, can safely increase their fat intake to a greater extent.

Some fats are better than others in terms of their effects on heart health. The best types of are monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat. Good sources of these are:

Increasing your Energy Intake

Adding some of the right types of fat (especially to your evening meals) would help increase your energy intake. See section on fats.

• Add roasted nuts and seeds to salads and vegetable dishes e.g. pine nuts, cashews, sesame seed, poppy seeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds etc
• Add sauces and dressing to your salads and vegetable dishes.
• Add avocado to meals and recipes
• Add dried fruit to meals and recipes
• Add sultanas/raisins to your breakfast

Meal Frequency

Having your 3 main meals with the addition of mid-morning and midafternoon snacks will help you to meet your energy requirements.

Snacks

Choosing appropriate snacks throughout the day will help you reach your nutrition goals. Examples of Snacks

Post-Training Considerations

Following each training session you should look at consuming some source of protein and carbohydrate as soon as is practical (i.e. within half an hour of exercise). This is a time when your body can take up protein into the muscles at an optimal rate and so help with muscle recovery. Taking some carbohydrate with protein increases insulin levels which can decrease muscle breakdown.

Examples

• Sports drink
• Banana and yoghurt
• Cereal and milk
• Protein shake with fruit
• Fruit Smoothie with fruit eg. Banana, berries, apricots Chicken sandwich
• Chicken Bagel
• Dried fruit and nut mix
• Tetrapak of UHT flavoured milk

Pre-competition Nutrition

This is a crucial time to:

• Optimise fuel stores and hydration
• Prevent stomach upsets
• Prevent hunger
• Timing of competition

Things to consider:

Optimal Hydration

The day and morning before competition you may find it beneficial to hyperhydrate. This means that you will drink more fluid than usual. So that you retain this fluid you should drink some fluid which contains sodium (salt). Sports drinks which contain relatively high amounts of sodium include the Red8 hydration drink. Conversely you could drink more water, but also add a bit of extra salt to your meals. Other sodium-containing foods include, bread, cheese, pretzels, soups, canned or packet foods.

What time of the day is your race?

Timing is an important issue to consider because your meal plan needs to be scheduled into the competition day. You may want to consume your breakfast 2-3 hours before the start of the race. Then top this up with the consumption of a carbohydrate-containing drink.

Gastrointestinal upset

Nerves may play a role in gastro-intestinal (GI) disturbances.

Strategies to reduce stomach and gut upset include:

• Reduce your fibre intake on competition day by choosing lower fibre cereals like cornflakes, ricies, white rice, pasta, white bread and soft fruits with no skin.
• If you can't eat solid food before competition because it may upset your stomach, try liquid meals
• Ensure your hydration is adequate
• Make sure that the food you eat on competition day is familiar to you and you have tried the meal out during training. Eat what agrees with you.

Pre-competition Meal Ideas

• White toast and baked beans/spaghetti/corn/banana
• Cereal (not too high in fibre) with milk and/or yoghurt and/or fresh or canned fruit
• Muffins or crumpets with jam/honey/peanut butter
• Pancakes with fruit
• Creamed rice and fruit
• Porridge with milk
• Pasta
• Smoothie based on milk, yoghurt and fruit
• Meal replacements
• Protein shake with fruit

Competition Nutrition

AIMS

• Prevent dehydration
• Prevent energy depletion
• Maintain blood glucose
• Maintain electrolyte balance
• Prevent gastrointestinal upset

Things to consider:

Practice your competition nutrition plan during training

Plan to meet fluid needs. Remember to consider environmental conditions. If it is hot and humid, drink more fluid. Sweat losses of 2-3 litres per hour have been reported in some athletes. These losses need to be minimised by consuming fluids during the event. We know that losing 2% of your body weight in fluids can reduce your performance by 20%!

• Drinking as much as you can at once will allow your body to absorb more fluid.
• Try to drink between 500-800mls per hour
• Do not drink so much that you gain weight
• Try to consume about 40-60 grams of carbohydrate per hour during prolonged events. If you eat higher fat foods, you can rely less on carbohydrate foods.
• If you choose to use a sports drink make sure that it contains 4-8g of carbohydrate per 100ml.
• If you plan to eat food during competition, make sure that you practice this during a training session.

Post-Competition Nutrition

This is time to:

• Restore fluid and electrolyte balance
• Replenish energy stores
• Provide nutrients to help repair muscle damage
• The post-competition period is most important if you are training or performing again within 24 hours

Organise to have suitable snacks and drinks available after each race. Eat within 30 minutes of finishing the race. This becomes more important if you have to compete or train the following day.

The following are some examples of post-competition snacks: Sports drink

Remember to eat what is familiar to you and is tried and true.

Fluids

To calculate your fluid requirements:

1. Warm up, then stop and urinate if necessary
2. Weigh yourself on an accurate scale
3. Exercise for one hour at an intensity similar to your targeted race intensity
4. Drink a measured amount of beverage during the run if and when you are thirsty. Keep track of exactly how much fluid you take in during the exercise session
5. So not urinate during exercise
6. Weigh yourself again as previously, using the same scales
7. You can now urinate and drink as much fluid as needed.

This final figure in (F) is the amount of millilitres (mls) that you need to consume per hour to remain well-hydrated.
Remember that this figure may change with different environmental conditions. So repeat this activity in conditions as close as possible to what you will compete in. In hotter and more humid climates you tend to sweat more.

Type of fluid

For shorter training runs (and if you are actively trying to lose weight) water should be sufficient. For prolonged training runs, trial various sports drinks to see which suits you the best.
A sports drink should contain 4-8g of carbohydrate per 100mls (i.e. a 4-8% solution). This concentration is important for optimal fluid absorption. If you consume drinks which are more concentrated you may be at increased risk of dehydration. The sports drink will also contain small amounts of sodium to help absorb and retain fluid. An example of a sports drink which contains a good amount of sodium is Red8 Hydrate.

Pre-Exercise fluid intake

• Drink to your thirst the day before competition
• Drink at least 500ml of fluid 1-2 hours before the race
• Drink another 400-500ml in the hour before the race
• A sodium-containing drink will help retain more fluid and decrease urination
• If you are competing for a long period in hot temperatures it may be beneficial to ensure adequate salt intake prior to competition. You may want to add a bit more salt to your meals on the days leading up to competition (You may want to add 1/4 of a teaspoon of salt to your meals, in addition to a sodium-containing sports drink. Other sodium-containing foods include bread, cheese, pretzels, soups, canned or packet foods.

During exercise

• Depending on environmental conditions and sweat rates try drinking about 100-200ml every 15-20 minutes
• In very hot or humid conditions a sports drink is a good option during prolonged exercise

Post-exercise

Weigh yourself before and after exercise. For every 100g you have lost, drink 100ml of fluid.

Plan to meet fluid needs. Remember to consider environmental conditions. If it is hot and humid, drink more fluid. These losses need to be minimised by consuming fluids throughout training and competition. We know that losing 2% of your body weight in fluids can reduce your performance by 20%!

NB

One must remember that during some sporting events lasting over several hours, not all weight lost is from fluid. Around 250g of fat may be utilised, 500-600g of muscle glycogen and around 1500g of water with stored glycogen (and released when glycogen is metabolised) can contribute to total weight lost. If athletes consume sufficient fluid to cover all weight lost, in situations such as this, the athlete would likely take on board more fluid than is required and run the risk of hyponatraemia. Therefore over prolonged periods of exercise it is not as simple as weighing oneself before and after competition to determine fluid loss.