Fuel your workout, fuel your life: sports nutrition tips
Hey guys!
I’m finally taking my Precision nutrition certification test today after MONTHS of studying! I feel pretty confident in my ability to pass, as I’ve been studying since September and locked myself in a dark room with only my text book and workbook for the past couple days…
I’ve learned many new things, and reinforced a lot of what I have learned over the years as a trainer.
I wanted to share with you some of the most important facts to remember when it comes to sports nutrition.
The term “sports nutrition” sounds pretty serious, but it doesn’t have to be. The scientific facts can help us all fuel our active bodies more efficiently and thus, feel better!
Some of these reminders might be common sense to you, but others may actually surprise you.
I hope that, either way, you find something that helps to hone your diet to one that fuels you and makes you feel powerful in your workouts and in everyday life!
1. Food is a combination of nutrients, NOT single nutrients.
This is the number 1 most important thing to remember: you are not eating nutrients, you are eating FOOD.
A lot of trainers, athletes, and even those that are simply watching their carb or fat intake can get way too obsessive about macronutrient ratios.
Know what foods make you feel powerful and strong, then focus on those! For most people, that includes lean proteins (chicken, turkey, fish), healthy fats (nuts, avocado, extra virgin olive oil, fish oil) and vegetables/fruits.
Some people do really well with whole grains, too, which leads us to our next topic…
2. The most common food intolerances are dairy, yeast, gluten and fructose/sugar.
It’s estimated that 75% of the population has some kind of food sensitivity. So even if you aren’t “allergic” to any food, you may not tolerate something as well as someone else.
A food intolerance or sensitivity is defined as a body’s averse reaction to certain foods.
Even if you like something, that doesn’t mean you should eat it.
For instance, I was a vegetarian for about 9 years. I survived mostly on grains, veggies and fruits for a long time. When I decided to give my new lifestyle (higher protein and healthy fats, lower carbohydrates) a shot, I was amazed at the way my body reacted! I didn’t feel bloated nearly as often, I stayed fuller longer, and it became easier to lean out without counting calories.
I say it all the time: every body is different. Do a science experiment on yourself: see what your body reacts to best!
3. Your body uses different fuel for different workouts
I realize this is more of a workout fact than a sports nutrition fact, but hear me out. This has to do with what macronutrients your body uses during certain exercises, which in turn should affect the way you eat before working out.
During high intensity, short duration workouts, the body breaks down carbs from stored glycogen in the muscles.
During low intensity, long duration workouts more fat breakdown occurs; more muscle glycogen depletes after more time. More available triglycerides and plasma-free fatty acids (released during activity) are used.
Knowing these facts makes it a ton easier to decide how to fuel your body before and after workouts.
Are you a sprinter, lifter, or prefer shorter, more intense workouts? Unless you’re an athlete gearing up for a track meet the next day, you don’t need to carb-load the night before! What’s important is the post-workout snack of a bit of whole grain carb and protein so that your muscle can refuel it’s glycogen stores and fully repair themselves. If you’re aiming for fat loss, however, consider making your post-workout carb a fruit or vegetable.
Are you a long distance runner, take long yoga classes, or hiker? You might benefit from a higher ratio of carbohydrate in your diet from whole grain sources. By keeping your carb stores high, you can run, hike, vinyasa longer without tiring out. The one drawback of this activity preference? You have to have fat to burn it, and that’s exactly what your body prefers to pull from for the long, slow workouts. ’Nuff said.
4. What is “anaerobic threshold?”
Anaerobic threshold is the point at which lactate begins to accumulate in the bloodstream; when body can’t remove lactate at rate that it’s released.
I’ve mentioned anaerobic threshold before. It’s the point you want to reach at the end of each sprint; it’s when you feel like your legs are going to fall off because they burn so badly.
This definition better explains that burn you feel when you really push a workout. By regularly working yourself to this point 1-2 x/week, you train your body to heighten the amount of activity you can take without burning out. By being able to do more without failing, you can get fitter faster. Muy bueno!
5. Whole foods or vitamins/supplements?
Whole foods, silly!
Research shows that vitamins and minerals from whole food sources deliver greater benefits than those from supplemental sources. Supplements can actually promote illness and disease if taken in excess or solely relied-upon.
You know how adamant about the whole-food-diet I am, but did you know that the only supplement I regularly take is fish oil?
The benefits of fish oil are stellar: protection from inflammation, improved fluidity of cells (so that nutrients can pass through more easily), and better brain function just to name a few.
I know of a few nutritionists who immediately recommend fish oil to new clients that are looking to lose weight. It supports many of the systems that will support you in your journey to weight loss as well.
Of course, if you are allergic or have an intolerance to fish or seafood, you’ll probably want to steer clear of this supplement.
I always make sure to get a wide variety of vegetables, fruits and protein sources, so I make sure to get my vitamins/minerals from the food I eat. Occasionally, I’ll drink a greens drink (SuperFood powder from Dr. Schultz is my favorite) if I’m feeling lethargic. It serves as a concentrated form of all those dark leafy greens you might be missing out on.
6. High carbohydrate diets increase fluid storage
For every gram of stored carb, 3-4 grams of water are also stored. You know what that means? Bloating, puffiness, tight pants, the works.
This explains why I would feel bloated the day after a dinner of whole wheat pasta or after a week of having cereal in the morning.
If you’re feeling puffy later in the day, try a couple weeks without any grains. You might be sensitive and not even know it!
Again, every body is different. If you don’t have this reaction, then don’t worry about it!
7. Save your muscles!
Pre-exercise protein consumption (with or without carbohydrates) can reduce the amount of muscle tissue used as a fuel source.
Yay! That means less muscle loss, more fat loss! Exactly what you want if you’re training for body composition, performance or health improvement… meaning EVERYONE.
8. Injured? Eat more.
When recovering from an injury, Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR, or the calories your body burns in a resting state every day) can increase by 15-50%! That’s pretty extreme.
Depending on if it’s an ankle strain or major surgery, your body could need more than what you’re used to eating in order to recover to its best ability.
Now, if you sprain an ankle, don’t take this as an ok to go eat 15% more calories! If you’re not working out, you’re not burning those extra calories, so you’ll be just fine eating like you usually do.
If you got a kidney removed, however, you should probably adjust your diet… though I hope you’re never faced with that!
9. View food as energy, not a stressor
The principle that governs energy exchange is this:
Energy is not created or destroyed, but transferred between entities.
You are taking the energy from that chicken breast, that apple, that slice of cake, and converting it into YOU. Literally.
This is a good principle to keep in mind as you go through your day. Food is meant to nourish, sustain and fuel you. It shouldn’t stress you out! It’s your friend, not your enemy!
*****
As always, feel free to ask any questions you may have here. Hopefully I’ll be qualified to answer them in a few hours!
Wish me luck on my test today! I’ll let you know how it goes!
If you need some more tips on eating right, check out Choose To Change Your Life In This Moment: How To Not Get Overwhelmed By Healthy Eating and How To Stop Eating & Start Listening.
BTW, I’d love to hear from you if you’re over on Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter. Come by and say hi!
Really enjoyed this – it’s so difficult to get complex information like this sculpted down into easily digestible facts (excuse the pun).
Appreciate your writing.
Thanks, Mike! Glad you liked it.
I know, I feel the same way. There’s so much contradictory information out there, not to mention the fact that science keeps coming up with new findings (darn science ;)). It’s hard to keep track of what’s real and what’s media-plugging bull. That’s one of the main reasons I got this certification; so that I could distinguish the 2 for myself by knowing the science behind it.
I appreciate your comments! Looking forward to hearing more from you!
Good luck on your test! How did you transition from vegetarian to eating meat? I know I should be eating more protein and my digestion seems to be much better when I eat meat, but the idea of eating meat still bothers me.
I passed! Thank you!
I decided to start eating meat again because I was feeling faint in my workouts, my head felt fuzzy and I was never fully recovering from my workouts. Turns out, after blood tests, that I was B12 deficient and also borderline anemic. I started eating meat instead of taking loads of supplements because I believe whole foods are the way to go when it comes to fueling my body.
If it bothers you, there are ways to get around meat and still get a good amount of protein! Eggs, greek yogurt, cottage cheese, and protein powders can be good if you want to save a few furry/feathered friends! Also, lentils and black beans are among the highest in protein in the legume category (just be careful because not a lot of people stomach beans very well).
Feel free to ask any further questions you may have about making the transition!
Excellent and informative post Amy! I knew some of these already, but some were new. The fluid storage related to carbs was eye-opening. :)
In any case, it sounds like you’re dialed in as far as the knowledge goes, so no worries…you’re gonna CRUSH IT on your test!
Can’t wait to hear you celebrate!
Marvin recently posted..The Evolution Of A Dream
I did! Thank you! I’ll make sure to keep the celebration going into July so all of us can celebrate together!
First of all congrats on passing your exam!!!
I have a question. So what is best to eat if I go for a high intense interval run?
I like something in a shake because it’s quick to make in the morning. Do I need protein or more fruit?
Benny recently posted..Three Things You Can Change Today (Even if You Feel Stuck)
Thanks, Benny! This all depends: if you’re aiming for fat loss, you may not need to recover with more than your usual meal afterwards (if you’re not planning a meal, a simple scoop of protein mixed up with some milk or almond milk would be just fine). If you’re trying to gain mass, make a full shake out of it with a banana, milk/almond milk, berries and 2 scoops protein powder. That should be enough for a sprint workout, especially if it’s under 30 minutes… which it should be. Any more than that and you’ll start defeating the purpose of the short, high intensity training that sprints are supposed to be.
Again, everyone is different so your body might take more or less than this to start seeing changes!
If you have any other questions, don’t hesitate to ask!
Hi Benny,
For me, what works is to eat something light like fruit about 2 hours before the scheduled run. It makes it easier on your stomach, which has to work harder if I load up on protein. You want your body focusing all its energy to those hard-working muscles.
Immediately after the run is when to do the smoothie and load it up with whey protein. The first 30 mins following a workout is when your muscles are primed to absorb all the protein and nutrients they can from whatever you ingest.
Right on, Marvin. I approve this message. ;)
I love all the food intolerance foods you listed Amy. Especially sugar!! I probably have a good 8-10 servings a day from sugar in my coffee to chocolate granola bars to scoops of ice creams in my fruit (sugar) smoothie. how do you break the dependency to sugar? or any food for that matter.
Ooh, good question. I found the best way to cut the addiction to sugar in my coffee (which I have) is to try going a full 2 weeks without any kind of sweetener. It gets some getting used to, but I’ve come to love coffee as is with a teensy bit of cream sans sugar/artificial sweeteners!
Everyone is different when it comes to breaking addictions. Some have to ween themselves off of it, some need to go cold-turkey. What has worked for you in the past? Or, if you’ve tried something and failed, try the opposite this time!
Keep in mind, you don’t have to rid your life COMPLETELY of sugar. That would just be silly… and sad… I love frozen yogurt. Just keep those opportunities to 10% or less of your entire weekly diet! You’ll be able to enjoy life while staying healthy and energetic!
I like what you posted here and for sure I’ll try it!! Thank you!!
Benjina recently posted..17 Day Diet
Thanks, Benjina!