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Nutrition
And The Athlete Fueling Your Sport
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- Nutrition
And The Athlete Fueling Your Sport - pg 2
- BY LINDA BOECKNER
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- Carbohydrates
During and After Athletic Events
When athletic events last more than 60 minutes, athletes benefit
by eating carbohydrates during exercise. The extra fuel helps
them stay competitive longer. Slightly sweetened beverages which
contain less than 24 grams of carbohydrate per one cup (8 oz)
may be used. Nutritionists recommend 50-60 grams of carbohydrates
per hour to fuel athletes through endurance events. Fruit juices
that are diluted one part juice to one part water or some sports
drinks will do the trick for endurance athletes.
Following training
or competing, it's important to eat complex carbohydrate-rich
foods as soon as possible. After replenishment athletes can resume
their normal high carbohydrate training diet. During training
or competition, glycogen stores are used for energy and need
to be replenished.
- Fats
Fats, the other important fuel source, have over twice as many
calories as an equal weight of carbohydrate. Aerobic training
increases the body's ability to use fat as an energy source so
that glycogen can be spared. However, fats cannot be used exclusively
as a fuel. Some carbohydrates must always be available as a fuel
source even in the best trained athlete.
Body fat storage
will vary from athlete to athlete. Even in a fairly lean individual,
there will be a good energy source from stored fat. For example,
a 150-pound athlete who has 10 percent body fat has about 62,000
calories as stored energy. That's plenty of energy to fuel an
athletic event over an extended period.
Since the body's
fat storage is more than adequate to provide extra energy from
fat it is not necessary to get extra fat from your diet. In fact,
a diet that is moderately low in fat (no more than 30 percent
of total calories from fat) will not hinder performance and will
promote an eating style that will be beneficial throughout life.
Carbohydrate
Goals*
|
Ave. cal/day |
Carbohydrate (g) |
- 1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
- 4000
|
- 240
320
410
490
570
650
|
* Carbohydrate
level will supply approximately 65% of calories.
- Approximate
Carbohydrate Values
Bread/Cereal
Serving = 15 grams
Starchy Vegetable Serving = 15 grams
Fruit Serving = 10-15 grams
Vegetable Serving = 5 grams
Milk Serving = 12 grams
Sports Drinks (8 oz) = 10-15 grams
A serving of
bread is 1 slice or 1/2 cup rice or pasta or 3/4 cup dry cereal.
A serving of starchy vegetable, fruit or cooked green or yellow
vegetable is 1/2 cup. A small to medium fresh fruit is a serving.
A serving of milk is one cup. |
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Resources |
|
Burke, L.M. Nutrition
for post-exercise recovery. Aust. J. Sci. Med. Sport 29(1):3-10,
March 1997. |
|
Hawley, J.A. and
Burke, L.M. Effect of meal frequency and timing on physical performance.
Br. J. Nutr. 77 Suppl 1:S91-S103, April 1997. |
|
Steen, S.N. Timely
statement of The American Dietetic Association: Nutrition guidance
for adolescent athletes in organized sports. 1996. The American
Dietetic Association Web Page. http://www.eatright.org/adatimeadol.html
Retrieved June 26, 1997. |
|
Williams, C. Macronutrients
and their performance. J. Sports Sci. 13 Spec. No: S1-S10, 1995. |
Author:
Linda Boeckner,
Extension Nutrition Specialist, University of Nebraska Panhandle
Research and Extension Center
|
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