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Nutrition And The Athlete Fueling Your Sport - pg 2

BY LINDA BOECKNER

 

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.

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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