SportsGist Rules!

By: Susan M. Kleiner, PhD, RD, FACN, CNS, FISSN

Think about how you would like to look and feel. Imagine yourself with a body that’s fit and firm, with just the right amount of muscle. Imagine the joy of having high strength and energy day in and day out.

Keep those images in your mind’s eye. Those goals are not just for athletes and bodybuilders any more. The field of sports nutrition is light years from the dieting world, but it’s sports nutrition and strength training that makes athletes look and feel great. POWER EATING will show you how to achieve those goals by taking a few nips and tucks in one of the most important fitness factors of all-nutrition.

PRINCIPLES FOR BUILDING MUSCLE, GAINING ENERGY, LOSING FAT

These principles are the same ones I have advocated for world-class athletes, Olympic contenders, and recreational strength trainers for more than 15 years. Now you can do it too.

• 1. Eat enough calories

A key to feeling energized is to eat the right amount of calories to power your body for hard training. A lack of calories will definitely make you feel like a wet dishrag by the end of your workout. A diet that provides less than 1,600 calories, for example, generally does not contain all the vitamins and minerals you need to stay healthy, prevent disease, and  perform well. Very low-calorie diets followed for longer than two weeks can be hazardous to your health, and they do not provide the dietary reference intakes (DRIs) of enough of the nutrients needed for good health.

Historically, the recommended dietary allowances (RDAs) were the national standard for the amount of carbohydrate, protein, fat, vitamins, and minerals we need in our diets to avoid deficiency diseases and to maintain growth and health. The DRIs were established to update the RDAs abased on more functional criteria rather than criteria based on deficiency diseases. Rather than focusing on avoiding disease, the DRIs focus on optimal performance both mentally and physically. But under certain conditions-stress, illness, malnutrition, and exercise-we may require a higher intake of certain nutrients. Studies have shown that athletes, in particular, may have to exceed the DRI of many nutrients. Some competitive bodybuilders have estimated their calorie intake to be greater than 6,000 calories a day during the off-season-roughly three times the DRI for the average person (2,000 calories a day for women and 2,700 calories a day for men).

How much you need of each nutrient depends on a number of factors including your age and sex, how hard you train, and whether you are a competitive or recreational strength trainer, among other considerations. Calorie needs for an athlete trying to build strength and muscle can range from 19 to 24 or more calories per pound of body weight for men and 16 to 23 or more calories per pounds of body weight for women. If you are trying to lose fat, then calorie needs will vary.

Generally strength trainers need to eat more protein, more of the right kinds of carbohydrates, and more high performance fats. What’s more, they may be wise to supplement with a one-a-day style multivitamin-mineral supplement. If you are trying to gain muscle and lose body fat, eating enough calories and takin gin enough nutrients will make the difference between success failure.

• 2. Eat the carbohydrate you need.

It’s well known that most athletes, strength trainers, included, don’t eat enough carbohydrate, the primary fuel for the body. Most athletes eat diets in which only half the total daily calories come from carbohydrate, but if you want to build muscle you need to eat 2.1 to 3.2 grams of carbohydrate per pound of body weight per day. Men eat more than women. That’s more than half of your total daily calorie intake. Some athletes think that they should be following a low-carbohydrate diet because it promotes faster weight loss. The problem with these diets is that they deplete glycogen, the body’s storage form of carbohydrate. Once glycogen stores are emptied, the body starts burning protein from tissues, including muscle tissue, to meet its energy demands. You lose hard-earned muscle as a result.

The real story on carbohydrate for weight control and muscle building is that you should select whole-food carbohydrate-natural, complex carbohydrate as close to its natural state as possible-instead of refined, processed carbohydrate. What’s the difference? A blueberry is a whole-food carbohydrate: a blueberry toaster muffin is a processed carbohydrate.

One important reason why whole foods are better has to do with their high-fiber content.Fiber is the remnant of plant foods that remains undigested by the body. It’s what keeps your bowel movements regular. Fiber is also a proven fat fighter. Research shows that people who eat healthy high-fiber diets have smaller waistlines, and are able to better control their weight. The bottom line is that the right types of carbohydrate can help you manage your weight successfully. The only types of carbohydrate you should shy away from are sugars and highly processed foods. Even so, when used in a targeted way, sugars can be an athlete’s best friend by providing the right fuel at the right time. But without a plan, they can sabotage your goals.

• 3. Vary your diet

One of the biggest downfalls of traditional bodybuilding diets is the monotonous food choices. Little fruit, fewer vegetables, even less dairy, and little to no meat or eggs show up on their plates. Fruits and vegetables are packed with disease-fighting, health-building antioxidants and phytochemicals that make all the difference when you’re trying to gain energy and build muscle. Dairy products supply important nutrients like bone-building calcium and whey, the ideal muscle-building protein. Meat and eggs are important sources of vital minerals like iron and zinc, without which you’ll be jumping lower and running slower.

Bodybuilders, however, do a lot of things right, especially during the training season. They eat several meals and snacks throughout the day-a practice that should be followed by everyone. In fact, you should be fueling your active body every two and a half to four hours. Carrying snacks with you from a wide variety of the food groups like nuts, fresh and dried fruit, mozzarella cheese sticks, yogurt, hard-boiled eggs, turkey jerky, soy nuts and crisps, are a great way to ensure variety in your diet all day long. Make meals representative of all the food groups by including fruits, vegetables, dairy, whole grains, beans, soy, eggs, fish, chicken, meats, nuts, nut butters and oils, olives and extra virgin olive oil, and avocados. Choose a variety of foods from within the food groups as well. Don’t just eat apples, eat apples, bananas, grapes, berries, peaches, nectarines, oranges, grapefruit, and all the wonderful variety of fruits available during the week and month. Keep the idea the same for vegetables, grains, protein foods and high performance fats.

• 4. Time and combine your food and nutrients

To achieve superb shape and maximum performance, forgo the usual approach of three meals a day. Active people must fuel themselves throughout the day, eating small meals and snacks every two and a half to four hours, preferable timed around their workout schedule As we’ll see, these meals don’t include just any type of food.

When eating multiple meals, you always want to combine protein with carbohydrate and high performance fat. Examples would be a turkey sandwich, a whole-wheat bage with peanut butter, or an apple with nuts. Eating multiple meals also promotes variety in your diet and keeps your blood sugar levels even so that you avoid peaks and valley throughout the (a cycle that happens to promote fat storage).

By including small amounts of protein in meals and snacks, you can control your appetite, feed your muscles more efficiently, and maintain muscle even when you’re trying to lose fat.  You also burn fat better because protein, as well as eating multiple small meals, has been shown to increase thermogenesis, the process b which your body converts ingested calories and stored fat into heat. Another advantage of multiple meals is mental performance. regular, timed meals help you think and process information more effectively, increase your attention span, and boost your mood.

The bottom line is that small, frequent meals throughout the day are the best fat-burning, muscle-building strategy you can integrate into your lifestyle. It might be hard during the school day, but if you carry snacks in your backpack or book bag it will make all the difference in your performance on the field, and in the classroom.

• 5. Use a food plan

Any nutritional program aimed at losing body fat and building muscle should be based on a food plan that emphasizes lean protein, natural carbohydrate, and high performance fat. When you want to achieve great things, you have to have a plan, and stick with it. You, along with someone close to you, need to think about the four, four-letter words of nutrition: plan, shop, pack and cook. Without planning ahead, you leave yourself at the mercy of whatever is around when you’re hungry: fast food and vending machines. These will sabotage your results every time.

Think about what you need to eat to fuel your body and your brain. Make a shopping list. Go shopping: read labels while you’re there to make sure that what you are buying is the real deal. Shop the perimeter of the supermarket where most of the fresh foods and only lightly processed foods (think bread, cheese) can be found. The closer you get to the center of the store, the more processed the foods become. Make sure to purchase foods that can be packed, and have packing supplies on hand to make your mornings efficient. Get involved with dinner decisions, and even recipe choices. It won’t be that long before you’ll have to be doing this for yourself in your own home. And you may have a positive influence on your whole family’s diet.

Table 1.           Power Eating^® Timing

Source for article:

Kleiner SM, Greenwood-Robinson M. Power Eating, Third Edition. Human Kinetics, Champaign, IL. 2007.

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