Events vary, as do athletes and your everyday health-conscious exerciser. So, it should be no surprise that one’s nutritional needs are not a one-size-fits-all solution. Factors to consider include weekly exercise expenditure requirements, body weight, environmental conditions, and nutrient timing.
Each person will have different needs for different events. Finding the best solution may involve starting with basic nutrition recommendations. If they don’t supply the desired results, modify them as needed. Finding the best diet is often a trial-and-error process.
Nutrition Basics:
Get most of your protein from animal sources (skinless chicken, turkey, and fish) unless you are vegan/vegetarian. If vegan/vegetarian you will need to increase your protein intake to make up for the incomplete protein molecules in vegetables from your diet.
Timing: EAT Breakfast! Have ⅔ of your calories in the first ⅔ of your day. Dinner should be small but complete. Try to space out your food so you are having about 300-400 calories every 3 hours. For peri & menopausal women those needs are increased to 500+ calories per balanced meal 3x a day, plus nutrition before/after workouts.
Make sure to have Prot/Carb/Fat in each meal, and a big dose (30-40g for Women 40+, 20-25g for all others) of protein immediately post-workout. For women, adding EAA’s (especially Leucine 3-4g) and creatine (3-5g) to your daily intake is highly advised.
Eat whole grains & Starchy vegetables: Quinoa, Whole Grain bread or crackers, cauliflower, broccoli, colorful potatoes, and lots of dark green leafy veggies. Eat your fruits, don’t drink them unless it’s during exercise/competition.
Macronutrients are the basic components of the food we eat. These are carbohydrates, protein, and fat.
Eating macros in proper ratios fuels your endurance and strength training protocols. Healthy “adult” (aka college age men) eating includes ratios of, 45-65% of calories from carbs, 20-35% of calories from fat, and 10-35% of calories from protein.
Adjust these ratios based on the goal of the physical activity. For example, when training for endurance an athlete would increase their carb percentage to improve muscle glycogen stores. When training for strength, an athlete would consume a higher protein intake to help rebuild muscle fibers to better support more muscle mass. The numbers for most people would then look like 40% Carb, 30% Protein and 30% fat.
Carbohydrates:
Carbs come in different forms. Two to know are simple and complex carbs.
Simple carbs, also known as simple sugars, have one to two sugar molecules. These include glucose*, dextrose, or fructose. Simple carbs break down quickly in the body. Foods with simple sugars include fruits (grapes, watermelon, stone fruits), milk, vegetables, table sugar, candy, and soft drinks. They supply energy but lack fiber, vitamins, and other key nutrients.
Complex carbs have three or more sugar molecules. You'll find these in foods like beans, whole grains, whole-wheat pasta, colorful potatoes, corn, and legumes.
So, what kind of carbohydrate should you consume? Most carbs should come from complex sources and naturally occurring sugars. Processed carbs and refined sugars should be limited to racing and hard training sessions, or avoided if your body has trouble using it.
How many carbs should endurance athletes eat?
There will be some differences based on the type and duration of training. The general rule is to increase carbohydrate intake up to 70% of total daily calories. This helps support the high volume of glucose needed for that level of physical activity.
Endurance athletes should eat 8 to 10 grams of carbohydrate per kilogram (kg) of body weight per day. This will depend on the duration of their endurance event. For endurance training lasting 4 to 5 hours, endurance athletes should consume 10 grams per kilogram of body weight, this is based on healthy young men and does not include recommendations for women, and especially peri& postmenopausal women. Instead, according to Dr. Stacy Sims, women should follow:
For light days, rest days or strength training days aim for 1.1 to 1.4 grams of carb per pound of body weight per day.
For Moderate to high-intensity training (60-120 minutes), you need 1.6 to 1.8 grams of cab per pound of body weight per day.
For endurance training of 2 to 5 hours of intense training per day, you need 2 to 2.7 grams of cab per pound of body weight per day.
For extreme training of 5 hours or more of intense training per day, you need 2.7 to 3.1 grams of carbs per pound of body weight per day.
How Much Protein Should Endurance Athletes Eat?
Many people focus only on carbs for endurance exercise. However, protein intake for endurance athletes is equally important. The purpose of protein is to build and replenish lean muscle tissue. Protein also acts as a source of energy in times of caloric deficits.
There are two different types of protein:
Animal-based protein
Plant-based protein
Animal-based protein, as the name implies, is a protein that comes from animals. It can come from the animal’s body, such as a cut of beef or fish filet. Or it may be a protein food they produce, like cow’s milk or an egg. This type of protein is considered a complete protein. It is complete because it contains all nine essential amino acids.
Plant-based protein is a protein that comes from plants. This type of protein can come from the plant’s leaves and roots, or a fruit or nut produced by the plant. Plant-based protein is considered an incomplete protein. This isn't to say it is bad, it just doesn't have all essential amino acids. Plant-based protein sources include edamame, chickpeas, spinach, broccoli, chia seeds, quinoa, hemp seeds, and peanut butter. Endurance athletes on a plant-based diet will have an increased protein requirement. This is due to a plant-based diet consisting of incomplete proteins.
Protein has 4 calories per gram. How much protein do you need to eat? Protein intake for a normal healthy adult (again these guidelines are based on research done solely on young males) is around 0.8 grams/kg/day. Endurance athletes should eat protein at 1.4 g/kg/day. Athletes taking part in longer endurance events need more protein than those running shorter distances. This is based on research done on healthy young men and does not include recommendations for women, and especially peri& postmenopausal women. Instead, according to Dr. Stacy Sims, women should follow:
For strength/power phases of training, you need 1.0 to 1.2 grams of protein per pound per day.
For endurance phases of training, you need 0.8 to 1.0 grams of protein per pound per day.
For optimal recovery, try taking 35-40 grams of protein immediately post-workout, or within no more than 30 minutes after to take advantage of the non-insulin-dependent first phase of glycogen synthesis. In addition to the 35-40 grams of protein immediately after a workout, peri & postmenopause women need to make sure there are EAA’s (essential amino acids: Leucine, isoleucine, and valine) with a 3 to 4 gram content of Leucine, and creatine in a 3-5g amount.
How Much Fat Should Endurance Athletes Eat?
Endurance athletes need healthy fats in their diet. Roughly 30% of one’s daily calories should come from fat when involved with endurance exercise.
Dietary fat has six major roles in the body: Supply energy; Help manufacture and balance hormones; Form cell membranes; Form the brain and nervous system, Transport fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, and K); Supply two fatty acids the body can't manufacture (linoleic acid and linolenic acid); There are many types of fat, some good and some not. The most significant types are triglycerides, fatty acids, phospholipids, and cholesterol. Of these, triglycerides are most commonly found in food. Fatty acids break down further into saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fats.
Endurance athletes need to minimize the amount of saturated fat consumed. Most fat calories should be in the form of monounsaturated fatty acids.
When adding fat to your diet to keep up with the demands of endurance training, focus your fat intake on healthy fats. This includes: Fatty fish - salmon, mackerel, or tuna; Avocado; Seeds - sunflower, sesame, and pumpkin seeds all have healthy fats; Nuts - peanuts, walnuts, almonds, or cashews; Olive oil; Eggs; Ground flaxseed; Beans - kidney, navy, or soybeans.
Nutrition for Endurance: Bringing it All Together
Balancing one's nutrition is not an easy task, involves a lot of thought and trial and error. But when endurance athletes pay attention to the recommendations and figure out what methods work best for them, the outcome is improved athletic performance. This can translate to higher awards come race day.
Whether you are an elite athlete, a weekend warrior, or a personal trainer designing programs for athletes, it is important to fuel your body properly. Proper nutrients at the right time allow the body to perform at its highest level.
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