Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
ANOTHER week down and hopefully it was a successful one on the training track and in the pantry.
So far we’ve focused primarily on incorporating healthier foods into our daily diet.
Today, we’ll get more into the exercise/sports side of nutrition but it’s important to remember that those basics still hold true and form the basis of all good quality diets.
This edition will go further into particular nutrients and how to utilise them to improve your performance. More specifically we will focus on carbohydrates and why they are an integral part of every athlete’s diet.
I have aimed to explain why they are important, where they are found and when they help you the most.
As you sit or stand there reading this the muscles of your body are primarily utilising fats as the fuel to feed them for movement. When we are sedentary or performing activity at a low intensity (e.g. walking) fat is a sufficient fuel to meet our needs. As we increase the intensity of activity (e.g. running) our muscles prefer a more efficient fuel to feed their movement and this comes in the form of carbohydrates.
Your muscles rely on these as the primary fuel source in higher intensity activities and without them you would not get very far. Unfortunately our body has a limited amount of carbohydrate which it can store, so it’s important that we provide it with this fuel when we want to perform at our best.
Luckily for us carbohydrates are found in many everyday foods including bread, cereals, rice, pasta and noodles, grains, legumes, starchy vegetables (e.g. potato), fruit, milk and yoghurt.
These foods are the better quality types of foods we prefer people to get their carbohydrates from.
You will also find carbohydrates in foods such as chocolate, biscuits and cakes, but these foods provide very little nutritional benefit to you.
The better types of carbohydrate foods also contain many vitamins, minerals and fibre which are all important for performance and overall health.
Your requirements for carbohydrate depend on the amount of training/activity you are performing.
If you are training two to three times a week then you’re body will have plenty of time to replenish your carbohydrate stores after your session.
Generally, it’s good to have a meal containing good quality carbohydrate foods a few hours prior to a training session to ensure your body has an adequate supply to fuel the training session. Of course, you want to have it far enough in advance so that you’re not running on a full stomach.
After your session your body will be depleted of its carbohydrate stores so if you need to quickly replenish these for a future session then it would be smart to have a high carbohydrate meal afterwards.
Some good ideas for a pre/post meal include sandwiches, fruit smoothies, bowl of cereal, pasta/rice dishes or any others you can think of including the foods mentioned above.
Including carbohydrate rich meals and snacks around your training sessions will enable you to get the most out of each session.
Of course, there are many other nutrients that our bodies need and I will touch on these in future editions.
If you find that getting too specific doesn’t work for you or gets overwhelming then just focus on following the Australian guide to healthy eating/dietary guidelines which I’ve previously mentioned and you’ll be fine.
Until next week, happy and healthy eating!
Important footnote
Please be aware that the presented information may not be suitable for you if you have specific health conditions and you should seek the assistance of an accredited practising dietitian for individualised nutritional advice.
Editor's note: To ask Michael a question, use the comment section at the bottom of this story page. Thanks to everyone who has sent questions through so far.