Whether you’re a competitive or recreational athlete, ensuring your body is properly fed and hydrated before, during and after your workout is essential for optimal performance and recovery.
Leonard Piche, Foods and Nutritional Sciences professor from Brescia University College, and Pete Lemon, Kinesiology professor from Western, can eliminate some of the myths about food, fluid and fitness.
Replenishing your glycogen (stored form of glucose) and keeping yourself hydrated are important points to consider if you plan on becoming physically active. The quantity of food and water needed depends on how hard you work out (recreational versus competitive) and how much you sweat.
Recreational athletes typically work out at a moderate level (biking/swimming), four to five times per week for no more than one hour. Comparatively, competitive athletes work out at an intensive level, multiple times per day for extended hours.
Piche suggests recreational athletes have a small meal or snack that includes protein and carbohydrates, 30 minutes prior to working out. The carbohydrate provides energy while the protein promotes muscle and tissue repair. The 30-minute time frame allows for the food to digest and be used as fuel.
Piche also recommends snacks such as chocolate milk, peanut butter or a turkey sandwich. The best way to replace glycogen, he says, is to look for a carbohydrate.
For building muscle, it’s important to ensure your diet consists of two food guide servings of meats and alternatives (75g or the size of a deck of cards) per day for adults 19 to 50 years old. Choosing leaner cuts of meat such as turkey, tuna, chicken and alternatives such as beans and tofu provide the right amount of protein without the added fat.
What about water?
Because everyone sweats differently, the general guideline is to drink one and a half times the amount you sweat. It’s important to ensure that you are not only properly hydrated before being physically active but during and after as well. However, Piche cautions not to be too concerned about losing too much fluid through sweat. One bottle of water is usually enough to replenish fluid lost from sweat in recreational athletes.
How can you test for proper hydration? Non-concentrated (light-colored) urine is usually a good indicator of proper hydration.
Because competitive athletes have a more structured (and extensive) workout, their diets must be built to maximize training and performance. Lemon suggests a 3-to-1 (100 calorie), carbohydrate-to-protein ratio snack. Like recreational athletes, competitive athletes need to top up glycogen stores before physical activity.
According to Lemon, the most important factor in a competitive athlete’s workout is proper hydration. “You could lose a couple of litres in an hour, which hinders exercise and your health.”
A serious consequence of severe dehydration is an increase in body core temperature which can cause brain damage.
Competitive athletes generally lose a lot of fluid during training; therefore, it’s best to sip on a sports drink such instead of water in order to replenish the electrolytes lost through sweat.
Lemon also cautions recreation athletes to avoid drinking too much: “[the] message needs to get out there, people are actually drinking too much.”
Physical activity strengthens more than just your body. Research has found that those who engage in regular physical activity are able to recall more from their short-term memory.
For more information about the role of diet and exercise visit the Dietitian’s of Canada Nutrition Month campaign at www.dietitians.ca/eatwell and register to attend the Community Exercise Nutrition Symposium where Lemon will be speaking on March 21. The symposium is on from 9 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. in Social Science Centre 2050.
For ticket prices and a complete list of speakers visit www.thenutritionacademy.com.
Snacks for working out Pre (or post) workout meal snacks ideas:
· One medium apple with one tablespoon of peanut butter
· Low- fat cheese with crackers
· One cup of yogurt with half a cup of granola
· One cup of soy-based beverage
· Frozen fruit with milk
The writer is a BSc student in the Human Ecology, Foods and Nutrition program at Brescia University College. She can be reached at jrochef2@uwo.ca
