Sports Nutrition: C25K

Sports Nutrition:
What does it mean, and how can we use it?

The bottom line: 

Your body needs energy, in the form of food, to make it go.
It can be helpful to eat a snack before you exercise for an energy burst. Base your snack (size and food choice) on how much time you have to digest a bit before you hit the pavement/treadmill.

The most important part of sports nutrition is refueling after you exercise, including a variety of nutrient-dense foods including all the food groups.

Now, let’s jump into sports nutrition

When we hear the term Sports Nutrition, our minds might jump first to we see marketed: pre-workout powders, protein shakes, sports gels, and energy bars. These supplements can cause a lot of confusion! Not to mention that they're usually pretty pricy.

Nutrition while you're training doesn't have to be complicated, expensive, or bought from the Sports aisle at the store. The best fuel comes from real food!

THE PARTS

Let's get back to the basics, and talk about how our bodies use the food we eat to propel us forwards!

In the simplest terms, calories are what make our bodies go.

You might have an idea in your head that calories are evil little buggers living inside donuts that exist to wreck our health. You might think of calories as something to be cut down at all costs. This is simply not true, and your speed, performance, and energy will suffer if you aren't fueling adequately by eating enough calories. 

A calorie is simply an energy unit, and our bodies need energy to move. 

Next, let's talk about how calories show up in food, or the components that make up food.

There are three nutrients, known as the macronutrients, from which the body gets energy. This energy arrives in the form of calories.

• Protein
• Carbohydrates
• Fat

WHAT THEY DO

Through a sports lens, what is the function of each of these nutrients?

Protein- You can think of protein as the building blocks of your body's major structures, especially your muscles. When you exercise, tiny microtears happen in your muscles, and when you recover, these tears are repaired, building your muscles back stronger and stronger each time. That's why recovery days are so important! Eating enough protein ensures that your body has enough spare bricks it needs to complete the repairs between workouts. 

Examples of protein: fish, meat, beans, eggs, nuts, seeds, dairy products

Carbohydrates- Carbs are your "fast fuel." Pretty soon after you eat carbs, they are ready to be used as energy! Carbs are broken down by your digestive system into sugars, which are then transported by your blood and brought into your muscle cells, where they are converted to energy (called ATP). ATP is the good stuff your muscles want so that you can move around! You can think of carbs as your kindling for your fire- they light up quickly, burn bright and fast, and get used up and need to be replenished after a while. 

Examples of carbohydrates: bread, rice, pasta, fruit, oatmeal, crackers

Fats- Fats are your "slow burning fuel." They take a long time to digest, and are slowly doled out over time to keep you going. Fats are also important for joint lubrication, cushioning organs, and hormone signaling. You can think of fats like a big, fat log you put on the fire that burns for a long, long time. 

Examples of fats: avocadoes, butter, oils, nuts

Note: most foods we eat contain a mix of protein, fats, and/or carbs. They only rarely exist in the wild independently.  

WHEN DO I EAT THEM?

You might have heard an old adage to eat carbs before a workout, and eat protein + carbs after a workout.

However, our bodies are pretty smart, and they can usually perform really well if we generally eat a nice balance of protein, fat, and carbs, no matter how we spread it out. 

The most important thing is to refuel all of the categories after a workout.

 How do you plan your meals so you can feel your absolute best before, during, and after your workout?

BEFORE

We all know that it doesn't feel all that great to exercise right after you eat a big meal.

However, you're also going to have a difficult and exhausting workout if you haven't eaten in a few hours. 

When you're planning what and when to eat before a workout, consider these 2 things:

• Volume vs time 
• Rate of digestion 

The volume is how much food you eat. 

Plan how much you'll eat based on how soon you want to work out after.

•     If you are planning to exercise in 3-4 hours, have a nice, sizable, balanced meal.
•     If you are planning to exercise in 1-2 hours, have a slightly larger snack, like half a sandwich.
•     If you are planning to exercise in 30 minutes, have a small snack, like a piece of fruit.

The rate of digestion is how quickly that food breaks down.

Different foods break down at different speeds, which means that some foods stay in your stomach longer. Running with lots of food in your stomach can make it feel like your meal is bouncing around- and it's not a great feeling!

• Protein breaks down relatively slowly, staying in your stomach for a little while after you eat
• Fat breaks down very slowly, staying in your stomach for a bit longer
• Carbohydrates break down relatively quickly, leaving your stomach the most quickly
• Fiber (in whole wheat bread, fruit, oatmeal) will slow down digestion significantly. 

If you only have 30 minutes before your workout, you'll feel best if you eat a snack with moderate carbohydrates, low protein, low fat, and not too high in fiber. For example, have an apple or banana, or a piece of toast.

If you have 1-2 hours before your workout, a bit of protein and fat might give you a bit more energy and zing to your workout. For example, add some peanut butter to your piece of fruit or toast.

If you have 2-3 hours, half of a sandwich might fuel you for the best run yet!

Everyone's body is different, which means that everyone will experience snacks before workouts differently. It might take some experimenting to learn what works best for you! Listen to what your body is asking for.

DURING

Curious about sports drinks or energy gels? We'll keep this really simple: these can be helpful if you are exercising vigorously, and sweating significantly, for over 2 hours. During the course of this 5k training plan, you won't see any workouts over two hours, so sports drinks and gels are not necessary. 

AFTER

Eat a balanced meal with protein, fiber, and fat within 30-60 minutes after your workout.

Why all three?

1. Replenish the carbohydrate kindling pile you used up during your run.
   Your body stores sugar in the form of glycogen in your muscles, and you need to replenish what you used up!
2. Ensure your body is stocked with the protein building blocks it needs to start the repair work. 
3. In this situation, it's not likely that you burned through much of your fat stores, but eating fat regularly will help with satiety, or helping you feel full. Sometimes when we increase our exercise suddenly, our appetites increase rapidly at the same time, and including a little fat helps signal to your brain that you've had a complete meal. 

Eating a balanced meal with protein, starch, and vegetables is vital after a workout. 
Try to get it in as soon as is realistic!

If you know it will be a while before you can eat a meal, bring something with you to eat right away!

Here are a few snacks that travel well and include protein, carbohydrates, and fat:

• yogurt 
• fruit + PB, nuts, or string cheese
• a sandwich (PB&J, turkey/cheese/mustard/mayo, etc)
• chocolate milk (a great balance of protein, fats, and carbs for post-workout!)
• tuna or hard boiled eggs & crackers
• a bar that is composed mostly of nuts