With
the influx of social media and the constant pressure from society to look a
certain way, athletes are turning to different diet methods and pills to achieve
“social norms”. However, unlike the general population, an athlete needs to consume more
calories simply because they are burning more calories than the average person. The
nutrients that athletes receive from the foods that they consume help tissue
grow, injuries repair, and provide energy for the body.
According to the athletic trainers at Plattsburgh State University in New York, if the athlete is “exercising for more than an hour the glucose levels start to decline and stored muscle and liver glycogen also diminishes .” When this occurs, the body cannot respond and is literally “out of gas.” Researchers at Pure Health MD, recommend that an athlete consumes “60 - 70 percent of calories from carbohydrates, 10-15 percent from protein, and 20-30 percent from fat”.
Another consideration athletes need to consider when developing a diet plan is the type of sport in which they participate. For instance, endurance such as runners, tennis players and cyclist need a high carbohydrate diet to prevent glycogen depletion. Strength athletes on the other had need less carbohydrates. The amount of protein needed also varies depending on the athletes and their training program. According to Caryn Honig MEd., RD, LD endurance athletes need to consume 1.2 – 1.5 grams of protein per kilogram of weight while, power athletes need 1.5 – 2.0 grams of protein per kilogram of weight.
Tune in next week to get a look at the different diet programs and methods.
Nutrition is definitely an issue among athletes. Every athlete thinks that they know what is best for them; however, unless they are taught proper nutrition, they have no idea and it is just a guessing game.
ReplyDeleteI feel that athletes should have a nutrition coach or atleast a lesson at the beginning of each year on proper nutrition for their sport. If they were coached properly on how and what to eat, then they no longer have to guess. Also, proper nutrition would only benefit the performance of an athlete. If athletes could get proper information about what to put in their bodies, they could stop guessing and become the best athlete they could be! Love the topic of athletes and nutrition!
This is an excellent topic to talk about and usually ignored by many fitness related professionals. It has been said that maximal athletic performance is achieved when proper NUTRITION, exercise and recovery are fulfilled. Most athletes get enough exercise and recovery but forget about their diet, thus never becoming the best they can be.
ReplyDeleteAs you stated every sport is different from one another and every athlete has his own personal needs. Therefore, every athlete must engage in a diet that fits his individual’s energy requirement. However carbohydrates are the constant nutrients that must be included in every diet either for endurance or power type athletes.
What a great topic to write about. Nutrition is definitely a concern amongst athletes. Many athletes forget that their bodies are machines that need fuel and they pick up the latest Vogue or Cosmopolitan Magazine. Athletes should not eat like magazine models, power lifters should not eat like cross country runners, and basketball players should not eat like football players.
ReplyDeleteI think coaches should emphasize the importance of eating good, wholesome foods to their athletes. Many times coaches will choose McDonalds or Taco Bell for the bus ride home, simply because it is easy...but what exactly is that teaching our athletes?
I realize that schools have budgets, but don't their budgets have a large part to do with the team's performance? That starts with the right foods going into the mouths of our athletes.
This is a constant battle between coaches and athletes year in and out. Athletes think that they need to achieve this “perfect” body that is depicted by media, what they do not understand is that how the general public diets is not the same as how an athlete should. An ordinary person does not burn as many calories as an athlete does throughout the day so they do not need to consume as many calories. An athlete needs to understand that they put in so much extra work throughout the day that they must take in a good amount of calories for their bodies to be able to recover from the stress that is induced in practice and play. Nutrition should be a point that coaches take the time to educate their athletes to keep them in top physical and mental condition.
ReplyDeleteYour point about carbohydrates being 60-70% of an Athletes diets is so key to their success. Society has definitely skewed the view of even some of the most elite athletes approach to dieting for their sport. Just like an athletes exercise program has to be sport specific so should their diet be as well. If they don’t eat right they will not perform right. Which in some of their case could be the difference between 1st and last place. I look forward in reading your next blog.
ReplyDeleteEveryone wants to be in shape, but it is hard to discipline yourself when you are trying to go workout. Athletes have no choice to go workout because the coach requires it. Many people go on diets to try to become healthy, and stay fit. I do think it is important for an athlete based on their sport to know what they need for their body. Like she mentioned up above if you are a runner you need a high carbohydrate diet to prevent glycogen depletion instead of someone who is a football player they don’t need that type of diet.
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