NUTRITION

Written by: Strengthcoach

Nutrition can play such a critical role in the performance of any athlete. I always say that nutrition can make a good athlete great and it can make a great athlete good. The nutritional strategies I try to employ are very basic and I feel very sound. How I approach it depends on the type of athlete (college, summer ball, pro, travel ball, etc.)

I think the biggest thing is to attack the “nutrition beast” with a realistic attitude.

I always tell athletes to eat whatever they want! I know it seems a bit crazy, but if an athlete likes to eat donuts….then by all means eat donuts. If you like McDonald’s French fries, then eat them….just don’t eat these things every day!

I also tell them that something is better than nothing…..so if all you have to eat after the game is the hot dogs at the concession stand then eat them!

I like to educate the athlete on choices, so they can understand what might be the best bet to eat before, during or after a game. I go over 6 basic steps for proper nutrition:

1: Consistency: Don’t skip meals.
When you skip meals, your body does not know why, nor does it understand that you were most likely too busy grab a quick bite and that you will grab something a bit later. All the body knows is that it has food or it doesn’t have food. When you skip a meal the body goes into a “survival” type mode; slowing down the metabolism and storing any excess food or glucose as FAT and chewing up muscle for energy since muscle is very “expensive” to maintain. If the body does have food, then it will increase its metabolism, and start breaking down the fat (since it thinks it doesn’t need it anymore).

2. Timing: How often should one eat?
Eat every three hours……yes every 3. That does not mean that you need to eat a turkey dinner every 3 hours, but you do need to eat something (yogurt, piece of fruit, beef jerky). This will help stimulate the metabolism, the burning of fat and will help maintain blood sugar levels (if you are not diabetic).

3. Use these 3 steps in choosing what to eat:
a. Alter the amount of carbohydrates relative to your intensity. This means if you are doing a lot (practice, hitting lessons, pitching lessons, school, working out, running) then you need to eat more. If you are not doing a lot (sitting on your couch all day) then don’t eat that much. Kind of like you car…..if you drive it around the block then you don’t have to fill it up….if you drive it across town and back home 3 times, then you might want to think about putting some gas in.

b. Incorporate fruits and vegetables into meals. I tell athletes to eat a rainbow. This means that the more color on their plate the better!

c. Select a lean protein source with each meal or snack. Eating protein will help maintain blood sugar levels and also give you that sense of being full. What I tell athletes to do here is that the less legs the better….meaning steak comes from a cow (4 legs), chicken and turkey (2 legs) are better then steak and fish (0 legs) is better than all of them. One important note…If an athlete likes steak…..then eat it. If they don’t like fish…then don’t eat it.

4. Proper Hydration and Rehydration: Dehydration is counterproductive to enhancing athletic performance. Minor dehydration impairs concentration, coordination, and reaction time, reduces stamina and compromises the body’s ability to resist disease. Dehydration of muscle of only 3% can cause about 10% loss of contractile strength and 8% loss of speed. In order to keep from becoming dehydrated, it is important to drink plenty of fluids (ideally water) before, during, and after intense periods of exercise. The only imperfect mechanism in the body is the thirst mechanism. Once you are thirsty you are already dehydrated- it is too late!!

5. Weight Gain & Weight Loss:
Always a good topic….bottom line: If you take in more calories than you expend, then you will gain weight. If you expend more calories than you take in, then you will loose weight.

For weight gain: Follow above steps, eat 5-6 moderate size meals.
For weight loss: follow above steps, eat 5-6 small size meals.

6. Supplementation:
May be beneficial for elite athletes due to the fact that every individual’s requirements vary. One should consult with a nutritionist to pin- point the proper supplementation. An exciting area of research involves anti-oxidant nutrients; Vitamin E, C, and beta-carotene and their role in preventing exercise-induced stress; although the amount of these vitamins that will protect muscles is unknown at this time. A multi-vitamin plus minerals (iron and calcium) supplement may help provide your body with adequate amounts of iron, calcium, Vitamins E, C, and beta-carotene.

As  pointed out this low carb craze is the latest and greatest battle which we are up against. While you do loose weight on a low carb diet I would not recommend that for ANY athlete. It just doesn’t make much sense. Much of the weight that one looses on a low carb diet is water. This water is stored in the body because it is associated with carbohydrates (hence the name). That is why once people who are on a strict low carb diet start to eat a normal amount of carbs they immediately put weight on. This weight is often associated with fat….however it is very unlikely that you gain 2-5 lbs of fat overnight.

While this is just a BRIEF overview of sports nutrition, there is still a lot that was left that has yet to be discussed. 

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