Nutrition Requirements during Training

Relative amounts of protein, carbohydrate and fat

Sprinter (25 meters to 400 meters, lasting 3 seconds to 1 minute)

In sprinting, the main energy source is the anaerobic metabolism of glucose (70 to 90% of energy), which is stored in the body as glycogen. A much smaller amount of energy comes from aerobic metabolism of fat (10 to 30%). Therefore, sprinters need a higher percentage of carbohydrates in their diet in order to ensure adequate glycogen stores.

Small amounts of fat are still required in order to meet their requirements for aerobic metabolism as well as the body’s requirement for essential fatty acids.
For sprinters, I recommend a diet where:
70% of calories come from carbohydrates
15% of calories come from protein
15% of calories come from fat

Since most people are not equipped to easily calculate percent calories in their diet, I have converted these percentages into a ratio of grams of carbohydrate to protein of 4.4:1 and a ratio of grams of fat to protein of 0.5 to 1. This way, you can check your intake by tallying totals from the number of grams listed in the nutritional labeling on your food packages.
For example:
A 73 kilogram(160 lb) male whose basic metabolic requirements are 3200 calories per day, would need to consume 550 grams of carbohydrate, 125 grams of protein, and 54 grams of fat per day just for the energy they need to go about their daily activities. Add to this the total of calories burned per day in training and competition, with protein, carbohydrate and fat divided out in the same ratios, to get the total requirements for the day.

The above recommendations for sprinters are quite different from that recommended in many sprinting texts, which often recommend the "Zone Diet" approach of 40% of calories from carbohydrate, 30% of calories from protein, and 30% of calories from fat. In these sprinting texts, it’s stated that the high protein levels are required in order to prevent the secretion of insulin which will drop the blood glucose levels.
However...
You can also prevent the secretion of insulin by following a low glycemic load diet. An excellent comprehensive table of glycemic index and glycemic load was published by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 2002 and is available at the following link: http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/reprint/76/1/5

Important Note:
I have personally tried this high protein "Zone" diet and found it makes you very constipated due to the high protein level, which can eventually lead to problems such as diverticulitis and colon cancer. It also recommends an unhealthy high level of fat, which can eventually lead to high cholesterol levels and atherosclerosis.
The high level of protein combined with a low level of carbohydrates will also cause your glycogen stores to become depleted and lead to the formation of ketone bodies, which in turn lead to keto-acidosis, which has been known to cause race horses to die on the track. This is based on a high protein diet; however, the levels of carbohydrate in this diet are not high enough to efficiently convert dietary protein into muscle. As a result, some of the protein is wasted. It is also my opinion that the high levels of protein and fat clog the muscles, and this type of diet is the main reason that many top-level sprinters have to soak in a bath of ice water after every practice in order to keep their muscles from cramping.
I do not recommend the "40 – 30 – 30" ("Zone") diet to anyone under any circumstances whether they are a sprinter, middle distance runner, marathon runner or couch potato. Sprinters who have adequate carbohydrates in their diet, as in the ratios recommended above, do not need to carb load before competition. Those who follow fad diets like the Zone Diet, however, will need to carb load the week before a competition in order to ensure adequate carbohydrate stores for competition.

Middle Distance Runners (800 meters to half-marathon, lasting 2 minutes to 90 minutes)

In middle distance running, the main energy source is the aerobic metabolism of fat (50% to 98% of energy).
The longer the distance, the greater the contribution of aerobic metabolism.
A much smaller amount of energy comes from anaerobic metabolism of glucose (50% to 2%). The aerobic metabolism of fat also requires adequate glucose for maximum efficiency. Therefore, middle distance runners need slightly more fat and slightly less carbohydrates than sprinters.

I would recommend a diet where:
60% of calories come from carbohydrates
15% of calories come from protein
25% of calories come from fat

In this case, the ratio of grams of carbohydrate to protein is 4:1 and the ratio of grams of fat to protein of 0.75:1.
As an example, a 73 kilogram(160 lb) male middle distance runner whose basic metabolic requirements are 3200 calories per day, would have to consume 448 grams of carbohydrate, 112 grams of protein, and 84 grams of fat per day just for the energy they need to go about their daily activities.
You would then have to add to this the number of calories burned per day in training and competition, with protein, carbohydrate and fat divided out in the same ratios, to get their total requirements for the day.

This is a good general diet for any athlete whose competition lasts between 2 and 90 minutes, which encompasses the majority of sports.

It is also the diet recommended by the sports dietitian Tim Wierman in his article "Nutrition for Swimmers: Eat to Win" (Swimming Magazine 2007, Issue 4) and in his course "Eat to Compete: The Athlete’s Sports Nutrition Program". For competitions in the higher end of this range (greater than 1500 meters or longer than 4 minutes), carb loading for one to four days prior to the competition is recommended in order to avoid depletion of the glycogen stores during competition.

Marathon runner or triathlete (lasting more than 90 minutes)

In marathon running, the main energy source is almost exclusively aerobic metabolism of fat (98% to 99%). Only a small amount of energy comes from anaerobic metabolism of carbohydrates (1% to 2 %). The aerobic metabolism of fat also requires adequate glucose for maximum efficiency. Therefore, marathon runners need slightly more fat and slightly less carbohydrate than middle distance runners.

I would recommend a diet where:
55% of calories come from carbohydrates
15% of calories come from protein
30% of calories come from fat

In this case, the ratio of grams of carbohydrate to protein is 3.7:1 and the ratio of grams of fat to protein of 1: 1.

As an example, a 73 kilogram (160 lb) male marathon runner whose basic metabolic requirements are 3200 calories per day, would have to consume 377 grams of carbohydrate, 102 grams of protein, and 102 grams of fat per day just for the energy they need to go about their daily activities.

Then add to this the number of calories burned per day in training and competition, with protein, carbohydrate and fat divided out in the same ratios, to get their total requirements for the day.

In spite of the small percentage of their energy that comes from anaerobic metabolism of carbohydrates, marathon runners run the risk of depleting their glycogen stores due to the long duration of their training sessions and competitions.

Since the brain needs sugar as a source of energy, depleting your glycogen stores will cause you to become hypoglycemic and your brain will become foggy. Marathon runners in this condition have been known to lose their sense of direction and eventually pass out. For this reason you must carb load while tapering your training during the seven days before a competition, and ingest carbohydrates during the long training sessions and competitions.

Summary

According to Tim Wierman (Nutrition for Swimmers: Eat to Win) the average swimmer ‘s diet consists of 46% carbohydrates, 38% fat, and 16% protein, which is too little carbohydrate and too much fat. This inadequate intake of carbohydrates will leave them short of energy when they compete.

Some young athletes will do the opposite and give up all fats because they think they only need carbohydrates. Then they eat more carbohydrates than they need, and since any calories not utilized by the body are converted to fat and stored, they gain weight.

You can look up the "Nutrition Facts" label for any food (even the ones that don’t come with a nutrition label such as oranges or bananas) at NutritionData.com, which you can access using the following link:   http://www.nutritiondata.com

"Maintenance Number" Definition

The "Maintenance Number" is the number of calories an athlete needs to maintain their energy level throughout the day.
For males - it is body weight (in pounds) times 15 (lb x 15) plus the training.
For females - it is body weight (in pounds) times 13 (lb x 13) plus the training.

This will give you a good estimate of the number of calories you need to consume on a daily basis in order to maintain your weight without gaining or losing. The Training needs will depend on the sport in which you compete and even the individual event in your sport.

Example:
If you’re a swimmer the number of calories burned per hour depends on which stroke you are doing.

With any sport where you break out into a sweat, you will likely burn 300 to 700 calories per hour, depending on your weight and the level of intensity.
Every athlete should calculate their "Maintenance Number" and ensure that they are consuming adequate calories in order to maintain their present body weight and have enough energy to get through their daily activities and training. There is an excellent "calories burned calculator" at Never Say Diet.com.

You can access it at this link: http://www.neversaydiet.com/tools/calories-burned-calculator

Pre-competition Nutrition Requirements

For the pre-competition meal, we will be considering the last meal that is at least 3-4 hours immediately preceding the competition. This includes breakfast for a late morning or early afternoon competition, lunch for a late afternoon or early evening competition, and supper for a late evening or early morning competition.

The reason this meal should be eaten at least 3 – 4 hours before competition is that you want to go into competition with your fuel tank full but your stomach empty. You want your blood flow to be going to the muscles not the gut. Snack and hydration in the hour or two preceding the competition (which includes breakfast for an early-morning competition) will be covered in the section on competition/game day.

First of all, it is important to remember what you eat throughout the week preceding the event is important to ensure adequate energy stores when you start your competition.

You need to consume an adequate amount of carbohydrates, calories, proteins and fats all week long -- in the ratios mentioned above-- for the type of sport you participate in.

You can’t eat garbage all week long and then eat a stack of pancakes on Saturday morning and be set for a Saturday afternoon competition. Your body doesn’t replenish its stores of carbohydrates that fast. What your body is using on Saturday is dependent on what you put in it the week before.

One good pre-competition meal is not going to make you, but one bad pre-competition meal can break you. For the last meal (pre-competition), it is important to avoid unfamiliar foods. You don’t want to find out the hard way that "suicidal chicken wings" brings on diarrhea while you’re competing. The resultant loss of minerals, fluids, as well as concentration could be disastrous!

Similarly, for a marathon runner or triathlete, a steak the night before a race is too hard to digest and you will be sicker than a dog during the race. (I’ve seen this happen to an inexperienced competitor in the Iron Man.)

Guidelines for Pre-Competition Meal:
400 – 600 Calories
60% - 70% Carbohydrates = 68 - 103 grams
15% – 20% Protein = 15 - 23 grams
15% Fat = 7 grams

This is pretty close to what I recommend above for a sprinter’s diet.
In this case, the ratio of grams of carbohydrate to protein is 4.4:1 and the ratio of grams of fat to protein of 0.5: 1.

The carbohydrates should be low glycemic index (glycemic index less than 55, and glycemic load less than 10) such as pasta or cooked pearl barley, fresh fruits and berries (apples, oranges, peaches, pears, strawberries), dried fruits (apricots), cooked vegetables (vegetable soup), and salad.

Avoid: short grain rice, rice crackers, puffed rice cakes, potatoes (esp. mashed or baked) or potato chips, twinkies, jelly beans, corn flakes, raisins, watermelon and white bread. Chocolate, in small quantities is permitted, as are nuts in small quantities (peanuts, almonds).

The proteins should be in an easily-digestible form such as low-fat milk or yogurt (including fruit yogurt).
The fat should be unsaturated, such as a small serving of peanuts (14 peanuts = 7 grams of fat).

You can look up the "Glycemic Index" and "Glycemic Load" for any food at the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition web site, which you can access using the following link: http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/full/76/1/5/T1

Competition / Game Day

This section includes snack and hydration at two hours prior and one hour prior to the competition (which includes breakfast for an early-morning competition) as well as nutrition during the competition, and in between heats or at intermission in a game. Two hours prior to the competition:

If you’re not competing in another event at this time, you should be consuming 200 to 400 calories, two hours prior to the competition.
This should be made up of half the carbohydrates, protein and fat of the pre-competition meal.

Approximate Servings:
40 to 50 grams of carbohydrates
9 to 11 grams of protein
3.5 grams of fat

Any food consumed at this time should be light, easy to digest, and low glycemic index (see pre-competition meal, above).
A half serving of pasta, pearl barley, long grain rice or oatmeal as tolerated. Oatmeal must be cooked and not "instant oatmeal". No bread, crackers, or meat – they are too hard to digest this close to the competition.

One hour prior to the competition:
If you’re not competing in another event at this time, you should consume 100 to 200 calories, one hour prior to the competition.
Fruits, berries, and vegetables only. These are easy to digest -- have high moisture content -- and are high in vitamins and minerals – the spark plugs you need to utilize your energy stores.

Half hour prior to the competition:
Don’t eat anything, and drink only water (sips, not gulps to prevent bloating) for the 30 minutes prior to the competition.

During the competition:
Drink only water during the competition. If the competition runs longer than 60 minutes, sip on a sports drink after 60 minutes.

Between heats or at intermission in a game:
Drink a thin recovery drink or smoothie (with ¼ to ½ the protein of milk – eg. Accelerade, either full strength or diluted by half, or Gatorade with a little whey powder added), or nibble on a sports bar with a 4:1 ratio of carbohydrate to protein (eg. a Clif Bar or Power Bar Sport), for light recovery between heats or at the intermission in a game.

Recovery Requirements (Post-Training and Post-competition)

At the end of a game or competition day you want to be a little more aggressive in your recovery nutrition than you would be between heats or at the intermission in a game. The best recovery foods have a carbohydrate to protein ratio of 4:1, are low in fat (fat to protein ratio of 0.1:1), very low in fiber (or no fiber), high in antioxidant vitamins (especially vitamins C and E), and minerals (especially magnesium). The three best grocery-store foods for this are low-fat chocolate milk (universally available, but not the most nutritious), liquid yogurt drink (such as "Yop") and Fruit Flavoured "Boost" meal replacer.

Another good choice is instant noodles (eg. Campbell’s Chicken Flavour Hearty Noodles – the other brands are way too high in fat) combined with either fruit or berries, as the noodles are high in carbohydrates but low in sugar.

A sports bar with a 4:1 ratio of carbohydrate to protein (eg. a Clif Bar or Power Bar Sport) is also a good choice where shelf stability and light weight are important. Another choice is a proprietary sports recovery drink powder, such as Endurox R4. You could also make your own recovery "smoothie" by blending milk, or yogurt together with fruits and/or berries. Blueberries, for instance, are particularly high in antioxidants. High glycemic index is acceptable in a recovery drink as quick replenishment of carbohydrate stores is very important post-exercise.

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Patient Reviews:

"After looking over the nutritional advice I was given, I changed my diet immediately.
As a runner, you don’t want to limit yourself. Knowing when to eat – what to eat – what NOT to eat – has definitely given me an added advantage and benefited my performance."

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