Sport Nutrition for Runners, Cyclists & Triathletes By Melissa Guthrie

With Melissa Guthrie - Nutritionist, Fitness Trainer, Health Educator, Athlete
Tel: 1.800.775.0712 ext 7015
Cell: 480.861.2222
mmguthrie@hotmail.com
www.gettingfitwithmelissa.com


.........You are an experiment of one – discover what works for YOU!


Day to Day Nutrition


Have a daily healthy nutrition plan that coincides with your daily training plan and is in sync with your goals.

•Are you eating sufficient calories to recover, replenish, & refuel your next workout?
•Is your goal to maintain your body weight, lose body fat, and/or increase lean muscle?
•Are you attempting to resolve, control, or prevent specific health issues that are influenced by exercise and nutrition?


Macronutrient Progression (standard)

Training: 50-60% carbohydrate, 20-25% protein, 20-25% fat
Taper: 60-65% carbohydrate, 12-18% protein, 15 - 20% fat
2 days pre-event: 60-70% carbohydrate, 10-15% protein, 15-20% fat

*Remember we are not necessarily increasing total calorie intake, we are just shifting where the calories are coming from. And your macronutrient percentages are based up multiple factors including volume & intensity of training.


* Eat a variety of Whole, Fresh, Unprocessed Foods daily. Focus your meals around 100% whole grains, fruits, & vegetables. Garnish your meals with some lean proteins and non-fat or low fat dairy or dairy-alternatives. Make sure every meal is balanced with some carbohydrates, protein, & healthy fat. Your body is designed to be fueled approximately every 3 hours – so you should be eating 4-6 times per day. Smaller, more frequent meals that are properly balanced will increase energy, promote healthy metabolism, reduce unhealthy cravings (i.e. sugars & fats), and ensure stable blood sugar levels.


Practice Event/Race Day Nutrition during long workouts NOW. Have a plan! What are you eating/drinking 48 hrs pre-workout, during workout, and for 24 hrs after workouts? Remember…he/she who fails to plan, plans to fail.


Pre-Workout/Pre-Race Meal – The right foods, at the right time, in the right amount


The following are examples of a pre-exercise meal depending on what time you eat prior to your workout. (Note: The actual amounts YOU require will vary based on your metabolic rate, your digestive system and your overall nutrient/caloric requirements)


If you eat your pre-exercise meal….

* 2-3 hrs before a workout/event: ~ 1 cup of cooked oatmeal, 1 small banana, 8 oz skim milk or non –dairy milk
* 1 hr before a workout/event: ½ whole grain bagel with 2 tsp of peanut butter, ½ banana, 8 oz skim milk or non-dairy milk
* 15-20 min before a workout/event: a small “healthy” energy bar, an energy gel, 8-10 oz fruit juice/sports drink, 1 small piece of fresh fruit (i.e. 1/2 a banana), ½ - ¾ cup applesauce, ¼ -1/2 cup of dried fruit or ½ cup granola cereal


Mid-Workout Fueling

Discover what foods, at what time, in what amounts works best for YOU!


For fueling during your training/events do you prefer gels, bars, energy drinks or real foods like dried fruit, fig newtons, PBJ, crackers?

•Determine how often you must fuel – every 45 minutes, every 4-5 miles, etc.
•Recommended: 30-60 gm of Carbohydrate per hour

•Determine how often you must drink – follow your thirst
•Recommended: 2-4 oz every 15 minutes


Post-Workout Nutrition

As a athlete, your body requires plenty of carbohydrate rich foods for energy to get you through your workouts. The body stores carbohydrate in the form of muscle glycogen. During prolonged exercise, those glycogen stores can be depleted. If not replenished, subsequent workouts will suffer and we may not make it through our long, intense training. Post-exercise nutrition is as important as pre-exercise nutrition. There is a window of time in which the body is like a super absorbent sponge and will refill the glycogen stores most rapidly and efficiently. This is 15 to 60 minutes after a workout. Muscle glycogen uptake remains elevated for up to five hours post-workout, although it is not as rapid as it is during the first hour post-workout.

“So What Should I Eat and How Much Should I Eat in my Post-workout/ Post-race meal?” ……Let’s start with understanding the ideal ratio for replenishment is a 3 or 4 to 1 ratio of carbohydrates to protein, so a meal containing 75-100 grams of carbohydrate and 25 grams of protein is ideal.

Here’s an example of what that might look like: a medium sized whole grain bagel topped with 1 ½ TBS peanut butter and small banana with eight ounces of skim milk. Approx. 75 grams carbohydrate, 20 grams protein, 15 grams fat, 510 calories (Note: The actual amounts YOU require will vary based on your metabolic rate, your digestive system and your overall nutrient/caloric requirements)

Do you have a plan for your post-workout meals?


More Nutrition Tips


Keep a training and nutrition journal – this can prove priceless in you having a successful event day experience and/or having your best run/race yet! Log what time of day you eat, the specific foods/beverages you intake, and the amounts. Also note how you are feeling i.e. felt strong and energized or felt depleted and fatigued, etc.



Foods to Limit or Avoid During Training and Especially Just before an Event:

Limit high-fat protein foods like hamburgers, fried chicken, extra cheese because these foods take longer to empty from your stomach and can contribute to sluggishness. Limit sugary sweets like candy, cookies, candy bars, cakes, ice cream, candy bars, doughnuts, pastries, etc. Limit overall junky foods like French fries, onion rings, potato chips, most crackers, all fried foods, and alcohol. Limit or avoid heavily processed, refined foods – they cause inflammation in the cells, they alter the pH balance of the body, they are void of nutrients and result in the body robbing nutrients from vital organs/tissues to compensate, they do no digest properly, they result in metabolic malfunction, and they are often stored as fat.


For additional articles on proper sports nutrition visit www.gettingfitwithmelissa.com