The 5 Rules of Exercise Nutrition

Tuesday

Feb012011

The 5 Rules of Exercise Nutrition

Here’s how to keep your tank full and your body energized.

by Jerome Holtzman - Get Active!

According to some estimates, keeping fit is 80% nutrition. Whether or not you buy into that number, you know that all the exercise in the world can’t make up for a lousy diet. And if you’re an active person who is trying to change body composition, your nutritional demands are different from couch potatoes.

Active people need to keep their engines revving. Of most concern are the macronutrients: carbohydrates, protein and fat. You also need to pay attention to your hydration if you regularly exercise. Following the five commandments below will help you nutritionally support your workouts, and your ability to lose weight while firming up your musculature.

RULE #1: DON’T STARVE YOURSELF

A lot of people put themselves on very low-calorie diets when they get serious about losing weight. Unfortunately, this strategy is doomed to fail for two reasons. First, it’s not sustainable. If you’re cutting back drastically on calories and you exercise regularly, you’re going to lose weight in the short term (both body fat and muscle mass), but you’re going to be hungry and feel weak most of the time. Ultimately, you’ll return to your former eating patterns, and then you’re not only likely to add back all the weight you just lost, but you may even gain more.

Second, extreme calorie cutting reduces your metabolic rate — the amount of calories that your body naturally burns to perform all of its daily functions, including mobility, digestion, breathing, etc. By reducing your metabolic rate, you make it more likely that you’ll increase your body weight and fat stores with normal eating patterns.

Follow these tips to avoid calorie deprivations during dieting periods.

Only reduce your calorie consumption about 10–15% below what you need for body-weight maintenance. Increase your calorie burning through anaerobic (weight training) and aerobic (walking, running, etc.) activities. A person who normally eats 1,500 calories for body-weight maintenance should only cut calories to 1,100–1,250 calories a day. This slower rate of burning body fat not only makes it easier to sustain fat loss, but it also can help you maintain a higher metabolic rate to better manage your weight in the long term.

Never train on empty. Instead of skipping that meal and running on fumes, eating a nutritious snack or taking a meal-replacement supplement may give you the resolve you need to hit the gym later in the day.

RULE #2) DON’T EXERCISE ON LOW CARBS

Tired before your workout? That just won’t do. Energy is essential if you’re going to get the most bang for your buck in the gym.

Before you exercise, fight fatigue by making certain your brain has a steady supply of glucose or blood sugar. During prolonged exercise of more than 60 minutes, a constant, steady source of carbohydrate is a must to fuel your brain and provide a backup source of fuel for muscles as muscle glycogen is depleted.

Sugar used to be considered a bad food in almost any capacity, but sports science has proved that to be untrue. Before you work out, you should consume simple carbs or sugars. These sugars not only help fuel your workouts, but they also promote recovery as the sugars are readily stored as muscle glycogen. Knowing the right type of carbs to consume before and after your workout is critical for enhancing your endurance. Follow these general guidelines.

Take in slow-burning carbs before your workout. Slow-digsting carbs include oatmeal, whole grains, and foods loaded with fiber (apples, cruciferous vegetables, etc.).

Eat fast-burning carbs after your workout. After exercise, you want to capitalize on the carbohydrate window — the first 30–60 minutes after your workout when the muscles are primed to replace muscle glycogen. This is critical for endurance in your next workout. Immediately after you exercise, your muscles are like sponges. They are depleted of their glycogen (the storage form of sugar), and they are looking to fill back up. You need fast carbs to get as much sugar back into muscles. Fast carbs include glucose, sucrose, maltodextrin (those found in sports drinks), Vitargo, sugary candy, sports beans, gummies and gels. That glycogen will then be present for energy and endurance during the next exercise session.

Consume at least 0.5 g of carbohydrate per pound of body weight. Restocking your glycogen stores right after you exercise is one of the best strategies for having energy the next time you perform that same activity.

RULE #3) DON’T SKIMP ON PROTEIN

Studies clearly demonstrate that active people don’t eat enough protein to optimize muscle endurance and recovery. And that doesn’t apply only to men, either. Inadequate protein intake is perhaps the leading nutritional blunder among active women.

Why is protein so important for fat loss? It just so happens that, after brain tissue, muscle is the most metabolically active tissue in your body. Current estimates indicate that every pound of muscle an individual possesses devours between 35–75 calories per day simply to exist, and that doesn’t include the calories your muscles burn during physical activity. Every ounce of muscle you possess will incrementally raise your metabolic rate around the clock. For every pound of muscle tissue you lose, your metabolic rate falls by about 5%. Do the following.

Include a full serving of protein with every meal. Protein has a higher thermic effect per calorie than other macronutrients, so consuming a diet that has plenty of protein will help burn more body fat than a diet of equal calories that’s lower in protein.

Follow the 4:1 carb-protein ratio before your workouts. For years, preworkout nutrition was all about carbs. Before races, endurance athletes pounded down pounds of pasta and potatoes, shunning any protein to make more room for more carbs. But recent research shows that endurance is further enhanced when athletes take in protein along with carbs before and during exercise. For endurance athletes, the research shows that a ratio of carbs to protein of 4:1 is best. This means that if you eat 40 g of carbs before workouts you should also eat at least 10 g of protein.

If you use a protein supplement, pick a fast-digesting one before and after training. Before workouts your best bets are fast-digesting proteins such as whey and soy. These will quickly get into your blood stream so that they can provide you with energy during your workout, helping to spare muscle glycogen, allowing you to go harder for longer. After workouts you need a combo of fast-digesting protein and slow-digesting protein, such as casein protein.

RULE #4) DON’T FEAR FAT

Of course, it depends on the fat. Healthy fats contribute to the feeling of fullness and helps stabilize blood sugar. The healthiest sources include monounsaturated fats from plant sources like nuts, seeds, olive oil and avocados. Bad fats include hydrogenated oils (trans fats) and saturated fats. In general, stop obsessively counting fat grams and start eating healthy fats. Follow these eating guidelines:

Replace all processed snack foods with raw nuts, seeds, organic nut butters and dried fruit. Despite their being calorically dense, nuts do not appear to cause fat gain. In fact, frequent nut consumption has been linked to improvements in body composition and a decreased risk for weight gain, diabetes and heart disease.

Stock up on anti-inflammatory extra virgin olive oil. You can use it for salad dressings, marinades, and low- to medium-temperature cooking, and coconut oil for high-temperature cooking and baking.

Consume essential fats, particularly fish oils. Cutting-edge research has demonstrated an association between omega-3 essential fatty acids and increased muscle retention and fat burning. Omega-3s activate the PPAR alpha receptor, which frees up fat from existing fat cells to be burned for fuel. It also prevents further storage of other dietary fats in the fat cells.

Get your omega-3s from good sources, such as flaxseed, perilla, walnut, salmon and fish oils. Recommended doses: 2–3 g of omega-3 EFAs (EPA + DHA) per day. For flaxseed oil, make certain that the oil is organic and protected from heat and light. For dosage, a good starting point is 2 tablespoons a day of an oil rich in omega-3, such as flaxseed oil.

RULE #5) STAY PROPERLY HYDRATED

Active individuals need to drink a minimum of 2–3 liters of water or water-based fluids every day. Because proper hydration leads to enhanced thermoregulation and increased oxygen exchange in the lungs, the well-hydrated individual will have a more comfortable and more productive workout. Even slight dehydration hinders organ function, dampens the elimination of toxins and wastes, and causes metabolism to suffer.

If you do nothing beyond increasing the amount of water you drink every day, you will likely notice more radiant skin, increased energy, enhanced mental focus and greater stamina during physical exertion. Follow these guidelines.

Be well-hydrated before, during and after a workout. The American College of Sports Medicine guidelines for Hydration around exercise are as follows: • Hydrate well in the 24 hours preceding exercise. • Drink 400-600 ml of fluid 2 hours before training • Drink 150-350 ml of fluid every 15-20 minutes during training

Drink water before meals. A study is being presented at the 2010 National Meeting of the American Chemical Society in Boston found that drinking just two 8-ounce glasses of water before meals led to sustained weight loss. After doing do, subject ate between 75-90 fewer calories during meals.

Don’t use thirst as an indicator for hydration needs. You’re already dehydrated if that’s the case. This is especially crucial when exercising in hot weather.

For long exercise sessions, you may want to upgrade to a recovery drink. Chose a quality energy drink, or simply add a small amount of salt (half a teaspoon per liter) to your water.

WARNING SIGNS OF DISORDERED EATING

Be alert for potential signs of disordered eating in your own daily habits and attitudes toward food. Being at war with food (or your body) certainly reduces your quality of life and it sets the stage for more serious health problems. Here are the signs to look for:

Skipping meals or going for long periods of time (more than five hours) without eating

“Forgetting” to eat

Rigid ideas about good foods/bad foods

Chronic dieting driven by body hatred/poor body image

Feeling overly guilty or self-loathing for breaking unrealistic food rules meant to keep one’s self “in line”

Fanatical or extreme “healthy” eating (i.e., sacrificing social eating situations and holiday celebrations in order to eat foods believed to be “right”)

Eating acceptable foods in front of others and then bingeing on “forbidden” foods when alone

Using prescription pills, laxatives or compulsively exercising to compensate for dietary “mistakes”

IHRSA | in

Fall 2010/Winter 2011 tagged

Nutrition

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