Winning Diet - Top Performance

Top Performance - Quick & healthy cooking

Team Coach

Q: "How can I make sure that my players go home and eat a high carbohydrate meal? Some of the athletes can go home to home cooking with their families, but many of our players are young and single and living on their own. What can they do?"

A: The move away from home can place a lot of pressure on a young athlete. It can be hard to get organised on the domestic scene when you are used to Mum looking after you. Many young athletes lack nutrition knowledge and cooking skills, and this is not helped by arriving home tired from a late training session to find the cupboard is bare. It is a critical time in a sporting career, and poor nutrition can often be a downfall. A committed athlete and a wise team will identify problems early and find practical ways to make good nutrition part of the program.

Strategies for quick & healthy cooking

Look for recipe books for quick and healthy cooking, including special books written for athletes. These include: Survival for the Fittest: the AIS guide to cooking for busy athletes (AIS Dept of Sports Nutrition, 1999), Survival from the Fittest: A companion cookbook to Survival for the Fittest from athletes of the AIS. (AIS Dept of Sports Nutrition, 2001 ); The Taste of Fitness (O’Connor and Hay 1998).

Make use of commercial food products such as pasta sauces, frozen vegetable mixtures, pizza bases and quick-cook rice and pasta. There are many nutritious and time-saving products that can be quickly constructed into a tasty meal.

Learn to batch cook and freeze leftovers for another occasion. When arriving home late, it is great to be able to zap up a meal.

Organise for a sports dietician to run cooking classes or supermarket visits, to help you and your team mates become organised with shopping and cooking.

Top Performance - Speedy recovery

Endurance athlete

Q: “I know I need to eat plenty of carbohydrate foods, but is there anything else I can do to help my recovery after a training session?”

A: Eating enough carbohydrate to replace fuel stores is important in daily recovery, but so is the timing of food intake. Recent research has shown that eating soon after a heavy training session helps to speed the recovery process. A hungry muscle is looking for a quick fix of carbohydrate, and perhaps some protein, to begin refuelling and rebuilding.

Refuelling only begins effectively when carbohydrate is consumed, so if the time between workouts or competition sessions is tight (for example, eight hours or less), it makes sense to make every moment count. Of course, rehydrating is also part of the job of recovery.

Ideas for 50g serves of carbohydrate

• 800-1000 mL sports drink.
• 500 mL fruit juice or soft drink.
• 250-350 mL fruit smoothie.
• 250-350 mL liquid meal supplement.
• 60g jelly beans or lollies or 70-80g chocolate bar.
• 1 round jam or honey sandwich (thick-sliced bread and a lot of jam or honey).
• 3 muesli bars or 2 cereal bars.
• 3 medium-large pieces of fruit (eg apple, orange, banana).
• 2 cups breakfast cereal and skim milk.
• 2 x 200g carton low-fat fruit yogurt.
• Cup of thick vegetable soup and large bread roll.
• 2 cups fruit salad and 1/2 carton of low-fat fruit yogurt.
• 1 large bread roll and banana filling.

Strategies for speedy recovery

1. Rehydrate quickly after a long workout and remember that sports drink, cordial and fruit juice provide carbohydrate as well as fluid.
2. If the next session is less than eight hours away, try to schedule a snack or your next meal within 30-60 minutes of finishing the first workout.
3. Many athletes do not feel like eating after a heavy exercise session. In this situation, drinks or a light snack can be an inviting option until the next meal is possible. An intake of 50-100g of carbohydrate will start the refuelling process (see the list of snacks or light meals that can provide this carbohydrate target).
4. Note that carbohydrate snacks providing protein and other nutrients may promote speedy repair of any damaged tissues.
5. If home is far away and there are no suitable food outlets at your training or competition venue, be prepared and take your own supplies.

Top Performance - Iron & calcium

Female endurance athlete

Q: "Are there any special nutritional needs for females? I’ve heard iron and calcium can be a problem." 

A: For many female athletes, the struggle to keep body weight and body fat at a desirable level becomes the dominant issue of nutrition. In some cases it can take over your life and make eating and sport – activities that should be pleasurable – full of misery and frustration.

Part of this problem is in setting targets that are healthy, good for performance AND achievable. This is understandable, since in our society females are rarely satisfied with their shape and weight, no matter what it is. Even when loss of body fat is warranted, many female athletes are tempted to follow quick weight-loss schemes and fad diets – risking frustration and failure to achieve long term weight control, as well as the risk of nutritional deficiencies. Your menstrual cycle is often a casualty of inappropriate weight loss and other poor nutrition practices. Whatever the cause, absent or irregular periods should always be discussed with a sports physician. Hormone balance is important for the health of your bones - and strong bones are not only important for your sporting career, but also to reduce the risk of osteoporosis later in life.

It is important to set yourself a healthy weight and body fat level, and a happy attitude about your body. It is often useful to get some expert help with this. Even if it seems that male athletes have an easier time with their body fat levels, be pleased with all the benefits of your winning diet.

Iron and calcium are important nutrients for all athletes, but are often in short supply in the diets of female athletes. The best calcium sources are dairy products, with low-fat and reduced-fat types playing a major role in a winning diet. We should all include at least three serves in our daily food intake. Calcium is important for strong healthy bones, especially during teenage years when peak bone mass is being laid down. A regular menstrual cycle is also important for this process.

Iron is important for good oxygen-carrying- capacity in your blood and muscles, and iron deficiency may cause fatigue and loss of performance in heavily training athletes. Many athletes find it difficult to meet the iron needs of heavy training. Female athletes have even greater requirements to cover the iron losses due to menstruation.

Strategies to eat iron & calcium
 

1. Include red meat and other iron-rich foods (shellfish, liver) in your meals at least three times per week. These can be added to high-carbohydrate dishes such as meat sauce on a pasta dish, roast lamb in a sandwich or kebabs with rice.
2. Enhance the absorption of the iron found from plant sources (whole grains, breakfast cereals, legumes, leafy green vegetables etc) by adding meat or a vitamin C food at the same meal. For example, drink a glass of orange juice with your breakfast cereal, or add a little meat to beans to make chilli con carne.
3. Don’t self diagnose iron deficiency simply because you are tired. Only take iron supplements on the advice of a sports dietician or doctor. They may be useful in the supervised treatment and prevention of iron deficiency but they are not a substitute for a better diet.
4. Eat at least three serves of dairy foods a day, where one serve is equal to a glass of milk, a carton of yogurt or a slice of cheese. Low-fat and reduced-fat types are available. Dairy products can be added to a high-carbohydrate meal (eg milk on breakfast cereal, cheese in a sandwich, flavoured yogurt added to fruit salad).
5. Note that calcium-enriched brands of soy milk are a suitable substitute for milk. Fish eaten with bones (eg tinned salmon or sardines) are also a useful calcium source.
6. Increase your calcium serves to 4-5 per day if you are growing, having a baby or breast-feeding. Note that female athletes who do not have regular menstrual cycles also require extra calcium and should seek expert advice from a sports physician.
7. See a sports dietician if you are a vegetarian, or unable to eat dairy products and red meat in these recommended amounts. With assistance you may find creative ways to adapt your eating patterns to meet iron and calcium needs, or to use mineral supplements correctly.

Top Performance - Healthy takeaways

Football player

Q: “What about takeaways? They come in handy after a late night at the club.”

A: Most takeaway foods are not a good basis for everyday eating since they tend to be high in fat and inadequate in carbohydrate and fibre – as well as expensive. However, if you are eating on the run, takeaways can be useful, and with a little thought you should be able to order a lower-fat high carbohydrate choice.

Strategies for ordering healthy takeaways

1. Find a style based on bread (eg hamburger, focaccia, Mexican fajitas), pizza base, rice (curry or Chinese), potato (stuffed baked potato), sushi or pasta.
2. Avoid foods that are battered, fried (especially deep-fried), or in pastry.
3. Avoid fatty meats and large amounts of cheese. Have one or the other instead of doubling up.
4. Use salads, fruit or vegetables to add bulk to the meal. For example, have salad with your burger, instead of ‘the lot’ or ‘fries’. Have a seafood, vegetarian or chicken/vegetable, ham/pineapple/vegetable topping on pizza instead of ‘meat-lovers special’ or ‘supreme with extra cheese’.
5. Be wary of added fats and dressings. Flavour with tomato sauce, salsa, light dressings or mustard rather than cream, sour cream and mayonnaise.

Top Performance - Losing body fat 

Netball player

Q: “How do I lose body fat, especially if I have gained weight during a break from training?”

A: Although athletes talk about being overweight, it is excess body fat that slows you down. Skinfold measurements (the ‘pinch test’) are often used to assess body-fat levels. You should work with your coach to identify a weight and body-fat level that correspond with good health and good performance. At some time during their career, most athletes need to lose body fat to reach their ‘ideal’ level.

This should be achieved by changing energy balance, so that daily energy expenditure exceeds daily energy intake. This may require changes to both food intake and training.
 
Strategies for losing body fat

1. Remember that losing body fat is a long-term goal – a consistent loss of half a kilogram per week is a good target for most athletes. This can be achieved with a small reduction in energy intake each day.
2. Keep a food record for a week to face the truth about what really goes into your mouth. Look for improvements that you can make in the long term to address the quantity and type of food you eat.
3. Target times that you eat too much food – for example, overeating because you have let yourself get too hungry, or when you eat what everybody else is eating. Eat what you need instead of what is there.
4. Pay special attention to low-fat eating strategies.
5. Be aware of the times that you eat because you are bored or upset.
6. See a sports dietician to help you plan a suitable eating program.

Top Performance - Higher energy intake

Swimmer

Q: "How do I put on weight? Do I need to eat protein to get bigger?"

A: Improved strength of muscle bulk is principally a result of doing the right training. Of course, 'filling out' can also be a process of gradually maturing in age and training. You may need to work with your coach to set body size and strength goals and to decide on a suitable resistance training program. There is no magic food or protein powder that provides a short cut to results, or a replacement for the right training. Extra protein is not the chief nutritional need for muscle gain. Instead, extra energy intake should be your goal. Extra quantities of a winning diet will provide additional carbohydrate to fuel your training, and plenty of protein and other nutrients to build the result. Some athletes in heavy training may have to work on the same principles to stop unwanted weight loss.

Although it might sound like heaven, eating more food can be a hard task for those with very high energy requirements. Finding the time and the right foods to eat can be a problem for athletes with hectic timetables. Sometimes the size of meals can outweigh comfortable eating capacity.

Strategies for achieving a higher energy intake

1. Increase the number of times that you eat rather than the size of your meals.
2. Plan to eat 5-6 small meals and snacks a day.
3. Find high carbohydrate snacks that can travel with you throughout your busy day. Portable fuel foods include cereal and breakfast bars, fruit, cartons of yogurt and fruche, sandwiches and flavoured milk or liquid meals in tetra packs.
4. Don’t overdo the high-fibre choices of food. Replace some of your wholemeal breads and cereals with white versions so you don’t fill up easily.
5. Add sugar and sugary foods to meals. Jams, honey and syrups can be added to nutrient-rich foods to boost the total carbohydrate content. Don’t feel you always need to buy the ‘no added sugar’ version of foods such as canned fruit, yogurts and fruit juice.
6. Enjoy action-packed drinks for compact carbohydrates. Fruit juices, sports drinks, soft drinks and cordials all add extra fuel to the fluid. Fruit smoothies and liquid meal supplements are packed with fuel and other nutrients. Get handy with the blender to mix up milk, fruit, icecream or yogurt, and skim milk powder or powdered liquid meals! Commercial liquid meals are especially easy if you need a quick and fuel-rich snack.

Top Performance - Role of supplements

Swimmer

Q: "Do I need to take supplements? There seems so many to choose from and they all promise great results!"

A: The sports world is filled with advertisements and stories about supplements, all claiming to improve speed, strength, leanness and endurance. The range is never-ending and the promises are tempting.

However, there are no short cuts to the top. Many of these supplements have either not been tested, or have not lived up to their claims when tests have been conducted.

It is also possible that the benefits seen by some athletes come from the power of positive thinking. Seeing a change because you believe in something is known as a ‘placebo effect’.

While it is possible that future research will prove the benefits of new supplements, do not lose sight of the factors that can really improve your performance: a winning diet, good training, the right equipment and a winning attitude.

Of course, there are some supplements that can be part of a winning diet. Supplements such as sports drinks, sports bars and liquid meal supplements can be very useful in meeting important nutritional needs in sport. These supplements are a tailor-made and practical way to provide nutrition at special times – particularly during and after exercise. However, the benefits come not from the supplement itself, but from knowing how to use the supplement as part of your nutrition plan.

Creatine is the hottest new supplement on the market, and unlike many of the products that hit the headlines each month, it has undergone the scrutiny of scientific research. Sports scientists have found that creatine supplementation can increase muscle stores of this fuel source, and enhance recovery between high intensity workouts with short rest intervals. Although further research is needed to determine benefits to the performance of specific types of sports, and to confirm the lack of long-term side effects, creatine may be a useful aid for some athletes in particular activities. A sports dietician can help you with further expert advice about creatine and other supplements.