Food is the fuel your body uses to perform, so if you want to be your best in any sport, you need to follow a diet that provides what your body needs. Most of the foods you need are available in your local grocery, as long as you choose wisely. You should make your meals part of your training, like your exercise and your practice.
Beneficial Overload
When you exercise, you are introducing beneficial stresses to your body. For example, running overloads and strengthens not only the muscles of your legs, but also the bones, tendons and blood vessels. As long as you keep the stresses under control by following hard workouts with active rest and restorative meals, your body will respond by "overcompensating," which means going into overdrive to repair the microscopic muscle tears, build up skeletal bone and strengthen the connective tissue in ligaments and tendons. To help your body heal itself and accommodate higher training loads, you have to eat intelligently.
Diet Composition
Sports scientists and nutritionists who study the diets of well-trained athletes have discovered that an eating plan with plenty of carbohydrates, supplemented by quality proteins and fats, can be tremendously effective in building strength, developing endurance and reducing muscle inflammation. Carbohydrates provide the main fuel for muscle activity, so it's important to support your training with enough carbohydrates to give you the energy to perform your best. A good percentage breakdown for an athlete's diet is 50 percent carbohydrates, 25 percent protein and 25 percent fat.
Food Sources
In addition to being the primary fuel for working muscles and the brain, carbohydrates are readily accessible. Grains, fruits, honey, molasses, sugar, potatoes and yams provide easily digestible calories. Fats and protein also provide energy, but they are not absorbed as readily as carbohydrates. Protein from meat, fish, fowl, soy, eggs, milk, legumes and nuts has amino acids that build and repair cell and muscle tissue, including heart muscle. Fats provide energy and play a big role in controlling inflammation.
Anti-Inflammatory Action
Essential fatty acids (EFAs) are anti-inflammatory compounds existing in certain fats. Alpha-linoleic acids, or omega-3 fatty acids, lower "bad" cholesterol and raise "good" cholesterol in the bloodstream. Sources include fatty fish (salmon, mackerel, tuna), flaxseed oil, walnuts, walnut oil and soybeans. Linoleic acid promotes healthy skin and internal organs, and is found in safflower oil, sunflower oil, walnuts, corn oil, sesame oil and peanut oil. Mono-unsaturated fats regulate the circulatory and central nervous systems, and guard against arterial plaque buildup. Sources include olive oil, canola oil, almonds, cashews, peanut butter, sesame seeds and avocados.
Training and Eating
Coordinate your efforts. If you are an early-morning exerciser, a small breakfast with simple carbs (toast or bagel) and low-fat milk in your coffee will enhance your workout. Afterward, enjoy more carbs but also add protein, because protein helps maximize the restoration of muscle-glycogen levels that decrease while training. According to the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, a bowl of cereal with nonfat milk is perfect because of its combination of carbs and protein. Throughout the day, eat meals and snacks that also include some healthful fats: a peanut-butter sandwich with lettuce on whole grain bread; yogurt with bananas and almonds; cheese pizza with veggie toppings; low-sugar granola cereal, granola bars and trail mix; or pita bread stuffed with cottage cheese, walnuts and raisins.
Importance of Rest
When you train hard, you need to rest to give your body a chance to recover from your training. Like a good diet, rest is an important part of athletic success.
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