Performance Nutrition

Performance Nutrition

One of the first things that I noticed when I went back into the high schools to coach was that many high school student-athletes do not eat. They eat BUT lunch to them is a sandwich, chips and a soft drink. IF they eat a snack it is a pack of crackers or another bag of chips and a soft drink. This was the only “food” these students had eaten since 7:00AM that morning, when they ate a pop tart and a soft drink (maybe some milk, because, after all, it was breakfast). I started really looking into this when I noticed that the guys had NO energy at practice or in the weight room, after school. This is when I realized the importance of teaching Performance Nutrition to these young student-athletes.

There is little difference in Performance Nutrition than “Nutrition”… ACTUALLY there is really no difference, but I feel that calling it Performance Nutrition stresses that there is a purpose behind what we eat.

The simplest way to think of Performance Nutrition is to compare it to 3 types of vehicles (an 18 Wheel Truck, a “Normal” Car, and a Race Car). Each vehicle has its own function or purpose. Each of the three functions or purposes has a different engine than uses a different fuel. Depending on what you are doing, you too need different fuel. An example is that a distance runner’s diet is very different from that of someone who works in an office. This is because they have two different functions of their day. Two very important factors must be considered are Nutrients and Calories.

Why do we eat?

Like the cars needing fuel to go, our bodies need fuel and our body’s fuel is food. From food, our bodies get Calories and Nutrients. Calories are the fuel that our bodies need. Nutrients are the types of fuel that our bodies need. Different Nutrient provides different types and different amounts of fuel.

Let’s start by looking at Basic Nutrition. There are 6 basic Nutrients that our bodies NEED. Each nutrient brings something different to the table, and all have an important function. Carbohydrates, Protein, Lipids, Vitamins, Minerals and Water

Carbohydrates    –     Primary energy source. Simple and Complex.                                4 Kcal / gram

Protein                –     Tissue repair and function.                                                             4 Kcal / gram

Lipids                  –     Mental function, protection, secondary energy source.                 9 Kcal / gram

Vitamins             –     Essential for bodies functions. Water soluble and Fat soluble.     No Calories

Minerals             –     Works with Vitamins to perform Essential for body’s functions.   No Calories

Water                 –      Natures coolant and lubricant.                                                       No Calories

Now consider what your basic caloric need is. This is where Performance Nutrition comes into play. The students at the high school were probably eating enough calories to get them through a “normal” day. They were NOT eating the right nutrients nor were they eating enough calories to get them through a Student-Athlete’s day.

A “normal person” needs aprox 1200 – 1500 calories each day to function properly. Of that 1200 – 1500 Calories, it is recommended that 50 - 60% of our calories come from Carbohydrates, 20 – 30 % from Protein and 10 – 20 % from Lipids. Now is the “tricky” part. How much of each do we need? I have the people that I work with do a Nutrition Dairy for 3 – 4 days. From there we sit down and look at what they eat, when they eat it, and what they want to accomplish. From there we work out the amount of each nutrient needed and when to consume those nutrients. Most importantly, we look at what foods those nutrient can come from.

I am not one to be tied down by a feeding schedule, and I do not ask that of you, BUT this process gives us a very good idea of what we need, and what adjustments need to be made to our diets to accomplish our goals.

Nutrient                      Function                                                                                         Calories