PPP 010: Athletic Nutrition 101; Fueling for a winning season!
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PPP 010: Athletic Nutrition 101; Fueling for a winning season!
The information you are about to hear is for education purposes only. Please consult your doctor before attempting to implement anything covered in the following episode.
I’m your host Dr. Marc Dupuis on this show we discuss tips, tools and strategies for optimizing athletic performance, overall health & wellness!
Today’s topic: Athletic Nutrition 101; Fueling for a winning season!
Now more than ever figuring out what we should eat as athletes has never been more confusing. The internet and social media is overflowing with information from so many self-proclaimed experts. Trying to sort through and separate fact from fiction is enough to make most people’s head spin. Therefore today’s goal is to cover the basics. The information I will teach you today comes from the highest quality research available and has been verified by thousands of laboratory tests that I have reviewed on countless athletes over my 14+ years in clinical practice.
So, buckle up, lets jump right in!
Baseline Nutrition:
Critically important yet often neglected due to extensive calorie burn and feeling like we can eat anything we want.
Macros: Fat, Protein, Carbohydrates
Fats: Anything nature made or that is MINIMALLY processed is good vs anything made in a lab/synthesized bad (trans(partially hydrogenated))
50-70% of total calorie intake should be fat (Dominic D’agastino leading ketogenic researcher, see his papers on cancer)
Best sources: avocados, nuts, seeds, coconut, butter (from grass fed cows), olives, cold water fatty fish-wild caught
butter from grass fed cows, sardines, flax seed
Oils: extra virgin olive oil (low heat only), avocado oil, coconut oils, grapeseed oil
AVOID all vegetable oil (highly processed)!
Protein: Best sources are wild caught cold water fatty fish, free range chicken, fowl & eggs, grass fed beef. Limit use of protein powders, however, cold filtered whey protein with branched chain
amino acids appear to be most bioavailable. [Heat denatures proteins (therefore rare
temp for cooking meat is best)] Avoid SOY due to phytoestrogen properties. Pea
protein, rice protein are better vegetarian alternatives
Carbohydrates: Best sources are fresh organic fruits (avoid buying conventionally grown members of the “dirty dozen”(due to increased contamination)), potatoes, sweet potatoes.
Avoid refined carbohydrates ( white flour based products). Go organic or at least GMO
free whenever possible. GMO products have been shown to cause harm to animals that ingest them #1. #2, GMOs are heavily sprayed with pesticides due to the nature that they are specifically created to be resistant to pesticide use. Note phytic acid in all grains interferes with mineral absorption and promotes inflammation in additional to having a poor omega 3:6:9 ratio.
Micros: Vitamin COMPLEXES, mineral COMPLEXES, trace minerals. Necessary for energy production at the cellular level, tissue integrity and countless enzymes. This is why organic food matters, as organic products often have much higher levels of vitamin/mineral complexes. Beware of junk science sponsored by major food industries that claim that organic food is not better. Often these studies only look at macro-nutrients and neglect micro-nutrients. Whole foods always best, if supplementing use Whole Food products which contain
essential VITAMERS which act as co-factors needed in order to utilize said vitamin.
Hydration: Water, not coffee, not tea…. How much? Roughly ½ body weight in oz, with pinch of
Himalayan salt every 16 – 32 oz. (Hamstring pulls 80% attributed to dehydration)
Training & Racing:
Nutrition is the 4th leg of triathlon!
Fueling
Athletes have 1-2 hr of stored fuel in form of glycogen (liver muscles) available
Assumption: You have made sure glycogen stores are ready ~24 hr before (food in stomach
1-2 hrs, plus small intestine digestion/absorption…)
Workouts 1 hr or less, no special fueling requirements so ditch specialty drinks, gels etc, just hydrate with water!
Workouts 1 -2 hours length: Strive for 2 bottles/hr Skratch/Infinit ~100cal/bottle + 100g gel/bar
Workouts 2+ hours, 1/2IM, IM: Bike 200-300 cal/hour Run 150-200 cal/hour
Many calculators, example: 2 calories/lb body weight per hour bike 75% of that number per hour while on run
Test, test, test, each of us is different in what we can tolerate. TDF motto: Drink your hydration, eat your food
Allen Lim, portables cookbook, Skratch hydration mixes
SALT: Best to prepare 3-5 days ahead of time to ensure salts get into soft tissues! Questions as to how much sodium can actually be absorbed while racing with elevated core/stomach temp and associated changes with guts permeability. Nevertheless many reputable sources suggest 4-5 salt tablets per hour on the bike and high sodium gels 1-2 per hour on the run. St. Croix Story Book: Macca “I’m Here to Win”
Recovery
Workouts 1+ hour: within 20 min of completion critical to replenish glycogen stores, in this window there is enhanced absorption. 4:1 Carbohydrate/Protein, branched chain amino acids, LIMIT fat due to delaying gastric emptying. Alternative strategy for long course due to greater depletion “The Paleo diet for athletes”.
Remainder of day resume baseline nutrition
When training hard such as during an over-reaching training block, have additional serving of whey protein 20-30 grams before bedtime.
Special Considerations
Ironman & ½ Ironman Racing
5 days before race: every day sip on electrolyte drink 1-2 servings throughout each day
2 nights before race day: BIG Dinner, Heavy on carbohydrates!!
Breakfast the day before race day: Go BIG or Go Home, Heavy on carbohydrates!!
Lunch and dinner the day before: Normal portions, avoid heavy/rich preparations
Breakfast 3 hours before start time
Bland, limit dairy, vegetarian protein, banana, organic oatmeal/bars. Bring a bottle of sports drink with some carbs/electrolytes to sip on while you prepare transition. 15 min before go time, have an easily digestible gel, then RIP IT UP!!
So there you have it folks, that is a brief overview of nutrition for the athlete. As always if you have any questions reach out to us via the contact tab on our website, www.thepeakperformancepodcast.com . There you will find a page for today’s show along with detailed notes of our discussion!
LINKS
Dominic D’agostino
https://dominicdagostino.wordpress.com/
Skratch Labs
https://www.skratchlabs.com/
Allen Lim’s Book
https://www.amazon.com/Feed-Zone-Portables-Cookbook-Go/dp/1937715000/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1504275369&sr=1-1&keywords=allen+lim
This concludes today’s episode of The Peak Performance Podcast, where we discuss tips, tools and strategies for optimizing athletic performance, overall health & wellness! Please SUBSCRIBE to this podcast so that you never miss a future episode, also PLEASE SHARE this podcast with ANYONE you feel may benefit from what we covered today.
Finally, Thank you very much listening and until next time, have a Fantastic Day!
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