Close menu. Thanks BFA. Shop All Products. Currency United Kingdom GBP £ Afghanistan GBP £ Åland Islands GBP £ Albania ALL L Algeria DZD د. Helena GBP £ St. Outlying Islands GBP £ Uganda GBP £ Ukraine GBP £ United Arab Emirates AED د. Athletes require a lot of energy and nutrients to stay in shape.

Because of this, strict diet plans can hurt your ability and be harmful to your health. Without the calories from carbs, fat, and protein, you may not have enough strength.

Not eating enough also can lead to malnutrition. Female athletes can have abnormal menstrual cycles. You increase your risk of osteoporosis, a fragile bone condition caused in part from a lack of calcium.

These potential risks are worse in adolescence but still present for adults. Get medical help if you need to lose weight. Be sure to talk to your doctor before making major nutrition changes. People often overestimate the number of calories they burn when training. Avoid taking in more energy than you expend exercising.

Also, avoid exercising on an empty stomach. Every athlete is different, so consider:. If you need to gain or lose weight to improve performance, it must be done safely.

If not, it may do more harm than good. Do not keep your body weight too low, lose weight too quickly, or prevent weight gain in unhealthy ways. It can have negative health effects. This can lead to poor eating habits with inadequate or excessive intake of certain nutrients.

Talk to your family doctor find a diet that is right for your sport, age, gender, and amount of training. Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: Sports, Cardiovascular, and Wellness Nutrition, Nutrition Resources for Collegiate Athletes.

National Institutes of Health, MedlinePlus: Nutrition and athletic performance. Last Updated: May 9, This information provides a general overview and may not apply to everyone. Talk to your family doctor to find out if this information applies to you and to get more information on this subject.

Getting these other than by mouth is called artificial…. Getting the right amount of water before, during, and after exercise helps your body to function properly. A lack…. Sugar is a simple carbohydrate that provides calories for your body to use as energy.

There are two main…. Visit The Symptom Checker. Read More. Knee Bracing: What Works? Sore Muscles from Exercise. Hydration for Athletes. Exercise and Seniors. The Exercise Habit. Why Exercise? Exercise: How To Get Started. Home Prevention and Wellness Exercise and Fitness Exercise Basics Nutrition for Athletes.

Calories come in different forms. The main types are carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. However, binge eating and lack of exercise became the norm - Not so okay. Enter the attack on dieting and tracking your food intake.

Fast forward into , the quality of our food has dropped, binge eating has sky-rocketed, and no one is motivated to eat healthy anymore.

Eating food suddenly became the center of attention, and the most complex thing in the entire universe. Some social media accounts push for an intuitive way of eating to their followers who are mainly average joes and janes. Sometimes though, these messages find their way to the wrong audience and hence the confusion.

Mind you, with all the confusion out there, you never find advocates of calorie tracking attacking an intuitive eating approach, whereas the opposite is true. Intuitive Eating came back to light and health coaches came after calorie tracking hard!

As if it were the cause of the global obesity epidemic. Intuitive Eating is a weight-inclusive, evidence-based model with a validated assessment scale and over studies to date. Intuitive eating sounds like a great method right? more to come on that. I totally agree. Calorie tracking is not for every one either.

Calorie tracking or counting is a specific tool and approach that has a few prerequisites and is not for every body. What I mean by that is that before you start counting or tracking calories, you need:.

Previous dieting experience preferable but not necessary if you refer to prerequisite 2. In my opinion, Intuitive Eating could be used to start a weight change cycle, and end a weight change cycle.

Working hand in hand with tracking calories. Stage 2: Achieve a goal regardless of how small. Stage 4: Cycle through that however you please depending on your goals.

Got competitions coming up and need to eat well for your performance? Want to run a marathon?

Home Prevention and Wellness Exercise and Fitness Exercise Basics Nutrition for Athletes. Calories come in different forms. The main types are carbohydrates, fats, and proteins.

Simple carbs fruits, milk, and vegetables are easier for your body to break down. They provide quick bursts of energy.

Complex carbs take longer for your body to break down. They are a better source of energy over time. Complex carbs in whole grain products are the most nutritious.

Examples include whole-grain bread, potatoes, brown rice, oatmeal, and kidney beans. Fat is another important source of calories. In small amounts, fat is a key fuel source. It serves other functions, such as supporting good skin and hair.

Do not replace carbs in your diet with fats. This can slow you down, because your body has to work harder to burn fat for energy. When you can, choose unsaturated fats, like olive oil and nuts.

These are better for your health than saturated and trans fats. Too much fat or the wrong kinds can cause health problems. It can raise your bad LDL cholesterol level and increase your risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

Protein is found in foods like meat, eggs, milk, beans, and nuts. Some athletes think they should consume large amounts of protein. Over time, too much protein can be harmful to your health.

The digestion process can put strain on your liver and kidneys. Know when to eat and rehydrate For athletes, knowing when to eat is as important as knowing what to eat. Things to consider Athletes require a lot of energy and nutrients to stay in shape.

Every athlete is different, so consider: How long before working out is best for you to eat How much food is the right amount for you If you need to gain or lose weight to improve performance, it must be done safely. Questions to ask your doctor How many calories do I need to eat each day?

Should I cut out carbs? Are super restrictive diets healthy for me? Are there any supplements they should take? Is it okay to eat sweets if I have to gain weight fast? Resources Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: Sports, Cardiovascular, and Wellness Nutrition, Nutrition Resources for Collegiate Athletes National Institutes of Health, MedlinePlus: Nutrition and athletic performance MyPlate.

Last Updated: May 9, This article was contributed by familydoctor. org editorial staff. Categories: Exercise and Fitness , Exercise Basics , Prevention and Wellness. Tags: athlete , nutrition , prevention , sports medicine. Copyright © American Academy of Family Physicians This information provides a general overview and may not apply to everyone.

Related Articles. About Advertise Contact. org is powered by. Choose a language Español English. Twitter Channel Facebook Profile Pinterest Profile. Additional resources, like apps and websites, show macronutrient breakdowns for thousands of food items. Always start your day off with a balanced breakfast that include all macronutrients — carbs, protein, and fat.

Aim to eat a snack or meal every hours during the day. Keep in mind that a meal may look healthy while being unbalanced, but a few simple changes can make a big difference.

Here are a few examples:. Adequately fueling your body in motion is important but knowing where those calories come from is what facilitates the real magic. The body utilizes and processes carbs, protein, and fat differently.

To rev your fat-burning engine, ward off cravings and insulin spikes, and achieve optimal body composition, dial in the macronutrient ratio that works for you. Every Race Smart® client works directly with sports nutritionist and endurance athlete Susan Kitchen Disclaimer.

Search for:. The best macronutrient ratio for athletes and the truth behind calories burned. Counting Calories With the numerous health and fitness apps at our fingertips, such as MyFitnessPal, MyPlate, and Lose It! But there is always a mix of substrate utilization fuel source at any given time.

Training Intensity Zones and Substrate Utilization Zones utilize primarily a mix of blood glucose, muscle glycogen and fat. Balance Your Macronutrient Ratio, Not Calories This may come as a surprise, but the makeup of the calories you consume is more important than the number. Endurance athletes are recommended to intake 1.

Ultra-endurance athletes should consume 1. Strength gain athletes should consume 1. Body builders should consume grams per kilogram unless they are in the cutting phase, then they would consume 2. Prior to activity: Athletes should eat up to 40 grams of protein 3 hours before activity.

It is best if it is from lean protein sources. During activity: Protein intake should follow a 4 to 1 or 3 to 1 ratio of carbohydrates to protein.

After activity: athletes should consume at least 20 grams of protein. This can be up to 40 grams of protein. It can also be calculated by 0. This protein should be consumed within the first hour after activity, ideally it should be consumed with post activity carbohydrate.

It usually makes up whatever leftover calories you have after protein and carbohydrate recommendations are met. It usually is about grams per kilogram of body weight. This is regardless of what type of exercise you do.

It is important to get proper hydration. Hydration in athletics is more than just drinking water. You must make sure to be consuming enough electrolytes, particularly sodium and potassium. Prior to activity: Athletes should drink milliliters of fluid per kilogram of body weight.

They should also consume milligrams of sodium per 8 ounces of fluid.