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Eating right goes hand-in-hand with exercising
Athletes spend much of their time training to increase their performance levels, but if they are not careful about what they eat, training can be a waste of time. A person who takes care with their eating habits will see an increase in sports performance, get the most out of their training sessions, have high levels of concentration and a much lower chance of getting ill or injured. Also, if and when illness and injury do occur, the healing process will be noticeably shorter if you eat well.
Eating three main meals and two to three snacks a day has a positive effect on performance. Every main meal should include carbohydrates, such as whole grain food, fat-free cakes or cookies, bread, rice, pasta, fruit and potatoes. It is important for women to consume at least 50 grams of food or liquid that contain carbohydrates and men to consume at least 70 grams within two hours following exercise as this helps to restore glycogen. Glycogen stores are used as an energy source. The food to be consumed following exercise could be: two slices of bread, two breadsticks, seven dried crackers, one chocolate wafer bar, one bowl of cornflakes with one glass of milk, one carton of fruit juice, two to three bananas, two large boiled potatoes, one large carton of a sports drink or two cups of popcorn.
If nutrition is balanced and adequate, there is no need to take vitamin and mineral supplements; if, however, there is a chance that one does not have a balanced or adequate enough diet, one could take one multivitamin tablet daily, though not more than this. People who eat lots of foods with high levels of fiber, such as lentils, whole grains, dried apricots, prunes and many fruits and vegetables, should also be careful, especially if that person has diarrhea, for these foods tend to activate the intestines more. Of course, foods that are high in fiber should be increased in the diet when constipation is a problem. When trying to lose weight, avoid fast weight loss, and instead set a target weight loss of around one kilogram per week at most.
Drinking liquids is critical when exercising, as dehydration can drastically affect performance and health. Symptoms of dehydration include a decrease in blood volume, an increased heart rate, fatigue, dizziness and a loss of energy and productivity. People should drink between 10-15 glasses of water per day.
Athletes should try to consume foods rich in carbohydrates, ensure their daily intake of protein and vitamins is sufficient, see that the energy they get is less from fat than those engaged in sports on a regular basis, and drink more liquid while exercising. Of course, the energy needs of an athlete change according to gender, height, weight, basal metabolic rate (BMR) and the types of sports being done. In general, an athlete will need somewhere between 2,000 calories and 5,000 calories a day.
Sports should be done one hour after a main meal and half an hour after a snack.
*Aysun Aydın is a dietician working with the Memorial Hizmet Hospital’s diet and nutrition department.
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