Category: Athletes

Its exciting to share my knowledge after attending the intensive sports nutrition training at the Institution National du Sport du Quebec with some of Canada’s most acclaimed sports nutritionist in November.
The literature supports eating a high carbohydrate diet for elite athletes because metablizing carbohydrate is 5.5% more efficient than fat. One can experiment with different gels, sports drinks, hydration, and carbohydrates during training. An elite athlete will burn 3000-3500 kcal during a marathon, with with adequate training can store ~2000 kcal as muscle glycogen, 500 kcal liver glycogen, and 400 kcal gap supplemented during the race with sports drinks or gels. For those who are looking for an over 3 hr finish, the source of your energy isn’t as important.
But going back to the question of nutrition to support training, there are a few things to consider, are you trying to lose weight? Are you overtraining? You need adequate nutrients to protect your immune system.
We determine the amount of calories, carbohydrate and protein based on your level of training, weight and overall goals as above.
As a general rule, snacks should have 60g carb and about 18 g protein-
High-quality protein (~10 g):
– 2 eggs, 35 g lean meat, 40 g lean chicken, 50 g fish
– 300 ml milk, 30 g cheese, 70 g cottage cheese,200 g yogurt
– 120 g tofu, 400 ml soy beverage
• Compact forms
– 15-20 g protein powder, 20-30 g protein bar, 120-150 ml liquid meal supplement
Carbohydrates are found in many recovery foods including:
1 c chocolate milk has 20 g carb and 8 g protein, 125 ml yogurt has 25 g carbohydrate and 3 g protein, A large banana will provide another 25 g carb and 2 g protein, an orange has 15 g carb and 1 g protein.

Another lovely guide is using the plate model for supporting different intensities of sport:

You chose the plate that corresponds with your training intensity.