Top 6 Nutrition Tips for Boosting Athletic Performance

Are you an athlete? Let’s know how to fuel your body for athletic success?

Nutrition Tips

Whether one is an amateur or a professional sportsman or a sportswoman, the diet and nutrition consumed affect the performance. Adequate diet is crucial as it gives energy, water, and other nutrients that support strength, protection against injuries and performance during activities as well as sporting events.

Here are some important nutrition guidelines that can help you elevate your athlete performance to another level.

Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate

Dehydration can lower performance and makes an individual feel drained up and muscle stiffness is also expected. It is desirable to consume fluids as water in an amount equal to approximately half of the recipient’s weight in pounds, in fluid ounces.

Drink more water in hot weather or in cases when you engage in heavy exercises to ensure you replace the fluids lost through sweat. They supplement water with carbohydrates and electrolytes hence are used especially during sporting activities. Enjoy it but do remember that there is additional sugar in this food so one has to be watchful of the calorie intake.

Carb Loading – The Right Way

Carbohydrates give glucose which is the fuel of choice for working muscles during a game of football. For your food intake, ensure you get your complex carbohydrates in the form of whole grain, beans, fruits, and starchy vegetables.

Carbohydrates are used to provide energy for intense training sessions but should be reduced if muscle growth reduces the amount of training performed. Schedule carb intake during their periods of need such as after exercises or competitions where the body can readily use the incoming glucose surge. When choosing carbs, one should focus on proteins and non-starchy vegetables if they want to shed some pounds.

The presentation will involve the consumption of Pre- and Post-Workout Fuel.

It is advisable not to exercise when Starving is really bad for the blood glucose, exercise becomes tiring early and instead of building muscles, they get broken down. Consume a pre-workout meal high in carbohydrates 2-4 hours prior to the workout like oatmeal fruit, whole grain toast and peanut butter or yogurt and granola.

After that, one should replace glycogen store within 30-60 minutes in order to contribute to muscles rebuilding. Soda, chips and candy are not good post-workout snacks and should be replaced with foods such as chocolate milk, Greek yogurt with berries, eggs with toast and protein smoothies.

Load Up on Antioxidants

Free radicals are produced naturally during exercise, particularly, the anaerobic exercises that involve vigorous efforts which cause breakdown of muscles and thus, soreness. To offset these ions, supplement your plate with foods rich in antioxidants like fruits and vegetables. 

These foods are the great sources of this vitamin: green and brightly colored vegetables such as lettuce, spinach, kale, oranges, carrots, yams, tomatoes, nuts and seeds. The same antioxidant foods mentioned above decrease inflammation enabling the body to recover quickly in between exercises and carnivals.

Don’t Skimp on Protein

Proteins help with supplying amino acids needed to construct, repair as well as preserve muscle that is damaged in the course of sporting activities. The latest recommendations suggest an ideal daily protein intake of 0. 5-0. 7 grams per pound of body weight to reap optimal benefits. 

Good sources of protein include chicken, turkey, fish, lean beef, eggs, low fat dairy, legumes, nuts, seeds and protein powders in supplement form if more are required to meet the need. It is recommended that between 20-40 grams of protein is consumed pre and post workout to ignite strength and muscle mass.

Stay Well Hydrated

Dehydration hinders you physically and mentally, and it takes longer for you to complete your tasks. Research shows that working out utterly dehydrated will significantly increase perceived effort making workouts a lot more difficult than necessary. 

It is important to drink at least 8-10 cups of water per day which is approximately half of your body weight in ounces of water daily. Products such as milk and juice can also help in making up for the fluid intake but they contain calories and sugar unlike calorie-free, electrolyte containing; water. 

There is also the aspect of monitoring your water intake by looking at the color of your urine. It is pale yellow – this is good, while dark yellow speaks volumes: ‘Drink more fluids, please!’

Pay Attention to Portions

Portion control assists in ensuring that you do not overeat while at the same time getting the energy required to perform various tasks. For carbohydrate sources, including grains, fruits and starchy vegetables, one should avoid eating more than portions that can fit in their fists, for animal protein such as meat and poultry, one should use the palm of their hand, for snacks such as nuts one should use cupped hand and for fats, such as cheese and peanut butter, one should use the tip of the thumb. 

Label reading makes it easy to notice portion sizes of packaged foods and other foods that are likely to be consumed. Continue to use cups and weights in portion control until the right portions become an instinct.

Time Nutrient Intake  

Although it may seem that the type of food and the portions are all that matters, timing and frequency are also very important. For early in the morning workouts, it is recommended that you should take a carbohydrate-based breakfast at least 2-4 hours before engaging in exercise. Consuming a large carbohydrate and protein rich meal at a time when, nutrients get utilized effectively due to high insulin sensitivity is after intense training. 

Focus on consuming higher proportions of the calories during the day and take smaller portions during the night with respect to the efficiency and storage of the incoming fuel. Do not skip or postpone meals, which creates more chances to consume an excessive amount of food or feel weak during exercises.