NUTRITION
Gillian Woodward
High Energy Eating For Training
WHEN training load is high and time for food preparation is short, some athletes find it difficult to maintain their energy levels and may even lose weight unintentionally. In this edition we will look at ideas to help provide fuel for winter training schedules as well as all the nutrients necessary without needing to be a qualified chef or have a degree in nutrition! Putting in a couple of hours a day including running or other aerobic workout plus a strength session in the gym, requires a considerable amount of muscle fuel. This can best be provided by a high carbohydrate, moderate protein, low fat diet. Each meal and snack needs to based on carbohydrate foods – from bread, cereal, fruit, vegetable or dairy groups. It has been shown many a time that athletes who think they are consuming plenty of carbohydrates are actually not achieving their aim. For moderate training, ie 1-2 hours a day, most people would require about 6-8 grams of carbohydrate per kg of body weight. So for an athlete weighing 70 kg, this means eating 420-560 grams of carbohydrate each day. This amount would be best divided between three major meals (90-120g carbohydrate) and three snack (50-70g carbohydrate) meals. So what does this diet look like and how much carbohydrate is there? This menu plan delivers a total of approximately 500 grams or 7 grams/kg body weight of carbohydrate for a 70 kg athlete. Contribution of macronutrients to energy in this meal plan is 70% energy from carbohydrates, 14% from fat and 15% from protein with a total energy content of approximately 12,400 kilojoules (3,000kcals). As can be seen from this plan, 135 grams of the total carbohydrates are provided in drinks – juices, milk, sports drinks etc. Eating solid food like cereals or bread would also provide these carbohydrates, but they would tend to fill you up more quickly, so it would be difficult to eat the required quantity. Drinks, however, provide a very easy way to add extra carbohydrate, as they are quick to consume and do not add filling fibre. Of course adequate hydration is another important consideration, so 1,500ml of these drinks could be supplemented with an extra litre of water as well as some tea or coffee (in moderation) if desired. Easy to transport high energy snack alternatives include cereal or fruit bars 20 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER JUNE 2006
(approx. 20-30 g carbohydrate per bar), dried fruit & nut packs (40g per box), savoury low fat rice or wheat crackers, fresh fruit, and milk or juices in 250 ml tetrapacks. If you are going to keep your energy supply up all day, most of all you need to be organised and prepared to take food/drinks with you wherever you go. Don’t rely on buying appropriate snacks at commercial outlets as many are too high in fat and consequently low in carbohydrates. And don’t try to have everything ‘high fibre’ if you are battling to consume enough kilojoules. Fibre will fill you up and provide extra bulk, which may reduce your appetite. It may be better to choose white bread or a refined cereal than try to chew your way through heavy muesli or grainy breads. Soup can also be a great meal in a mug of winter – but go for home-made or chunky vegetable style soups with added barley or dried peas or beans or noodles for extra carbohydrate. Teamed up with a big crusty bread roll, they can be a warm winter lunch. Toasted jaffle sandwiches filled with baked beans or lean meat and tomato or creamed corn also make great hot lunches in the cooler months. Evening meals can be simple meat and veg style like the above meal plan, or instead of the potato you could easily have rice or pasta. Only 1 cup of cooked pasta or 2/3 cup cooked rice contains 30g carbohydrate. Team this with a low fat tomato-based meat or bean sauce (and a sprinkle of cheese) for another high carbohydrate meal. Don’t forget to add some extra yellow, red or green vegetables/salad for extra vitamins as the pasta and rice only replace the potato, not all of the vegetables! If you want some easy cooking ideas, then the Australian Institute of Sports ‘Survival for the Fittest’ or ‘Survival from the Fittest’ are two great cookbooks available in bookshops. Australian Sports Dietitian, Helen O’Connor, has also written a great recipe book called ‘Fitness Food’ which is available through Social Club Books www. scb.com.au ( see page 8 of cookbooks).
Breakfast
Carbohydrate (grams) 4 wheat-cereal biscuits + 30 300 ml reduced fat milk + 15 100g yoghurt 15 2 slices toast with jam 40 1 cup (240 ml) orange juice 20 TOTAL MEAL: 120
Snack 1 fruit muffin or scone 300 ml sports drink TOTAL MEAL:
20 50
Lunch 1 salad + 60g tuna/s almon sandwich 30 1 banana & honey sa ndwich 60 300ml low fat choc olate milk shake 30 TOTAL MEAL: 120
Snack 200g tub low-fat fruit yoghurt
30
1 piece fruit – medium orange or apple
15
200 ml sports drink
15
60
TOTAL MEAL:
Dinner 150g lean red meat 2 medium size potatoes
0 30
1.5 cups vegetables (corn, peas, carro ts) 15 1 (240ml) cup juice 20 1 dinner roll 20 TOTAL MEAL: 85
Supper or 1/2 cup of low-fat custard low-fat ice cream e 1 cup tinned fruit with juic
k 200 ml milk-type sports drin AL MEAL: TOT
Gillian Woodward is a Practising Dietician and has been providing advice in the field for over 25 years. She has been an orienteer since 1984.
30
15 20 30 65
