Everyday nutrition… it sounds so simple yet can feel so overwhelming.
Recently, I traveled to PA for the opportunity to talk to a group of 175 endurance athletes along with coaches about nutrition for performance.
We talked about hydration and doing the “simple things” with nutrition to support your body and excel as an active person.
On my way to PA, I was listening to a triathlon podcast and they said “the hardest work you’re going to do is the easy stuff, because it’s least entertaining”.
In sports, it’s about consistent efforts, not all out or intense training on a regular basis.
Nutrition is just that – sure, there are some times where you may use a plan or a protocol (like a race or event), but it’s the “boring” everyday nutrition fundamentals that help give you the resources to train, recover and feel good.
Everyday nutrition doesn’t have to be hard as long as you don’t make it that way. Do the “simple stuff” well and you’ve got yourself a recipe for success!
In today’s blog, we’ll be covering the 4 principles for everyday nutrition.
Have you ever considered intuitive eating? Check out our blog post: Is Intuitive Eating Right for Athletes
3 Everyday Nutrition Fundamentals
#1. Don’t fear the food.
You probably need to eat more than you think. This is where the media and diet culture drives us crazy. Eating the least possible amount of food is not the way to support your active lifestyle.
Would you fill up your gas tank with just $5 and hope for the best? Probably not!
Most of the clients we have worked with are under-eating. The very first thing we do is work on increasing overall nutrition quantity and then move onto quality.
We know this can actually feel really weird to people at first. A common conversation that we have is “Is it normal to be eating this much?!” and the answer is a resounding YES.
It takes time to unlearn the idea that less is more when it comes to food. But trust us, it’s worth it to delve into this component of fueling first, because eating enough is the most basic way that you can support your performance and life.
If you don’t have the basics down, the rest doesn’t work.
#2. Focus on nutritionally balanced meals.
Yes, protein is important for muscle growth and recovery, but it’s not the nutrient you need to necessarily increase when training intensity increases.
Carbohydrates are the main and most efficient energy source. Skeletal muscle is reliant on carbohydrates to perform and maintain performance at moderate to high exercise intensities.
While there’s currently a lot of interest in high fat, low carbohydrate diets (like Keto, for example), research has shown that these diets don’t improve exercise capacity and performance. In fact, they inhibit utilization of muscle glycogen (the fuel to keep those muscles firing during your exercise effort).
Performance Plates for Everyday Nutrition
The simplest way to focus on balance, and ensure that your carbohydrate intake is sufficient to support your training is to utilize the concept of performance plates.
We love a performance plate because it’s a simple, visual way to eyeball the proportions of your nutrients based on how hard your workout will be that day- no math, no elimination of vital macronutrients (like carbohydrates!)
To determine which training plate you need, simply think about what your training day consists of.
Low intensity: For low intensity training and rest days, half of the plate should consist of color (fruits and veggies), one quarter carbs and one quarter protein.
Moderate intensity: On moderate intensity training days (which are most practices/workouts, or when the goal is weight maintenance), the plate should be divided in equal thirds- ⅓ carb, ⅓ color, and ⅓ protein.
Hard intensity: Finally, for hard intensity training days (perfect for game/competition days, two a days, or when the goal is weight gain) the plate should be half full with carbs, half protein, and half color.
We have a great visual of Performance Plates, and many people find it helpful to print this out and stick it to the fridge to visually think about what to place on the plate to support their goals.
#3. You can’t just rely on your hunger and thirst.
Hunger and thirst cues are helpful for dialing in when you should fuel up. But sometimes, athletes don’t always do the best job of identifying them.
And sometimes, these signals aren’t super clear for other reasons, such as hormonal changes related to exertion, or due to the time of day.
For example, have you ever found yourself not hungry before a scheduled early morning workout? You know that you should eat to fuel your session, but you just can’t stand the thought of eating.
Conversely, have you ever not been hungry or thirsty after a challenging, high intensity training session, even though you know you should eat and drink?
Turns out, this occurs due to the hormonal impact of exercise. intense efforts can actually suppress the hormones that signal hunger and thirst to your body, making it seem like you don’t want to take in nutrition, even though you really need to.
In these cases, you just have to do the dang thing and fuel anyway! Especially in more intense blocks of your training cycle or season. it’s so important to have a plan to fuel and hydrate, in order to compensate for this “mixed signal” situation.
#4. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate.
Hydration for everyday nutrition is more than just water. All fluids “count” when it comes to hydration, but some can have some adverse effects on your performance and hydration.
I know we all love our caffeine, but excessive caffeine use can carry some risks, such as dehydration, GI distress, appetite suppression, dangerously high heart rate, and insomnia.
While caffeine can give a quick burst of energy, this is NOT the same energy as what you get from food sources. You can’t get the energy to fuel performance from energy drinks.
True energy comes from the breakdown of macronutrients, which creates ATP (aka, energy for our brain, muscles, etc.) This is why caffeine is only useful as an ergogenic aid when athletes have balanced nutrition.
Energy drinks use caffeine (& often other additives). Caffeine is a stimulant that can quickly boost alertness, but it does not give your body the ATP for energy production.
So if you’re going to use energy drinks, don’t use them to replace water, food, or other fluids. Imbalanced fluids and dehydration can result in a lot of physiological warning bells, if not addressed.
Electrolytes for Hydration
When you sweat, you lose both water and electrolytes.
Therefore, in addition to water, adding electrolytes can help to prevent dehydration. Electrolytes, such as sodium, help to pull fluid into your cells to assist in the hydration process.
Failure to replace electrolytes lost in your sweat can result in dangerous conditions such as hypovolemia. Studies have shown that dehydration as little as 2% of body weight can negatively impact exercise performance.
The Takeaway: Everyday Nutrition Fundamentals
As I said before, the simple things aren’t always the most exciting. But it IS exciting when you are able to navigate training and life from a place of flexibility, because the foundation of your nutritional strategy is sound.
Try these 4 everyday nutrition fundamentals to set yourself up for success:
1. Don’t fear the food.
2. Focus on nutritionally balanced meals.
3. You can’t just rely on your hunger and thirst.
4. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate.
If you find yourself looking for deeper support in your nutritional goals, we would love to spend some time chatting with you about 1:1 Coaching! Sign up for a discovery call here.
