Chapter 3B - Nutrition to Maximize Performance Flashcards
What are some nutrition strategies for losing body fat?
- Altering the macronutrient composition of the diet, increasing protein and fiber intake, reducing consumption of processed food and fast food, consuming five to six small melas per day, creating a reasonable calorie deficit and drinking plenty of water.
How can we alter macronutrient composition to help lose weight, what would be ideal % of carbs, protein and fats with appropriate caloric intake for weight loss.
Studies lasting about 6 months in duration have found that moderately decreasing carbs, increasing protein and getting enough healthy fats is more successful in decreasing body fat than simply limiting caloric intake.
40-45% carbs , 30-35% protein, and 25% fat should reduce body fat when part of a diet with appropriate caloric intake.
Explain how increasing protein and fiber intake is beneficial. What foods have those. How much protein per gram of body weight.
Increasing protein intake helps to support muscle tissue and is necessary to increase lean body mass and metabolism.
Minimal RDA - 0/8g per kg of body weight, but athletes need more, closer to 1.0-1.7 per kg of body weight.
Protein - beef, chicken, turkey, eggs, yogurt, fish, beans and legumes
Fiber - Satiety and fullness increases with fiber., plenty of fruits, veggies, legumes, and whole grains.
Why is it beneficial to eat small meals multiple times a day.
Consuming 5-6 meals per day helps to prevent metabolism from slowing down, which is one of the main reasons why excessively low calorie diets should be avoided.
To help with satiey and blood glucose control - protein should be consumed with each small meal.
Fasting diets are good at losing weight, but should not be used long term due to the fact they slow metabolism.
Explain drinking water, how much for men/women.
60% of body is water for men, a little less for women.
Men need 13 cups of water and women need 9 usually.
All fluid in diet can count towards this.
Athletes need more water and to replace water loss from sweating.
Can weigh yourself before and after exercise to see if you need to.
Explain increasing lean body mass through training.
Strategies to increase lean body mass through exercise include weight training and cardio interval training.
To increase lean body mass, progressive resistance training should be part of the regime at least 3x a week.
HIIT also good for lean body mass.
Because it increases post-exercise oxygen consumption, HIIT can increase caloric expenditure and reduce body fat.
Where does the body’s preferred source of energy comes from?
muscle and liver glycogen stores
Explain carb loading’s benefit, for which athletes?
Carb loading is one specific nutrient timing strategy used by endurance athletes to help maximize glycogen stores.
Glycogen is carbs in the muscles and liver and is the body’s preferred fuel source for moderate and high intensity activity.
Especially important before activities that last 2+ hours.
How does one properly carb load?
Athletes first deplete their carb store through reducing carb intake while maintaining exercise volume and intensity about 5 days out from the event and increase carb intake (8-10 grams per kg of body weight) and taper training volume for several days just before the event.
Carb loading is typically recommended for activities that last longer than 120 minutes because this is roughly the threshold for depleting glycogen stores during intense exercise.
Explain Nutrient timing - before, during, and after. How many carbs before resistance exercise?
8-10 grams of carbs per kg of body weight alone, or with protein before resistance exercise to maximize glycogen stores.
During exercise - 30-60g of carbs per hours in 8-16 ounces of fluid should be consumed every 15 minutes or so.
The addition of protein at a ratio of 3-4 g of carbs per 1 gram of protein may support endurance and the formation of glycogen after the activity.
Explain how carbs will impact strength and endurance.
How much of calories from carbs should an athlete get, from a %.
Carbs provide fuel for neurons and RBCs. Important for muscle contraction, because a state of positive energy balance is required to prevent muscle catabolism for energy.
Athletes usually need about 55-65% of their total calorie intake to come from carbs to support activity and meet metabolic and physiologic demands.
Adequate protein is needed to promote balance of what? How much protein do athletes need? Do endurance athletes need protein, what about resistance training?
A positive nitrogen balance.
Protein intake of about 1.5-2.0 grams per kilogram of body weight to maintain a positive nitrogen balance.
Endurance athletes need addition protein to help support energy needs and to facilitate repair and recovery after activity.
Athletes focused on increasing strength and hypertrophy need more protein during the early stages of a training program; as muscles adapt to training, needs may decrease
Why is protein essential in the diet? What’s the difference between amino acids and essential amino acids.
Protein is essential in the diet and is needed to support the building of connective tissue, cell membranes, and the development of muscle.
Proteins consist of amino acids, and there are 20 used in the body.
EAA - Essential amino acids - are required through the diet since they cannot be synthesized in the body.
Histidine, why is this amino acid prominent?
Originally thought only to be essential for infants, but more recent studies found that it’s benefical for adults too.
This must be consumed, making it an EAA.
Proteins can be classified as complete or incomplete. How can we get more complete proteins?
Complete proteins contain all of the EAAs, while incomplete proteins do not.
Protein that comes from animal sources is usually complete and contains all of the EAAs.
Incomplete proteins usually come from plants and don’t contain all of the EAA.
