and Combining fitness and nutrition is always the magic formula if you want to get the best out of your workout. Food recommendations vary slightly depending on the training you choose. As a general rule, Fitness and nutrition go hand in hand and can’t be separated for any athlete. Aerobic enthusiasts, for example, should first and foremost ensure that their body has enough fuel for long workouts. The carbohydrates you eat should be of the highest possible quality so that the body does not get sudden spikes in sugar. Still, the energy produced by the carbohydrates is released evenly. Therefore, meals should also be enjoyed at regular intervals.
Food provides your body with fuel to endure, but hydration should not be forgotten either. The best drink for hydration is water. However, if you sweat a lot while exercising, you may lose too much salt from your body. Especially in summer heat or other situations that produce a lot of sweat, it is worth choosing salt-containing drinks instead of water. If you drink coffee, drink a small cup before going for a run, as caffeine enhances the effect of exercise, but only if it has been ingested before exercise.
Take advantage of the tools available.
Fortunately, there are several different tools available to track your eating. For example, you can use the Department of Health and Welfare’s free food diary to track the nutritional value of the food you eat. Keeping a food diary becomes more accurate if you purchase a kitchen scale, so there is no need to evaluate portion sizes. At first, this may seem awkward, but over time, things become easier to record.
How an athlete should eat and combine Fitness and nutrition
Ensure adequate protein intake. Before a workout, eat a relatively light meal rich in long-acting carbohydrates such as whole grains. Make sure your diet is always in the right proportions of carbs, fat, and protein.
It would be good to get about a gram of protein per kilogram of body weight. Good sources are, for example, chicken, fish, and beans. Of the energy intake, 30-50% of the diet’s calories should be obtained from good quality soft fats. Carbohydrates should be high quality, so avoid extra sugar and white grain products.
Food is the body’s fuel.
While the fat percentage may sound like a lot, it’s good to remember that fat is extremely high in energy. If your daily intake is about 2,000 calories, 30-50% will only need about a hundred grams of fat during the day. Light aerobic exercise consumes the most fat as fuel, while heavier aerobic exercise emphasizes the importance of carbohydrates.
The fats should be of the highest possible quality. In other words, you should avoid hard animal fats. Of the animals, fish is rich in soft fats, so eating fatty fish 2-3 days a week is worth eating. For other animals, you should always choose the least lean meat possible. It is also worth remembering the good sources of protein in the plant, such as beans, which contain protein and a lot of fiber that the body needs.
The right kind of food rhythm will help you cope.
The importance of food rhythm cannot be emphasized in the slightest by a mobile person, but it is further emphasized in an athlete. Coaches usually recommend eating a little before a workout, but a heavier meal should only be eaten after sports. It is better to have the stomach empty before training, as exercising on a full stomach can cause various stomach upsets.
You can always assume that it is a good idea to eat a small snack about an hour before your workout, as not eating can also cause unpleasant sensations during exercise. On average, it takes 2-3 hours to digest a meal, but a very high-protein and heavy meal can digest in the stomach for up to five hours. Therefore, heavier meals are generally worth eating after sports.
Be sure to rhythm your meals.
The right eating rhythm also curbs cravings, so it’s good to eat at least something every 3-4 hours during the day. Sports also increase your appetite, so if you haven’t eaten all day and worked out during the day, you may get lost on a plate on your plate in the evening with significantly more food. At worst, this results in you eating more in the evening than what you did not eat during the day. Fasting also quickly takes power away from the workout itself, so you don’t consume as much energy as if you had eaten normally.
Water
People usually feel thirsty when they do many workouts at the gym, which is perfectly normal. You also need to take water because water gives you electrolytes and hydration, and proteins and fats will also replace some water. Drinking plenty of water is essential to athlete nutrition. However, if it is uncomfortable for you to drink water because of nausea, you can drink milk instead.
It is now clear why you shouldn’t drink whole milk. If you have the preference to drink whole milk, then do so before a workout because whole milk gives you sodium. This can be harmful to your workout because sodium can hinder your growth hormone, increasing your cortisol levels. Furthermore, whole milk is high in cholesterol so if you have the preference to drink whole milk, then do so before doing muscle workouts because it gives you cholesterol. Drinking whole milk can also result in bloating and water retention.
Therefore, if you feel thirsty, then drink whole milk before doing your workout. There are many foods that help in muscle development, but many foods can harm your growth.
To avoid these harmful foods from causing harm to your body and to gain muscle, it is advisable to take supplements. Muscle development foods can be taken together with supplements to prevent problems.
Therefore, Fitness and nutrition for an athlete should be well planned out to be safe for the health and achieve the workout objective.