Consistent and Inconsistent Meals:
Effects on Performance
Jackie Berning, PhD, RD, CSSD
Associate Professor/Chair
University of Colorado
Sport Dietitian: Denver Broncos, Colorado
Rockies, Cleveland Indians
jberning@uccs.edu
Challenges to a
Swimmers Diet
• Hectic schedules
• Little knowledge about:
–
–
–
–
Basic nutrition
Grocery shopping
Food preparation
What to choose when
eating out
• Good nutrition isn’t
always a priority
Nutrition Knowledge
• Survey of Adolescent Swimmers
• Most nutritious carbohydrate
• 63% chose an apple while 37% chose French fries
• Good source of protein
• 63% chose chicken, while 37% chose oatmeal
• Food Groups
• 95% identified the food groups, but only 45% could identify
foods from the group
Berning et.al, IJSN, 1991
Nutrition Practices
• 30% of adolescent athletes skip
breakfast
• 25% skip lunch
• 86% eat at fast food restaurants each
week
• 82% of male track, basketball, and
football teams could not identify the fuel
sources in the muscles
Food is Fuel
• Strategies to help players
maintain their “fuel tanks”
– Must eat breakfast even if it is
small
– Liquid meal supplements may
be useful when in a hurry
– Focus on “grab & go” foods
– Focus on foods with protein
and carbohydrate
– Hydrate before during and
after workouts or games
• Never go more than 3-4 hours
without food
• Bagel with
Peanut butter
• Banana
• Sports Drink
• Instant
breakfast
• Cold cereal
with milk
• Energy bar
• Apple
• Recovery
drink
• Yogurt
Effects of skipping meals
Higher body fat
Fatigue, lethargic
+
0
Lower body fat
-
More energy
Throughout the
day
24 hours
Athletes who skip meals and only eat one meal per day have higher body fat
Deutz et al, 2000 Med Sci Sports Exerc 32(3) 659-68
Recovery Nutrition
• Normally takes 24 to 36 hours to replace
muscle energy (glycogen)
• By consuming carbohydrates immediately
post exercise (w/n 30 minutes) can reload
the muscles in 12 to 16 hours
• Snack should be mostly carbohydrates and
some protein (4 parts CHO’s and 1 part Pro)
• Chocolate milk, nutrition shake, smoothie,
peanut butter sandwich, energy bar, yogurt,
turkey sandwich, string cheese and crackers
Example of Post Game/Recovery
Nutrition
•
•
•
•
Local High School Soccer coach
wanted to cut the time it takes to
come home after an away game
He asked the parents to provide
snacks on the bus for the trip home
Found:
– the team recovered faster the
next day
– Were not as hungry coming
home
– Were not as grouchy coming
home
– Felt he could push them harder
the next day
Took the team to the State High
School playoffs—lost in second
round double overtime…sudden
death
Sample Recovery Foods
• Granola, energy or breakfast
bars
• Bagels with peanut butter
• Sports drinks
• Recovery shakes
• Sub sandwiches
• Crackers and cheese
• Burritos
• Fresh fruit like apples,
bananas, oranges, grapes
• Vegetables such as carrots
and celery
• Fruit smoothies (prepackaged)
• Trail mix/animal crackers
High School Football Team
• Local HS football coach
felt that students needed
to know about
nutrition/hydration
• Set up several
educational opportunities
– Met with booster club
• Parents, students and
coaches all hearing the
same information
Local High School Football Team
• Meet with players in
the summer at speed
camp
– Breakfast
– Hydration for camp
and two a days
– Healthy snacks
throughout the day
– Weight gain and
weight loss
Weight Gain/Weight loss
WEIGHT GAIN
• Weight gain (muscle) involves
eating more calories not just
more protein
• Weight gain is a combination
of strength training, proper
nutrition and rest
• Increase calorie intake 5001,000 calories per day
• Maintain hydration
• It takes a plan to gain
WEIGHT LOSS
• Eat smaller meals more
frequently
– Need a 200-300 calorie deficit
per day
• Don’t skip meals or only eat
one meal a day
• Eat slowly
– Fast eaters tend to overeat
• Increase aerobic exercise
slowly each day
• Maintain hydration
Breakfast Skipping Bad for
Bones and Weight
•Journal of the American Dietetic Association. (June 2005)
• Study found that skipping what some call the most
important meal of the day "may predispose" girls to
diets low in calcium and fiber.
• Those who eat breakfast on a regular basis have a
reduced body mass index compared to "infrequent
breakfast eaters.“
• Girls who consistently ate breakfast had a lower
body mass index and higher fiber and calcium
intakes, which may suggest that eating breakfast
during the critical pre-teen and teen years could help
prevent osteoporosis.
Local High School Football Team
• Game Day Nutrition
– Developed a meal
plan for game day
– Developed hydration
plan for game day
– Developed snack plan
for half time
– Developed recovery
plan
Meet Day Nutrition
• Need to stick with the three meals/day and depending on swim time
snacks in between events or heats
• Even if its an early morning swim still need to eat something
– Oatmeal, bowl of cereal with low fat milk, or energy bar
• Need to eat after swim
– Carton of yogurt, peanut butter sandwich, smoothie
• Lunch
– Small sub sandwich, fruit and or vegetables, sports drinks
• Mid-afternoon Snack
– Fruit/vegetables, low fat string cheese, whole grain crackers
• Dinner
– Standard basic meal that includes entrée, starch, vegetables and low fat
milk
• Snack before bed
– Smoothie, yogurt parfait, bowl of cereal
Pre-Event Eating
• 1-4 hours before the event
– closer to event less food
• Consume mainly CHO as they are digested
faster
– next comes protein, last comes fat
– 1 hour or less-- stick to liquid, sports drinks
– 2 hours or less-- sports drinks, toast, muffins, cereal
with lowfat milk
– 3-4 hours--spaghetti, French toast, turkey sand,
yogurt, string cheese and crackers
Pre-Event Meal Ideas
• One hour or less before competition
– Stick to liquids like water, sports drinks and avoid high glycemic
beverages like soda, juice, drinks or “energy” drinks
• Two hours before competition
– Cereal and low fat milk
– Toast, or low fat muffin
– 1/ 2 Bagel, yogurt and fruit
• Three-four hours before competition
– Turkey Sandwich w low fat cheese, yogurt, fruit, granola bar
– Pasta with meat sauce, bread sticks, low fat milk
– French toast, low fat milk, fruit
Dangers of Dehydration
• Fatigue
• Loss of
coordination
• Increased risk of
heat illness, heat
stroke and even
death
Monitor Fluid Loss
• Two ways:
• Weigh in before
practice and after
practice
– 3 cups of fluid per
pound lost
• Check the color of
urine
1 - 3 = Optimally Hydrated
4 - 6 = Slightly dehydrated should drink more
6 - 8 = Dehydrated, must drink more
Thirst
• Thirst is not an
adequate indicator of
fluid needs
– Wait to drink until you
thirsty its too late
– As little as a 2%
weight loss as sweat
will affect performance
– If you drink to satisfy
your thirst it’s not
enough
Sport Drink Formulation Important for Optimal Fluid Absorpt
18.3
FAST
Fluid
Absorption
(mL/cm/hr)
0%
16.5
6.9*
6%
1.8*
8%
SLOW
Water
Gatorade
Ryan, AJ. et al J. Appl. Physiol. 84: 1581-1588, 1998
*
p<0.05 slower than water and Gatorade.
Water and Gatorade were not different from each other.
Powerade
9%
AllSport
13%
Sod
a
Pop
“Energy” Drinks: What are they
• Basically fluid and energy
in one bottle
• Contain high
concentration of
carbohydrate (almost same
concentration as syrup)
• Usually caffeine (sometimes
in an herbal form such as Mate or
guarana, which is 4-5x more
powerful)
• May contain other
ingredients to potentiate
caffeine (ginseng)
• May contain Synephrine
How much should I drink for Practice and
Games?
Fluid Guidelines say:
• Before
– Drink 12 to 20 oz -- 2-3 hours before
• During
– Drink 6 to 12 oz every 15-20 minutes
• After
– Drink 150% of sweat losses
– Drink 3 cups (24 oz) for every 1 lb weight lost through sweat
– Two gulps are about 3 ounces
– Replace 70% of what you have lost before next practice
What Should Athletes Eat?
Carbohydrates
(60%)
Proteins
(15%)
Fats
(25%)
Use a Modified Peace Sign
Breads, cereal, rice
pasta, fruit, vegetables,
¹/3
tortillas,
energy bars
crackers,
Grains, Bread,
Pastapotatoes
¹/(not
3
fried), pinto beans,
black
Fruits & Veg
beans, salad
Chicken, turkey,
beef, pork, milk,
cheese, yogurt,
¹/3 peanut
Protein
eggs,
butter, nuts, soy
All players, coaches and parents
bought into the program
Resulted in a 5A State High School
Championship!
Take home message for me
is coaches/athletes
believed in:
– Importance of nutrition in
athletic performance
– Importance of hydration
– Second half team
– Believer in fueling and
cooling the body will allow
a student athlete to
maximize their athletic
potential