As important as your training to improve your game, maintaining your health with a good diet also crucial. When you exercise hard for 90 minutes or more,
especially if you're doing something at high intensity that takes a lot of
endurance, you need a diet that can help you perform at your peak and recover
quickly afterward.
Load Up on Carbohydrates
Carbs are an athlete's main fuel. Your body changes them to glucose, a form of sugar, and stores it in your muscles as glycogen. When you exercise, your body changes glycogen into energy. If you exercise for under 90 minutes, you have enough glycogen in your muscles, even for high-intensity activities. But if your workout is longer than that, eat a diet that gets about 70% of its calories from carbohydrates, including breads, cereals, pasta, fruit, and vegetables, to achieve maximum carbohydrate storage. On the day of a big event, eat your last meal 3 to 4 hours before exercising, to give your stomach time to empty. Avoid eating sugary or starchy foods within 30 minutes of starting an activity; they can speed up dehydration.
Get Enough Protein, But Not Too Much
Protein doesn’t provide a lot of fuel for energy. But you need it to maintain your muscles. The average person needs 1.2 to 1.4 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight a day. That's about 88 grams of protein for a 150-pound person. A strength athlete may need up to 1.7 grams per kilogram of body weight. That's about 150 grams of protein for a 200-pound athlete. Getting too much protein can put a strain on your kidneys. Instead of protein supplements, eat high-quality protein, such as lean meats, fish, poultry, nuts, beans, eggs, or milk.
Go Easy on Fat
For long events, your body turns to fat for energy when carbohydrate sources run low. Most athletes get all the fat they need by following the basic dietary guideline to eat mostly unsaturated fat from foods such as nuts, avocados, olives, vegetable oils, and fatty fish like salmon and tuna. Avoid fatty foods on the day of an event, since they can upset your stomach.
Drink Fluids Early and Often
Intense exercise, especially in hot weather, can quickly leave you dehydrated. Dehydration, in turn, can hurt your performance and, in extreme cases, threaten your life. Because intense exercise makes you lose fluid quickly, it's a good idea to drink fluids before as well as during an event. Athletes should drink 8 to 12 ounces of fluid every 10 or 15 minutes during an event. When possible, drink chilled fluids, which are more easily absorbed than room-temperature water. Chilled fluids also help cool your body down.
Replace Lost Electrolytes
Sweating removes both fluids and electrolytes. Electrolytes help transmit nerve signals in your body. To replenish them, reach for sports drinks. If you’re also losing a lot of fluid as you sweat, dilute sports drinks with equal amounts of water to get the best balance of fluid and electrolytes.
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