Planning food intake for Long Distance Runners - PowerPoint Presentation

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Planning food intake for Long Distance Runners

Nutrition for TrainingSlide2

Introduction – How to use this guide

This guide provides general rules and guidelines for nutrition to enhance your training and recovery to maximise the potential for adaptation and hence improve your performance.

The guidelines are separated into carbohydrate (CHO), protein (Pro) and fat (Fat), these are termed macronutrients, vitamins and minerals are termed micronutrients.

To provide individual specificity for quantities of each of the macronutrients required, the contribution of CHO, Pro and Fat are expressed in grams (g) per kilogram of body mass (.KG) this will be written as g.KG.

These guidelines are a intended to provide a general frame work for the nutrition required for training and recovery. Each athlete is different and you will discover what works well for you in terms of food preferences, times you like to eat and how hard you train.

The document begins with a very basic introduction to nutrition and the macronutrients, then moves on to discuss each (CHO, Pro and Fat) individually and finishes with and example nutritional plan for a training day and recovery/rest day.

We hope you have as much fun advancing your nutrition as we did writing these plans and guide lines.

Dr Samuel ImpeySlide3

Basic Nutrition Points

Carbohydrates – Energy

Proteins – Muscle and immune system

Vitamins and minerals – Energy, Muscle, Health

Hydration

Carbohydrates

When? – before & after competition & training limit intake after 7 pmType? – low glycemic load foods (see carbohydrate section)Consume low glycemic load and

ProteinsWhen? – with every meal! Very important with breakfast and before bedConsume as soon as possible after trainingHelps to speed up recoveryWhat type? – Eggs, chicken, fish, beef are best

Try to get Carbohydrate, protein and vitamins and minerals in every meal

Vitamins and Minerals

5 pieces of fruit and vegetables per day

As many different colours as possibleDifferent colours have different vitamins and minerals

Hydration

Drink water regularly before, during and after training Slide4

Principles

Due to the nature of long distance running requiring large amounts of energy to sustain muscular contraction for hours at a time, along with the impact that running for this long has on the body, maximising the recovery between training sessions is essential to improve performance. A well planned and scientifically underpinned diet is essential to get the most out of every training run.

Some key concepts forming the basis of the diet are below;

Don't skip breakfast

–

After a night’s sleep, your body has been through a period of approximately 6-10 hours without food (an ‘overnight fast’).

During sleep the stimulus for protein synthesis is removed as you are not exercising or moving combined with no nutritional stimulus, this causes the muscle to begin to slowly break down. Breakfast acts as the first stimulus of the day to stop break down and begin muscle building

Eat regularly (every 3 hours) – a regular eating pattern ensures a steady intake of key nutrients that will fuel the body and stimulate recovery throughout the day.

Stay hydrated - Dehydration can cause a decreased blood volume, increased core temperature, increased glycogen utilization and decreased sweat rate. These effects are detrimental for sports performance and should be avoided by employing proper hydration strategies

.Eat in Colour – A lack of variety and colour will result in a lack of key nutrients. Multivitamins should not be a substitute for a good variety of natural fruit and vegetables since they lack many other key minerals obtained from fresh foods. A lack of variety in meat and fish sources will mean losing out on key good fats and other important nutrients.

Quality Protein Feeding Around Training and Before Bed – Research tells us that after exercise our bodies are more open to using protein to repair muscles damaged during exercise. To maximise the repair process consuming quality protein close to exercise and at regular intervals after exercise gives the body the fuel it needs to repair muscles. It is preferable to ingest protein that is absorbed quickly before or after exercise and one that is absorbed slowly before bed.Slide5

CarbohydratesIntroduction

Carbohydrates (CHO) contribute the largest amount of energy towards muscle contraction during long distance running and depletion of CHO is thought to be the major factor influencing performance. As such it is essential for runners to consume a diet high in CHO to fuel training, and, replace lost CHO after training to begin the recovery process and allow the next training run to be as effective as the previous.

CHO in these guidelines will be referred to as high or low

glycemic

load, and different types of CHO are used in different situations to maximise the nutritional status for training and recovery.

Glycemic

load simply refers to how quickly carbohydrates are digested. Low GL foods are digested slower providing a sustained energy source whereas high GL foods are quickly digested. Low GL foods are preferable over high GL in your general diet as they can help prevent hunger providing a sustained energy source and are less likely to cause unwanted fat gains Slide6

Carbohydrates

CHO for Training and Recovery - Key Points

Training

During long training runs >2h you may require fluids to sustain training intensity.

Drink as much as you feel you need

do not force feed fluid. Water is OK hydrations solutions are betterCHO gels and drinks are useful in training if the intensity needs to be high for long periods of time > 1h 30minGels and drinks should be consumed about every 20 min and should contain 18 – 22g of CHO

Immediately after exercise (if recovery between training is <8h)Glycogen is the major store of CHO in skeletal muscle, it provides the bulk of the energy for sustained muscular contraction with glucose from the blood supplementing this energy source. Glycogen re-synthesis is highest in the 2h following exerciseTo maximise recovery of glycogen you need 1.2 g of CHO per KG of body weigh per hour for those 2 hourse.g. A 75KG runner will need to consume 90g (75 x 1.2 = 90) CHO, per hour, for the first 2h after a long run to maximise glycogen recoveryCHO should be consumed in regular small doses during these 2hThe CHO should come from foods and drinks high in sugars (high GL index) such as sweets and sports drinks. Slide7

CHO for Training and Recovery - Key PointsContinuedCheck

the type of sugars as some are better for recovery than others

Look for Glucose, sucrose and

maltodextrin

and try to avoid fructose.

Protein consumed during this time can help glycogen recovery (see protein below)Longer duration recovery (24h between training sessions)The foods used for rest recovery periods lasting up to 24h consist of medium to low GL foods; this means they are digested and absorbed at a slower rate. As the rate of glycogen recovery slows down >2h after exercise, the amount of CHO taken from the blood decreases, so we use foods that release their CHO into the blood at slower rates to sustain the glycogen recovery. Meals and snacks should be planned and evenly spaced over the recovery time

Intake of 5 – 8g of CHO per KG of body weight over a 24h period should be used (see example meal plan)e.g. a 75KG runner will consume between 375 – 600g of CHO over the next 24h following a training run The CHO should come from foods such as pasta, rice, whole grains, fruit and vegetables Runners should eat meals and snacks at regular intervals and this should be done based on practicality and eating habits of each runner

CarbohydratesSlide8

ProteinIntroduction

Proteins are the building blocks of almost every structure in the body. Skeletal muscle contains the largest amount of protein of all the organs and tissues. When we exercise, especially for long periods of time, proteins are broken down by the force applied to them during exercise, proteins can also used for energy. As such it is imperative to repair and replace protein lost during exercise to allow the muscle to repair and adapt to the exercise stimulus leading to improved performance after repeated training bouts.

Types of Proteins

In the same way that CHO has a rating of how fast it is digested and transported into the blood (GI scale), different foods are digested and absorbed releasing their protein at different rates:

Rapidly digested

Whey protein powder

Skimmed milk Soy milkSlowly digestedFishNuts Meet‘Generally the more the food has to be broken down, the slower the access to the protein stored inside, but, this also allows a constant stream of protein to be available when needed, hence a mix of both slow and fast is useful’ Slide9

Protein

Protein

for Training and Recovery – Key Points

Daily protein intake should be between

1.5

– 2.0 g per KG of body weight per day i.e. 75KG runner should consume between 112 – 150g of protein per day, more than this is not detrimental, but less can be

Protein can be consumed before and immediately after long training runs (longer than 1h)Before running – 1h before run 15 – 20g of rapidly digested protein such as whey powder mixed with water After running – as soon as comfortable 20 – 25g of rapidly digested protein such as whey powder mixed with waterProtein should be consumed at regular intervals (every 3 – 5h) throughout the day, most important time is at breakfastDietary protein should come from foods such as fish, white meat (chicken and turkey), nuts and seeds, eggs and a small portion coming from red meat Protein should be consumed with every meal through out the day in different forms (see example meal plan)Protein can help glycogen re-synthesis in the 2h immediately after a long run if you cannot take on the required amount of CHO in the first 2h; this protein should be from rapidly digested proteins like whey.

Taking on 20 – 25g of a slowly digested protein such as casein or egg proteins before bed is advised to sustain muscle recovery Slide10

FatIntroduction

Fats provide a large contribution to the energy required for long distance running, and as athletes become fitter and better trained the contribution of fat to energy production increases. Even the leanest, most elite athletes have vast amounts of energy stored in fat cells; as such replacing fat that is burned off during exercise is not a major issue as a well balanced diet will ensure adequate amounts of good fats are provided. Fats should contributed 20 – 30% of total energy intake. Fats are essential sources of fat soluble vitamins, and provide the ‘essential free fatty acids’, as the name suggests they are essential in the body as they cannot be made; these fats help regulate gut health and brain function and many other aspects of metabolism. There are 4 main types of fat:

Food Sources

Good

or Bad

Poly-unsaturated

fatsNuts and seeds, olive oilGood

Mono-unsaturated fatsAlmond oil, nut oil, popcorn, avocadoGoodSaturated fatPizza, cheese, sweets, processed meatsLimit intake

Trans fatsCrisps, french

fries, fried food, pastries, margarine Bad - avoidSlide11

FatFats for Training and Recovery

Consume 1g of fat for every KG of body mass per day

e.g. a 75KG runner will consume 75g of fat per day

Good fats are found in nuts, seeds, oils, meat and fish

Consuming a well balanced diet will naturally provide the correct amounts of fat required to support high levels of training

Avoiding high amounts of saturated fats is beneficial as these have little functional use for the athlete and slow the digestion of nutrient rich food and can cause digestive discomfortTrans fats (preserves in processed food) have no documented benefit for the body but, significantly increase the risk of heart disease and cancer. Consuming a well balanced diet of good quality produce will minimise the intake of trans fatsSlide12

Example Training day

Example of 75KG runner consuming CHO 6g.KG, Pro 2g.KG and Fat 1g.KG

(Recipes attached at the end of the guide)

Breakfast – 08.00

Apple and cinnamon protein porridge: CHO – 98 Pro – 42

Fat – 11 Kcal – 661 Snack – 10.30Pineapple and almond soy smoothie

: CHO – 20 Pro – 29 Fat – 14 Kcal – 310 Lunch – 12.30Jacket potato (150g) with cheddar cheese (50g), salad: CHO – 85 Pro - 25rice yoghurt with fruit compote (190g) Fat – 20 Kcal – 620 Snack – 15.30 Energy bar (80g), Apple juice (400ml): CHO – 93 Pro – 5 Fat – 2 Kcal – 290 Training run Dinner – 19.30

Smoked trout fettuccine : CHO – 130 Pro – 40 Fat – 10 Kcal - 516 Snack – 21.30One banana (125g), whole grain breakfast : CHO – 47 Pro - 9cereal (40g) with semi skimmed milk (200ml) Fat – 4 Kcal - 246TOTAL = CHO – 473, Pro – 150, Fat – 64, Kcal – 2647 Slide13

Recovery DayThe nutrition used during the recovery day is dependent on the training that has been undertaken.

Heavy training

– Macronutrient intake should be similar to training day to ensure full recovery

Low GL CHO 6 – 8 g.kg body mass per day

Quality Pro – 1.5 – 2 g.kg body mass per day, rapidly digested with breakfast followed by slower digested Pro every 3h through out the day

Fat 1 g.kg body mass per day – mono- and polly-unsaturated fats

Light training – Macronutrient intake should be slightly less than a normal training day, this is to ensure recovery without adding excess food that could be stored as fat Low GL CHO 4 – 6 g.kg body mass per dayQuality Pro – 1.2 – 1.6 g.kg body mass per day Rapidly digested with breakfast Fat 1 g.kg body mass per day – mono- and polly-unsaturated fatsSlide14

Apple and Cinnamon Protein Porridge

Ingredients

Instructions

CHO (g)

98

Fat

(g)11Protein (g)42Kcal661

In a small saucepan mix the oats, sliced apple and 1 cup of soya milk. Gently bring to the boil, stirring occasionally until thick. Remove from heat and stir in whey, mix well. Stir in the sultanas.Drizzle a little honey on top and cover with remaining milk.Before serving, sprinkle with half a teaspoon of cinnamon.

80g of oats250ml soya milk

30g vanilla whey proteinTbsp sultanas

1 tsp honey1 apple1 tsp cinnamon powderSlide15

Pineapple and Almond Soy Smoothie

Ingredients

Instructions

CHO (g)

20

Fat

(g)14Protein (g)29Kcal

310 160 ml almond milk70g chopped pineapple20 whole almonds30g soy powder2 ice cubes

Combine all almond milk, pineapple, almonds and soy powder in a blender and pulse until smooth. Simple!Slide16

Smoked Trout Fettuccine

Ingredients

Instructions

CHO (g)

130

Fat

(g)10Protein (g)40Kcal516

2 spring onions3 – 4 asparagus75g frozen peas1 handful fresh mint leaves200g dried fettuccine75g hot smoked trout1 tbsp plain flower150ml semi-skimmed milkParmesan to serveOlive oil

Roughly slice the spring onions and asparagus stalks into a pan with 1

tbsp olive oil, leave the tips whole to one sideAfter 3 -5 minutes add the frozen peas, and half the mint sliced in to the pan cook for a further 5 minutes

Put the pasta into a large pan and cover with boiling salted water, cook according to packet instructionsStir the flower into the asparagus pan and cook for 2 minutes, then add the milk, bring to a simmer for 10 minutesUsing a stick blender, puree the asparagus sauce until fairly smooth, add the asparagus tips and flake in the trout, simmer for 3 – 5 minutes

Drain the pasta, reserving a cup or cooking water, toss the pasta in the sauce (loosen with cooking water if required) and serve with parmesan shavings on top