Sleeping your way to better sports performance

We all know we need more sleep. Whether it is a gentle reminder at our yearly doctor visit or that daily rush of fatigue at 2pm, sleep is something we should all prioritize just a bit more. But in a world of too many things to do and not enough time, I often see athletes push sleep to the back burner, slowly decreasing how many hours they will dedicate to getting that shut eye. However, athletes need to understand that sleep is imperative to not only improve athletic performance, but also help reach body composition goals. Here are three reasons why adequate sleep (an average of 7-9 hours nightly if you are 18 or older - more if you are younger) is so important:

1. Recovery
Sleep is when the body performs the majority of recovery from the day. This could be recovery from the high intensity workout you had that afternoon or recovery from the high pressure meeting you had that morning. Giving your body that recovery time is imperative to help your muscles adapt (which means that training actually improves your performance) and to protect your immune system function (which means you don't get sick as often). This allows you to wake up feeling rested and ready to work out again the next day.

Athletes: Keep these 3 things in mind as you enter the holiday season!

As the holidays approach, I get a lot of nervous athletes in my office. Some worry about undesirable body comp changes, some worry that turning down decadent options will offend family members...and the list goes on. What can you do to calm your anxiety as the holidays creep up? Here are 3 key steps:

1. Right now, determine where you want to be - both physically and mentally - in the new year. What does that mean you need to do with your eating this month? Having a goal to commit to will make you much more successful when you approach the dessert table.

Keep Performance & Body Comp Goals in Mind this Holiday Season!

Well, it's the holiday season again...a time for family, friends, and...FOOD! Unfortunately the holiday season falls - for many athletes - in the midst of the off-season and cold outdoor temperatures. So what's an athlete to do during the holidays to emerge still on track for his/her next race when January 2nd rolls around? Here are my performance-protecting holiday tips. Note: these are in order of importance!

1. Re-assess your goals.
While I understand you may have a March or April competition planned, the holidays may not be the best time to "kick your butt into gear" or "take your training to the next level". December can be a very stressful month - and remember that stress can wreak havoc on your metabolism, digestion and sleeping patterns. If trying to continue a hard-core training plan in the midst of everything is only adding undue stress, perhaps cut back a bit, take a deep breath, and try to enjoy time spent with family and friends.

Nutrition Tips for Athletes Ending the Fall Season

With the beginning of November, we near the end of the season for high school and college fall sports. This can mean a lot of different things. For one athlete, it might mean entering a true off-season. For another athlete, he may be transitioning into a winter sport. For a third athlete, she may be entering club season. Regardless of what the next step might be, here are some things every fall athlete should think about now.

1. Assess Your Goals
What were your goals this fall season and did you achieve them? If not, what might have been the reason and what changes need to be made now? What are you goals for the winter? If you are in the off-season, will you place a special emphasis on weight loss? If you are transitioning to a winter sport, do you need to make changes to fueling before the season starts? If you are entering club season, how will your eating need to change (timing and amount)?

Beyond the Liver: Alcohol & Athletes

This week, enjoy a guest blog post from Carrie Aprik MS, RD, CSSD. Carrie practices as sports RD in Michigan. She can be reached at Nutrition4Motion@gmail.com. Follow her on Twitter @Nutri4Motion. Thanks Carrie!

Be Extraordinary, 

RDKate
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For many students, the college experience has become synonymous with binge drinking; an activity that may involve up to dozens of alcoholic drinks in a single weekend. Every weekend. Surprisingly, “excessive drinking” is classified as much less: 5 or more drinks in one bout for males, 4 or more for females.  According to the NCAA¹, though the prevalence has decreased, 46% and 33% of male and female athletes, respectively, admit to excessive drinking. Beyond the well-known threat of liver damage to the average college student, student athletes have many more alcohol-related issues to worry about.  

The #1 Myth of a Dancer's Diet

This week, enjoy a guest post from my intern, Danielle. She comes from an extensive background and dance, so was the perfect fit to provide an article about a dancer's diet.

Be Extraordinary,

RDKate
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Along with gymnasts and figure skaters, dancers tend to be body conscious athletes because they are often assessed by if their body is aesthetically pleasing verses solely how well they perform. Although not always treated as an athlete, dancers must put their bodies through great stress during conditioning, rehearsals, and dance classes. It is important that dancers fuel the body with an ample amount of energy just as any other athlete. This sometimes does not occur due to the lack of knowledge of fueling requirements. Instead of consuming the sufficient amount of calories each day to support the high level of performance and refuel the tank for the next rehearsal, some dancers restrict because they believe this to be a good way to protect their figure. In doing so, they do not eat enough food to support the amount of energy they are utilizing, which starves the muscles of the nutrients needed to give a standing ovation performance...and leaves the dancer drained.

The Myth: Eating one, low calorie meal per day is a good way to maintain my body size.

The Truth: Skipping meals will likely force the body to use muscle mass for energy. This prevents the body from burning off any excess body fat that might be present. It also can make the dancer tired, emotionally unstable and unable to focus, which all affect performance. In addition, under-eating deprives the body of many key nutrients, which may cause deficiencies and a lowered immune function, making the dancer more susceptible to injury and illness.

The Solution: Dancers should attempt to eat several small meals (or “mini” meals) throughout the day full of nutrient dense items such as whole wheat grains, fresh fruits and vegetables, and lean proteins (i.e. nuts, yogurts and chicken). This pattern of eating will keep energy on-board so dancers can continue working hard. Consuming healthy foods throughout the day will also better support a lean figure.

When dancers eat better, they feel better physically and emotionally. That is sure to bring the crowd to its feet.

 

Picture source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/melillamirada/

3 ways sleep deprivation ruins your training goals

Sleep is not always a priority for athletes, but it should be. In fact, ~28% of adults admit to getting less than 6 hours of sleep each night compared to the recommended 7-9 hours. Sleep deprivation (defined here as 4-6 hours of sleep nightly) has been linked to a host of health detriments. Here are the top three and why athletes should care.

1. Fatigue
The most obvious effect of lack of sleep is fatigue. Fatigue encourages more sedentary behavior, which in turn slows down your daily calorie burn. This can lead to increased body fat. Fatigue can also lead to that famous, "I'm just too tired to train; I'll take a nap instead" or perhaps the, "If I'm this tired, my body MUST need more sleep. I better not train." Enough days like this and suddenly you have lost multiple weeks of effective training. When your body is simply tired, no amount of hydration or snacks will solve the problem. The solution is to avoid this is in the first place by aiming for 7-9 hours of sleep nightly on average.

Should I see a sports dietitian nutritionist?

Most athletes who want to be the best will do whatever it takes to get there. So why is my office not overflowing with athletes waiting for nutrition advice? I  - like most health professionals - have found that athletes don't come to me until there is a problem to be solved. This is great if an issue is actually recognized as a nutritional problem or if an issue has not progressed to critical. However, sometimes athletes don't realize that what they are feeling or experiencing might not only be caused by poor nutrition but also be solved (sometimes rather quickly) with good nutrition. Instead of accepting aches, pains, tweaks and twinges as "normal", review this list to see if proper nutrition might be your answer.

Are you fueling correctly? You may not be if you.......

What the scale is and is not telling you about your body

A scale gives you information without context. A scale only provides a number at that specific time, but doesn’t tell you the complete story. Your weight can be affected day-to-day by many things that are not taken into account on a scale.  

What the scale doesn't tell you

Total health
·         A scale only reveals your body weight at a specific time, but not overall health.
·         Your healthy weight depends on diet, lean muscle, daily activity, metabolism, age, and genetics which a scale does not report (or in the case of lean muscle - not accurately).
·         The scale could indicate weight loss or gain, but doesn’t tell you if you are underweight or overweight for your height and body composition.

If you are hydrated or dehydrated

·         The scale might mislead you to think you have gained weight if you are well hydrated or lost weight if you are dehydrated.
·         If you experience a 2% weight loss post workout, this is not good weight loss because it indicates dehydration and electrolyte loss, which affect your performance.

5 ways alcohol wreaks havoc on your training

While many athletes enjoy drinking for social reasons, there are certain realities about alcohol and its effect on your body. Aside from overall health effects of alcohol ingestion, many athletes are unaware that alcohol consumption affects performance and recovery too. Here is how...

1. Alcohol dehydrates
Alcohol is a diuretic, which means it increases fluid losses in the body by blocking the normal signaling cascade that tells your body to hold on to fluid. Instead your kidneys continue to produce urine. This puts athletes at risk for dehydration, heat illness and muscle cramping.

When is the best time of day to eat protein?

With many athletes trying to build or maintain muscle, questions about protein are plenty. Many athletes wonder when, how much, and from what sources they should be getting their protein. What is the best way to meet their protein needs?

When and How Much
Studies have shown that the class American eating style of minimal protein for breakfast, small amounts of protein for lunch and gigantic portions of protein at dinner is not the most efficient way to feed muscles. Instead, eating 20-30 grams of protein 3 times per day with 10-15 gm protein incorporated into snacks between meals will help the muscles most efficiently process protein and, therefore, build muscle.

Tiny eating and exercise tricks for big weight loss

About this time of year, many of my athletes come into my office asking about dropping weight. Whether it is for health, performance or vanity reasons, a request to drop 5-15 pounds is common. Perhaps with the snow thawing and weather warming, your overall health and/or summer races are on your mind too. One thing I emphasize with my athletes is that weight loss is not easy. It takes commitment every day and throughout the day. However, there many tricks with respect to eating and exercising that will increase your chance of success.

Methods of Eating
1. Eat slowly. Commit to at least 10 minutes for a snack and 20 minutes for a meal (minimum). Chew your food thoroughly. Put the fork down and drink water between bites.
2. Eat with someone. Enjoy conversation; this will naturally slow your eating pace.
3. Cut food into small pieces. This creates the allusion of a greater volume of food, as well as - again- slows your eating pace.

Athletes: 4 ways to ruin your spring season

We are almost to March, which means many of you are about to start the spring season (either in competition if you are a high school/college athlete or in training if you have spring/summer races planned). You have waited all winter to get to this point. You are determined this will be your best year yet. But little do you know, you may be making huge mistakes with your nutrition that will cost you big come game/race-day. Looking to ruin your season? Try this............

1. Don't eat breakfast
Breakfast is the most important meal for athletes. It re-plenishes muscles after an overnight fast. It also gets muscles ready to work that day - regardless of what time your training session(s) will be. Skipping breakfast forces the body to pull from other stores - often times this means breaking down muscle. Have an early-morning workout and think skipping breakfast is okay? Think again. You might as well skip the workout and keep sleeping. Not a breakfast eater typically? Start small - Greek yogurt, bagel with peanut butter, or a piece of fruit....and work up from there. Anything is better than nothing.

2. Don't sleep
Sleep is probably one of the most important things you will do over the course of 24 hours. Sleep is when your body repairs, replenishes and builds. In addition, the longer you are awake, the more opportunities to eat, which can mean too many calories coming on board. Trying to drop fat or gain muscle? Hoping to improve recovery and relieve soreness? Wanting to prevent illness and injury? Looking for more energy during the day or during training? Aim to get at least 7-9 hours of sleep on average to help that happen.

3. Don't eat any fruits and vegetables
No one likes them anyway, right? And you burn so many calories, you can eat whatever you want, right? WRONG. While getting enough calories is important, it's about quality within that quantity. Fruits and vegetables are essential to athletes. They contain vitamins and minerals that help with recovery of tired, sore muscles as well as metabolism of every type of food you eat. In addition, they help hydrate the body. Dehydration is the number one cause of nutrition-related performance deficit. Write down everything you eat for a day or two. Count the number of times you eat fruits or veggies. If it is less than 5, you have work to do. Five servings is the minimum, so get munching.

4. Don't worry about what you eat until the night before you compete
Ah - the pre-competition pasta dinner. The perfect start to a perfect game. While this may be true, that should not be the start of your performance nutrition. It is not just about what you eat the night before, but also the days, weeks and months before. So start assessing your intake now. Meet with a sports RD who can help you meet your athletic goals. Don't waste precious time by not helping your body train (and eventually compete) the way you want it to.

Be Extraordinary,


RDKate

Nutrition for Gold-Winning Gymnastics!

What an exciting day yesterday at the Olympics: A great performance by the swimmers capped with a gold medal win for the women's gymnastics team - the first since 1996! For a gymnast to progress to this level, it requires extensive training of up to 30 hrs per week, often consisting of two training sessions of 2-3 hrs per day. So how do these elite gymnasts keep their body's going day after day? A huge component is proper fueling and recovery with well-planned sports nutrition. Here are some tips for aspiring female gymnasts (and their parents)....

1. Eat regularly to get adequate energy and nutrients.
As female gymnasts progress in the sport, weight and body fat is often measured in order to make sure they are growing lean and strong. Unfortunately this practice often results in gymnasts consistently consuming diets low in energy, placing them at risk for inadequate intake of nutrients such as carbohydrate, calcium, and iron. Gymnasts should eat nutrient-rich meals and snacks at least every 2-3 hrs to meet their needs. High-saturated fat and high-sugar options should be considered occasional foods, as they lack essential vitamins and minerals needed for recovery.

2. Make snacks count.
With up to 6 hours of training daily, there isn't much time for snacking. That means snacks must be quick, easy, and travel well. In addition, choosing snacks rich in both carbohydrate and protein will assure proper recovery between training sessions, as well help meet the body's daily needs. A few great options include trail mix (dried fruit & nuts), fresh fruit, low-fat yogurt, low-fat Greek yogurt, Kashi bars, Nature Valley bars, lean deli meat sandwiches, and string cheese with pretzels.

3. Mind your calcium.
Weight-bearing activity, daily calcium intake, menstrual status, and overall caloric intake all play a role in determining bone mineral development in female athletes. Dietary calcium intake plays a crucial role in the promotion of optimal bone mineral development. Female gymnasts should include calcium-rich foods at both meals and snacks. This includes all dairy-food sources as well as chickpeas, salmon, almonds, tofu, hummus, green leafy veggies, and fortified soy milk - to name a few.

4. Fluid matters.
While gymnasts typically do not have large fluid losses through sweat, fluid intake throughout training is still important. Even slight dehydration can affect focus, concentration, and technique. Sip consistently throughout the day and during practice to achieve lemonade-colored or lighter urine.

5. The pressures of appearance.
Due to the pressure to remain lean and the nature of the aesthetic judging of the sport, female gymnasts are one of the top groups of athletes considered at risk for developing an eating disorder. As gymnasts grow, it is important to have a multi-discplinary team committed to assuring gymnasts mature normally through adolescence. This should include a doctor and sports dietitian, as well as a therapist if needed - plus the gymnast's coach.  All individuals need to be on the same page with respect to comments made or not made about gymnasts' appearance, weight, and eating habits.

Be Extraordinary!


RDKate

The Truth About Gaining Muscle and Losing Fat

The internet is full of interesting tips, theories and diets for helping athletes and non-athletes alike decrease fat and/or increase muscle. When it comes to sport performance, a desirable body composition for the sport can be the difference between a great athlete and an amazing one. Remember though, that what is considered "desirable" varies based on sport, position, competition level, and gender. There is no one-size fits all when it comes to an ideal body shape. Here is the truth about what it takes to change body composition.

1. Don't cut out sources of carbohydrate.
Many athletes see huge weight decreases when they cut out carbs...and rejoice, believing that they have successfully made themselves a lean machine overnight. Not so fast. Carbs are stored in muscle along with water. If you cut out carbs, you lose the water too. So, while you will lose weight, it is all water weight and you only really succeed is dehydrating your muscles (not good for sport performance). Plus, keep in mind that carb is the body's main source of energy during exercise. If you don't eat adequate carb, your body burns muscle. Dehydration and breakdown of muscle - that sounds like a losing game plan to me. Incorporate good sources of carb - such as whole grain breads, rice and pasta and fruits and vegetables - at all meals and snacks (yes - all!) to make sure you are fueling your body for desirable body composition changes. And we love those whole grains: in one study, people who ate whole grains, such as whole wheat bread, lost more belly fat than those who ate only refined grains, such as white bread and white rice.

2. Don't go overboard on protein.
Most Americans eat 2-3x more protein than they actually need, so increasing protein just because you are trying to build muscle is often unnecessary. In order to build and recover muscles, make sure you are eating lean sources of protein along with twice as much carbohydrate at meals and snacks. While protein may build muscle, carbohydrate opens the door to the muscles to make that possible. If you're an endurance athlete, aim for 1.2-1.5 gm protein/kg body weight per day. So, for someone my size (~60kg), that is 70-90gm protein daily. If you are not an endurance athlete, you'll need closer to 1.7-1.9 gm protein/kg body weight per day. However, this is not really that much when you consider that a typical serving of meat provides 25-35 gm protein (and that is just one meal).

3. Learn to love fat.
That's right - LOVE it. In fact, the more hours you exercise, the more fat your body needs. Fat helps decrease inflammation in the body as well as provides the energy your body needs, while helping you feel more satisfied after meals. Afraid eating fat will make you gain weight? In a 28-month study with nearly 9,000 participants, those who ate nuts at least twice weekly (a source of healthy fat) were 31% less likely to gain weight over the course of the study when compared to those who rarely or never ate nuts. In addition to nuts, choose other heart healthy sources of fats such olive oil, canola oil, nut butters, olives, flax seed, and fatty fish such as salmon and tuna.

4. Sleep is good.
If you take away nothing from this blog, remember this: sleep is the most important thing you will do all day. No matter what type of body composition changes you are making, the majority of those changes happen overnight when you are sleeping. Aim to get 7-9 hours of deep sleep per night. How do you make sure you are sleeping deeply? Here are a few tips: no caffeine after 5pm, no more than 1 alcoholic drink in the evening, eat every 3-4 hours and hydrate properly throughout the day. Not following these steps will affect your body's ability to achieve deep body composition changing sleep.

Be Extraordinary,

RDKate