Carbs, Carbs, Carbs

BY KATHLEEN WOOLF, PhD, RD//Special Correspondent

Swimmers, like most athletes, use carbohydrates as fuel during exercise. Unfortunately, the body only stores a limited amount of carbohydrate, and it can easily be depleted after a vigorous workout. To maximize your body’s carbohydrate stores, consume carbs before, during and after exercise.

Carbs Before Exercise
Before every practice or competition, include carbs as part of a pre-event meal to “top off” your muscle stores. Select foods that can be quickly digested and absorbed. Depending on the time of your pre-event meal, vary your meal patterns. When a pre-event meal occurs 4 hours before your event, consume foods such as a turkey sandwich, apple, oatmeal cookie and low-fat milk. If your pre-event meal occurs less than one hour before an event, limit your intake to a small amount of juice or fruit or a sports beverage. Research consistently supports that eating a pre-event meal improves performance. However, a single pre-event meal will not compensate for an overall poor training diet.

Carbs During Exercise
When exercise lasts more than an hour, carbs are recommended during exercise to provide additional fuel for your body. Carbohydrate intake during exercise allows athletes to exercise longer and harder. Consume 30 to 60 grams of carbs per hour during long duration exercise. To provide your body with 30 grams of carbs, choose 2 cups of a sports beverage or 1 medium banana or 3 large graham crackers.

Carbs After Exercise

Immediately after every practice or competition, consume carbohydrate-rich foods and beverages as part of your recovery. Choose fruit, 100% fruit juices, low-fat milk, cereal, sports beverages and bagels to replenish your carbohydrate stores so that you are ready for your next event. What you eat after a hard practice affects your ability to perform during your next workout.

Carbs Always

Because carbohydrates are the predominant fuel for most events, swimmers need to focus on a carbohydrate-rich diet. For optimal performance, make it a habit to consume high-carbohydrate meals and snacks, before, during and after exercise.

Kathleen Woolf, PhD, RD is a registered dietitian and a member of the American Dietetic Association, the Sports, Cardiovascular and Wellness Nutritionist Dietetic Practice Group, and the American College of Sports Medicine. She is an assistant professor in the Department of Nutrition at Arizona State University.

Nutrition Diva :: Foods That Can Prevent a Sunburn

Nutrition Diva :: Foods That Can Prevent a Sunburn

Shared via AddThis

The Protein Pop: 6 Tips for Better Post-Workout Recovery

By Melanie McMullen // Swimnetwork.com Correspondent

Swimmers looking for the perfect post-workout recovery fuel may need to look no further than the refrigerator and the kitchen pantry. According to new research conducted by exercise physiologist Lynne Kammer at the University of Texas at Austin, ordinary foods - even whole grain cereal with milk - can yield extraordinary results.

The UT researchers from the Department of Kinesiology and Health Education investigated the post-exercise physiological effect of foods on athletes and compared the benefits of common foods to those afforded by more expensive sports drinks. Kammer’s team studied the athletes by giving them different recovery foods after a typical exercise session that included a warm-up and two-hour workout.

Their results yielded a few interesting surprises:

1. Grab the cereal and milk. Readily available and inexpensive breakfast food is as effective as popular carbohydrate-based sports drinks for recovery after moderate exercise. "We wanted to understand the relative effects on glycogen repletion and muscle protein synthesis," explains Kammer. "We found that glycogen repletion, or the replenishment of immediate muscle fuel, was just as good after whole grain cereal consumption and some aspects of protein synthesis were actually better."

2. Combine carbohydrates with protein. Her studies revealed that athletes benefit from consuming protein and carbohydrates rather than just carbohydrates or only protein after a workout.

3. Body mass matters. Kammer’s team identified a slight relationship in body size to the amount consumed. She noted that larger individuals benefited from a proportionately larger serving of recovery food and drinks.

4. Eat and drink sooner rather than later. The key to optimal recovery is consuming carbohydrate and protein within 30-60 minutes after you complete exercise. "Ideally, eat as soon as you get home from practice," Kammer suggests.

5. Age is a critical factor. A swimmer’s age matters mostly because of differences in total caloric intake needed rather than type of food. For example, a young age group swimmer who grows 4 inches in a year while attending a boatload of swim practices needs a lot more calories post-workout than a 55-year-old Masters swimmer. Young growing swimmers also need more protein right after practice for optimal recovery.

6. Don’t rely on the bottle. While Gatorade or Powerade are handy and portable post-workout options, neither contains protein. Swimmers need to eat something with protein after every workout, as the protein speeds up absorption of the glucose in a sports drink. Drinks are great for convenience, but whole foods yield better results.

"Don’t think you can get the best nutrition out of a bottle. A lot of swimmers have terrible diets, especially females, and wonder why they can’t drop time at meets. Many times it’s due to insufficient calories, and insufficient protein is a close second," Kammer adds.

Melanie McMullen, BaySide Media (www.baysidemedia.com), is a freelance contributor for Swimnetwork and a member of the Downtown Oakland YMCA Master’s swim team.