NUTRITIONAL NEEDS FOR AN ACTIVE BODY!
1.The nutritional needs for an active body are as follows:
A. Enjoy a variety of foods.
B. Emphasize on whole grain cereals, breads, other grain products, fruits and vegetables.
C. Choose low fat dairy products, leaner meats and foods prepared with little or no fat.
D. Achieve and maintain a healthy body weight by doing regular physical activity and healthy eating.
E. Limit salt, alcohol and caffeine.
The obvious difference between active and non-active people is that physically active people need to eat more calories because they use more calories. However, the basic dietary needs of active people are not very different than the needs of any ordinary healthy person.
Basically this breaks down into the following outline of a healthy, balanced diet:
CARBOHYDRATES: 60 - 70 % of daily caloric intake
PROTEIN: 12 - 15 % of daily caloric intake
FAT: less than 30% of daily caloric intake
VITAMINS: supplied in the balanced diet by eating a minimum of 5 servings fruit/veggies per day
MINERALS: supplied in the balanced diet
FLUIDS: proper hydration before and during physical activity and rehydration afterwards.
2. CARBOHYDRATES - are found in ALL the four FOOD GROUPS!
Carbohydrates are found in foods in 2 forms:
Fruits and vegetables:
STARCHES (complex carbohydrates) are chains of sugar molecules which once broken down by digestion provide the simple sugars needed for fueling exercise.
MILK PRODUCTS Meats & Alternatives2 - 3SERVINGS PER DAY
Some examples of one serving:1/2 cup lentils, kidney beans, chick peas2 tbsp. peanut butter
SIMPLE SUGARS are single and double molecules that are quickly digested into glucose. Glucose can then circulate around the body in the bloodstream, fueling the brain and muscle cells or it can be stored in the liver and muscles as glycogen until it is needed.
Carbohydrates, once digested and assimilated by the body are the major source of food energy for exercise. We can actually fuel our muscles with any type of carbohydrate, natural such as fruit juices or refined such as candy and soft drinks. Our body cannot discern between the two. BUT from a purely nutritional, health standpoint, the best choices are the carbohydrates that are refined the least, such as fruits, veggies and whole grains, cereals and legumes rather than white breads, soft drinks, candies, cakes and cookies. All the natural choices have the added bonus of containing more vitamins and minerals, necessary for optimal athletic performance.
The body can't store large amounts of carbohydrates. For most of us, a few hours of vigorous activity will deplete stored carbohydrates. Thus we need to ensure that the major part of our diet consists of complex carbohydrates (starches) to ensure good fuel stores to support our activity level.
GUIDELINES: Choose more complex carbohydrates rather than sugar, especially sugary, sweet foods. Whether you are active or not, at least 60% or more of your calories should come from carbohydrates. However, no more than 10 - 15% of your total calories should come from simple carbohydrates/sugars.
The more starches we consume (up to a point) the better it will be for us in our ability to provide energy to our working muscles. By consuming at least 60% of our diet from carbohydrates we are effectively following a carbohydrate loading type of regime and will ensure adequate supplies of stored carbohydrate to our working muscles.
COMPLEX CARBOHYDRATES = grains, cereals, legumes (dried beans & peas), fruits & vegetables.
3. FATS
Fats have been given a bad name in the past few years, however they are still an essential part of any healthy eating plan. Fats are a source of essential fatty acids, fat soluble vitamins (A,D,E,K) and they are also the most concentrated form of energy that we have.
Fats are present in many foods, either in a visible form such as fat on meat or in an invisible form such as the fat in 2% milk. Approximately a third of the fat in the Canadian diet comes form the dairy products group, one quarter from the protein group and one quarter from the fats and oils.
It is important to remember that a high fat diet really compromises carbohydrate intake and subsequently affects the muscle glycogen stores. These stores, in turn, will affect the ability to sustain not only high intensity exercise but will limit endurance as well.
Guidelines for fat intake run in the range of no more than 30% of the total calories consumed in your diet should be derived from fats. In fact, the closer to the underside of 30% you can stay (e.g. 20 - 30%), the healthier your eating plan may be for you. Active individuals who are consuming 60 - 70% of their caloric intake from complex carbohydrates will have no difficulty attaining and maintaining this level of fat intake.
4. PROTEIN
Major functions of protein:
A. To build, maintain & repair tissues (protein is part of all body tissues);
B. To be a component of enzymes, hormones and immune system function; and
C. To help maintain fluid balance in the body.
Protein is actually a poor energy source and a balanced diet provides more sufficient protein for any exercising individual. Those individuals concerned with increasing their muscle bulk and/or power need to consume more energy not more protein while at the same time encouraging the muscle to grow by increasing the strength demands upon it. A balanced diet with proper strength training guidelines will encourage an increase in muscular strength and size.
The recommended nutrient intake (RNI) for the general public is 0.8 g per kg of body weight. Heavily exercising individuals might need just a little more, up to 1.2-1.8 g per kg of body weight. However if the exercising individual follows the caloric intake guidelines of 60% CHO, less than 30% fat and 10-15% protein AND they are consuming sufficient calories to support weight maintenance and activity level, then they will get more than sufficient grams of protein.
5. FLUID INTAKE
One of the most important and often overlooked nutrient requirements is water....we can live for weeks on our bodily reserves of energy but we can only live a few days without water.
When we exercise we lose water (and electrolytes) in our sweat and in the air we breathe out.This sweat comes from our blood and if we do not replace it our blood volume is decreased, meaning less blood and ultimately glucose and oxygen, are available to the working muscles.
Unfortunately, the body does not tell us to drink until we are dehydrated. The best way to maintain good hydration is to not wait until you are thirsty but rather to drink fluids before, during and after exercise to replace fluids lost as sweat.
How much should you drink?
The easiest guideline is to monitor the quantity and color of the urine. Well-hydrated individuals will have a lot of pale urine, whereas those individuals who are not well-hydrated will have small volumes of dark yellow urine. Another method to monitor fluid loss is to monitor body weight before and after exercise and replace the difference in weight with fluids.
Guidelines for meeting fluid needs:
A. Adequate hydration throughout the day with water, juices, milk;
B. Drink fluids before exercising: 250 - 500 ml of fluids in the few hours pre-exercise should be sufficient in most cases;
Try to drink at least 250 ml 15 - 20 minutes before beginning to exercise; and
Drink 125 ml of liquid every 10-15 minutes throughout the exercise bout, if possible.
I hope the above information was helpful to you. It just goes to show that a carb-free diet is not a good choice, especially for an active individual. If you make healthy food choices and eat in moderation, you can eat quite a lot and still lose weight. Enjoy and Happy Weight Loss!
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