Question: What should I eat the morning of my track meet?
- Amanda Anderson, Killarney, Manitoba, Canada
Answer:
Thanks for visiting our website and asking your question. Nutrition prior
to exercise or sports events like your track meet really varies from person
to person but here
are some general rules to try. We would also recommend picking up the
following book by world renown, registered dietitian, Nancy Clark which
is great for young
athletes like yourself or those trying to lose weight or get in shape.
Nancy is a marathon runner herself and has coached collegiate, Olympic
and pro athletes on nutrition.<p>
Nutrition tips prior to exercise or a sports event<p>
1) Experiment with timing on non-meet days. usually a light carbohydrate
snack no sooner than an hour - 1 1/2 hours before your event. This varies
greatly from person to
person so experiment on training days to see how much time is better for
digestion and energy. It is tough for some athletes to eat prior to competition.<p>
2)Experiment with various carbohydrates to see what works well for you.
A banana, bagel, cup of yogurt or fig newtons are examples of foods that
digest easily and give you some quick energy. Some of the various bars
you can pick up in your grocery
store like nutrigrain or power bars may also work well.<p>
3)Don't forgot that water is just as important as what you eat so hydrate
well before your event or the night before if you have an early morning
meet. Always wash down your
pre-exercise food with at least 8 ounces of cold water or juice.<p>
For more information refer to chapter 10 of Nancy Clark's book below,
Nutrition before and during exercise. She goes over more details on this
that will help. Good luck with your running and train hard!<p>
Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guidebook
My book review link below
http://www.merlinofitness.com/book.reviews.nutrition.htm
Order from Amazon.com at the link below
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0873227301/ref=ase_merlinopersonalf/102-4448404-2162546
- Michael Merlino, Certified Personal Fitness Trainer
Question: Amy, I am currently trying to eat six small meals per day. Apart from
breakfast and dinner, I always seem to forget or skip my meals during
the day. I also need some simple, easy meals (snacks) that do not require
refrigeration or preparation, apart from the obvious fruits. Thanks, Amy!
- Ross Burns, Sydney, Australia
Answer:
Good for you trying to get in six small meals. Not only does this help to increase your metabolism and
therefore maintain a healthy weight, but it also helps to keep your blood sugar stable which improves
energy levels! It is often easy to forget meals when you're not used to several meals, but my best suggestion
is to keep trying! It will become habit only after you continue to work at getting in several meals/day. You
may want to post reminders, set a watch alarm, or schedule it in your palm pilot/day planner! Keep working
at it. Other snack ideas may include a peanut butter and jelly on whole wheat bread, an energy bar that contains
some protein, a lower fat trail mix (1/2 cup is a serving), peanut butter and whole grain crackers, or even dry
cereal that is high in fiber. And...as you mentioned...fruit and vegetables are always a good idea at least for
one of your snacks and in addition to your meals. Hope this helps...keep up the good work and really try to
remember that new habits take a while to form, but they are the key to changing your health.
- Amy Carlson, MS, RD, LD
Question: Is Sugarbusters worth reading? And will it help me with my current
guidelines for weight loss and control of Diabetes?
Answer:
As I mentioned in the August nutrition article, Carbohydrates are getting
a bad wrap. "Sugarbusters", is another example of a, "stay away from carbohydrates"
mentality. "Sugarbusters" does have some good information including staying
away from high sugar foods that only add extra calories with little nutrient
content. However, eating foods in moderation, small portions several times/day
and incorporating exercise into your weight loss plan is a much better
approach. In terms of your Diabetes, the American Diabetes Association
recommendations including using "Carbohydrate Counting" to plan your meals
and snacks will help you balance your protein and carbohydrate intake
to help control your blood glucose as well as promote weight loss. You
may want to consult a registered dietitian who can help you understand
the relationship between food and your blood glucose levels as well as
get you on the right road to permanent weight loss.
- Amy Carlson, MS, RD, LD
Question: I am currently on a program to control my Diabetes which also
involves weight loss. What are the best substitutions for fatty oils,
butter and cheese so I can decrease my fat intake?
Answer:
This is a good question. Excess fat in your diet, particularly
saturated fat, is a substantial contributor to extra calories in our diets.
Not only that, excess fat intake is related to high cholesterol, heart
disease and some cancers. Most of us consume too much fat on a regular
basis. There are some new alternatives to spreading good old fashion butter
on your bread. Brummel & Brown is a new low fat butter made with yogurt
that is low in fat and contains no saturated fats. There are also butter
sprays that contain no fat but offer that butter flavor for things like
popcorn or baked potatoes. In terms of oils to use? Canola oil and Olive
oil are high in monounsaturated fats and are the best to use when needed
in cooking. There are now cheeses that are lower in fat that are made
with 2% milk or skim milk. Look for cheeses that have less than 5 grams
fat/oz. There are many substitutions for using oil or butter in cooking
and I will likely dedicate a whole article on how to decrease fat in your
diet! Stay tuned for more articles.
- Amy Carlson, MS, RD, LD
Question: I would like to know your feelings on carbohydrates, especially
white flour. I have read recently that white flour is no good and how
you should eat whole grain cereals and pastas. It make sense to me with
my diabetes, because it turns to sugar in my system. Trying to stay away
from foods with white flour. Also any info on diabetic sugar substitutes
would be helpful.
- Liz, Hamburg, NY
Answer:
I am a registered Dietitian and work a lot with patients with
Diabetes. There are many new "diets" and information out there right now
that state that carbohydrates are bad, including white flour. The short
truth on this is that carbohydrates are not bad and are necessary in our
diets. Whole wheat anything is better than it's white counterpart. For
example, whole bread, brown rice or whole wheat pasta are better alternatives
to their white counterparts. The whole wheat version has more fiber and
has not been stripped of its essential nutrients. In terms of Diabetes,
carbohydrates are what effect your Blood Sugar the most and should not
be avoided but eating small amounts at each meal and snack will help control
blood sugar the best. If you have a Registered Dietitian that you can
see it would be helpful to learn Carbohydrate Counting to help you plan
meals and snacks. Typically a Dietitian's visit is covered by insurance
if you have Diabetes. I recommend Nutrasweet for people with Diabetes.
Used in moderation it has not been proven to have any side effects and
can help you control Blood Sugar by not overconsuming simple sugar. I
hope you have found this helpful and look forward to you visiting the
website.
- Amy Carlson, MS, RD, LD
Question: Can I maintain a primarily vegetarian diet and still weight
train? I have been using weights in my exercise program for about a month
now. I have also been eating a lot of protein in the form of chicken and
turkey during this time. I can feel my muscles getting stronger but the
added meat in my diet has thrown my digestive system off track. Any advice?
- Virginia, Yuba City, CA
Answer:
Great question! The simple answer is yes, you can live a long
healthy life and include weight exercise without eating meat :) Your digestive
problems are likely due to the lack of appropriate enzymes to digest the
meat. If you haven't eaten meat for some time these enzymes decrease and
when you reintroduce meat for a limited time you may experience indigestion
after eating it. People often avoid meat all together after experiencing
this uncomfortable side effect. Typically, if you reintroduce meat slowly
your body will catch up and you will be able to eat meat without the uncomfortable
side effects.
If you would rather go "vegetarian" you can definitely be healthy and
improve muscle strength. While building muscle tissue you want to ensure
adequate calories and protein. If it is only meat you are avoiding other
high protein sources include; milk, cheese, yogurt, eggs, legumes, soy
and nuts. These foods along with a balanced diet of fruits, vegetables
and whole grains should ensure adequate calories & protein.
There are two other concerns/issues when eating vegetarian, which include
iron and B12. The non-heme iron in vegetables is not as readily absorbed
as iron in meats and consuming adequate Vitamin C should promote better
absorption of iron. You may want to consider consuming a B12 supplement
or consuming foods fortified with B12 as the B12 found in plants is not
a reliable source. You may also want to consider adding some quality protein
powders to a smoothie before or after a workout or trying some of the
high quality protein bars which offer a healthy dose of protein! If you
are consuming adequate calories while consuming some of these protein
friendly foods you should meet your needs and continue to build muscle
strength and continue to move towards your fitness goals. You can do it!!
I think you’ll like the customized multi-vitamin supplement Michael had
discussed. This should also help ensure you meet your nutrition needs.
Good luck!
