If you are an athlete, it's important for you to consider
your diet carefully. Whether you've been a serious
lifelong athlete or have just started to exercise
regularly, this applies to you. It's been shown that
people who are starting to get into shape need more
proteins and other nutrients than even seasoned athletes.

So what is good nutrition for a sporty lifestyle? If you
are exercising you are going to use more calories, so
someone who is not overweight should be eating more than
they do when not keeping fit. A rough guide is that you
need eight and a half Calories per kilogram of weight per
hour. So if you weigh in at 220 pounds (100 kilograms)
you would use 850 Calories during an hour of exercise.

When you begin to train regularly, don't cut back your diet,
which could compromise your health. If you do need to lose
weight by eating less, talk to your doctor before making
any significant dietary changes. Keep in mind that it's
never safe to lose more than two or three pounds per week.

Most studies agree that the most important thing when
training, and when cutting back your food intake, is to
maintain a balanced diet. This is the same for athletes
as for the general public.

A balanced diet means that you should get the majority of
your calorie intake from carbohydrates coming from pasta,
rice, bread and so on. Carbs should make up about 57% of
your diet.

Next, shoot for 30% fats. I don't mean saturated fats, the
type found in butter and vegetable shortening. I mean
healthy fats, the unsaturated version, which you can find in
oily fish like salmon and tuna, avocadoes, almonds and
olive oil.

Finally there is the protein group which should make up the
remaining 13% of your diet. Protein is found in fish, meat,
nuts and pulses, and is essential to make the athletic body
function well.

In practice, eating well means eating only small amounts
of fried foods, eating chocolates and biscuits as very
occasional snacks, drinking alcohol in moderation, and
eating lots of fruit, vegetables and wholemeal foods,
along with fish, pulses and meat in smaller quantities.
The advice given to the general public on healthy eating
applies to athletes too!

Any athlete following these guidelines and making sure they
are eating sufficient food, should not find themselves
short of any of the essential vitamins and minerals, and
probably will not need supplements.

There are, however, a huge number of supplements
currently available. Most of them have not been
scientifically proven to work. Still, some athletes--such
as marathon runners and others in endurance sports--
may require iron supplements. This tends to be the case
with women more so than men, but you can get tested if
you suspect you need more iron.

Consulting a good nutritionist may be a smart idea, too.
And if you're hitting the road, consider supplementing, as
travel food is rarely healthy.

Finally, athletes tend to reach for sports energy drinks
and sports bars. These can be great for training athletes
since they give all the essentials without having to make
a huge meal. Just keep in mind that these bars and drinks
have lots of calories, so don't load up on them. And
remember to give it a few hours after eating before you
start to work out so your food has time to digest.


Nutritionist Ann Sertanze gives advice online through
RHS Nutrition, a website specializing in nutritional advice for
people of all ages. Pay a visit to http://www.rhsnutrition.com
for proper nutrition ideas.


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