What is proper sports nutrition? What foods should an athlete eat?
The most important points that play a decisive role in the health of an athlete is the importance he gives to his nutrition. Proper nutrition also has important effects on an athlete’s athletic performance.
Drink water little by little and often, not a lot and few times
Drink cool fluids to reduce your core body heat
After finishing exercise, weigh yourself and drink water to the extent of weight loss
Pay attention to the color of your urine. Your urine should be abundant and light in color. Thick urine is a sign of dehydration
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carbohydrate
Carbohydrate is the most important source of energy and is found in sweets, fruits, bread, cereals, rice and other foods. Carbohydrates should provide about 60-70% of your daily energy needs.
The carbohydrates you consume are converted into glucose in your body. This glucose is either burned directly and produces energy or is converted into glycogen in the muscles. This glycogen is an available reserve of energy for the muscle to use when it needs energy urgently.
If your body does not have enough carbohydrates during exercise, it starts burning fat and protein for energy, and this reduces your efficiency.
At least a few days before starting an intense or competitive exercise, consume enough carbohydrates to store enough glycogen in your body. If your exercise lasts more than an hour, you should also consume carbohydrates during exercise.
Protein
Protein is found in meat, fish, eggs, dairy, legumes and other foods. About 12-15% of our daily energy needs should be provided through protein. Protein allows your body to build new tissues.
Your body can’t store protein, so if it doesn’t need it, it burns it or turns it into fat. The amount of protein an athlete’s body needs varies according to the type of exercise, the intensity of the exercise, and the duration of the exercise
Those who exercise need more protein
Athletes who do endurance sports or those who do strength sports or bodybuilding need more protein.
fat
The source of saturated fats is fats of animal origin such as meat, eggs, milk and dairy products, and butter, and the source of unsaturated fats is from foods of plant origin. Fat should provide about 20-30 percent of our body’s daily energy needs.
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Our body needs small amounts of fat to carry out its vital activities, but consuming a lot of fat increases the risk of heart disease and some types of cancer and other problems.
When you rest or do little activity, your body gets most of the energy it needs from burning fat, and when you increase the amount of physical activity and sports, the body uses more carbohydrates for energy.
Pay attention to the following
On the day you want to do an intense sports activity, do not consume a lot of fat or protein because it puts a lot of pressure on your kidneys and liver, and it is harder to digest these substances than carbohydrates.
Consume more carbohydrates on the day of exercise
Consume lunch 3-4 hours and liquids 2-3 hours before starting sports activity
Do not eat fried food
Do not consume sugary food or drink in the hour before sports activity
Consume 3 glasses of water 1-2 hours before starting exercise and one glass 15-30 minutes before that and then half a glass to one glass of water every 10-20 minutes during exercise.
How to fuel carbs and prepare yourself for heavy competitive exercise
How exercise and improper nutrition affect women’s health
Unfortunately, the culture of exercising as an essential part of a healthy life has not yet gained enough attention, and due to improper eating habits that are spreading more and more in urban societies, overweight has become one of the health problems of the people.
Although exercise and proper diet are important elements of health, but overdoing it can cause serious problems, especially for women. A female athlete who wants to be thin may increase her exercise intensity and follow a stricter diet to achieve her goal.
A gymnast or a cross-country skier may drop a lot of weight to increase athletic performance, or an endurance runner may put a lot of exercise stress on themselves.
Unfortunately, advertisements like this send a message to women that fashion is in thinness and the thinner they are, the better their body is. These measures may have adverse effects on his physical health and reduce his sports performance.
When a young woman imposes intense sports activity and a strict diet on herself, three major problems may arise for her.