Adequate protein intake is essential for muscle growth and recovery. Healthy fats , such as those found in avocado, nuts, and olive oil, are also crucial for endurance athletes.

These fats provide long-lasting energy and help reduce inflammation in the body. Finally, it's crucial to stay hydrated. Aim to consume at least half of your body weight in ounces of water each day and replace lost electrolytes during exercise with sports drinks or electrolyte tablets.

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FASCAT FORUM Instagram Youtube Spotify Facebook Strava LinkedIn Twitter App-Page. Training Tip Tuesday Receive Tips every Tuesday. Like Watts in your inbox. Enter Email address. The Endurance Athlete Diet Frank Overton March 15, Copyright © FasCat Coaching - all rights reserved.

Previous Post 9 Training Techniques to Help You Ride Faster. Next Post Inside the coach-athlete relationship: A live coaching call. Reviews Customer Images Related Plans. Climbing Intervals This plan will put you on the start line prepared to crush some massive climbs! Gravel Training Plan - Prepares you for long hard gravel race- Designed to have you ready to peak for your "A Race" This six-week Road Racing Intervals Increase your functional and race-specific power output Includes Sweet Spot , VO2 , Anaerobic, Threshold.

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Cyclocross Intervals Suitable for the cyclocross athlete that wants to get ready to race Includes a taper and leg openers to prepare you for your first race of the season. Whereas they do eat everything, the pros get the vast majority of their daily calories from natural, unprocessed foods of the following types: vegetables; fruit; nuts, seeds, and healthy oils; whole grains; whole, unsweetened dairy; and unprocessed meat and seafood.

You should do the same. Elite endurance athletes do not consciously restrict the amount of food they eat by enforcing strict calorie counts or portion-size limits or by eating less than is needed to satisfy their hunger, as many recreational athletes and dieters do.

Nor do they mindlessly overeat as a majority of people in affluent societies do today. Instead, they pay mindful attention to internal signals of hunger and satiety and allow these signals to determine when and how much they eat.

This is the only reliable way to eat sufficiently but not excessively—that is, to eat enough to meet the energy demands of heavy training but not so much as to gain or hold onto excess body fat. You just have to listen to it!

All animals in the wild rely on their built-in appetite regulatory mechanisms to eat the right amount of food and human infants do it too—until they are socialized to habitually ignore their internal signals of hunger and satiety and overeat. But these signals are far more reliable as indicators of true calorie needs than calorie calculators.

Instead of micromanaging their nutrition, fussing over the details, they keep their attention focused on broader patterns such as eating on a regular schedule and balancing food types. The success of these athletes is proof positive that nutritional micromanagement is not necessary. In fact, fussing over the details of your diet can even be counterproductive, a symptom of a neurotic relationship with food that infuses unhealthy stress into eating and often leads to erratic eating behaviors.

Many popular diets are one-size-fits-all. They require every follower of the diet to eat the same way despite their culture, preferences, and metabolic individuality. By contrast, elite endurance athletes customize their diet to fit their lifestyle, tastes, and needs.

In seeking to improve your diet, you should not feel obligated to start from scratch. Instead, think in terms of evolving your existing diet. A tremendous variety of purportedly performance-enhancing nutritional supplements are marketed to endurance athletes—everything from resveratrol an antioxidant found in red wine to coenzyme Q10 a natural cellular compound involved in aerobic metabolism.

The supplements that elite endurance athletes do take, by and large, are not for performance enhancement but for basic health support. A select few nutritional supplements are conditionally necessary to address deficiencies that are common in endurance athletes and difficult to correct through diet alone.

We recommend that you have your physician check your iron and vitamin D levels regularly to determine whether supplementation is necessary for you, and unless you consume omegarich fish at least twice a week, we encourage daily omega-3 supplementation as well.

Just about any other supplement you might take in addition to these is a waste of money, assuming your diet is as it should be. Few topics in sports science have been as heavily researched as the effects of various fueling practices on endurance performance.

As with your daily eating habits, we strongly encourage you to fuel like the elites before and during races and key workouts. What follows is a summary of these methods. Be sure to carbo-load before longer events 2 hours plus. Either get 70 percent of your total calories from carbs for the final three days before race day or consume 10 grams of carbs for every kilogram you weigh the day before race day.

Eat a big breakfast two to three hours before the event. This meal should consist of familiar foods that are easy to consume and digest on a nervous stomach, high in carbohydrate, and low in just about everything else.

Avoid protein and fiber in particular on race morning. These nutrients significantly increase the risk for GI issues during events. Not only do you not want to be actively digesting food when your event starts, but eating too close to intense exercise so can also trigger something called exercise-induced hypoglycemia—a blood-sugar crash at the worst possible time.

It is okay, and even beneficial, however, to consume a small dose of carbs say, a gel packet right before you start. These calories essentially count as your first dose of within-race fueling. Doing so will not improve your performance and it may even harm it by causing GI distress.

The only calorie source that will give you any performance benefit during a race is carbohydrate—specifically simple sugars and a select few complex carbs such as maltodextrin that the body metabolizes like simple sugars. Typically there is no need to consume any carbs in a race lasting less than one hour.

In events lasting between 1 and 2. And in events lasting longer than 2. A typical sports drink contains about 30 grams per 16 ounces. To exceed a carbohydrate intake rate of 60 grams per hour with this source alone, you would need to drink more than 30 ounces per hour, which may exceed the amount that your thirst dictates.

Note that your tolerances for both fluid and carbohydrate intake will be lower during running than they are on the bike. Also, individual tolerances in both disciplines vary widely. For these reasons it is important that you experiment with different fueling rates in training, and especially during those workouts that most closely approximate racing.

There is a habituation effect to consider, as well. What is uncomfortable for you in the beginning may become more comfortable with practice.

Think like a pro. And they almost always do find a way, sooner or later. Knowing what workouts you have to do and when to do them removed the hardest part of training for an event, in my opinion. All I had to do was show up when I said I was going to. I absolutely loved it. Well Balanced and effective.

I can't wait till my preparation for next year starts. Staying injury-free paves the way to get personal bests because you can finish the plan with no surprises and no steps back. Thank you David for your hands-on coaching. I love the data-driven, balanced approach. I'll never overtrain again.

I now enjoy running more, run more with friends, and am creeping up to faster and faster speeds without injuries. No injuries were recorded during the whole preparation period. My fitness level is higher than it has been in two years, and has come at no cost to my body in regards of injury.

I followed the plan and ran a half marathon as a "feeler. I'm now qualified for the Boston Marathon! Thanks for helping me conquer this life goal!

Sometimes I had doubts that the training was too light or intense, but I kept repeating to myself "Trust the plan" and I ended up having an amazing race--much faster than expected! The results were dramatic.

After one training cycle, I dropped over 31 minutes in my marathon time!

and nutritionist at Food Label. Carbohydrates and fluid keep an endurance athlete going. Whole grain carbohydrates will fuel you, too. Just make sure that you are getting enough variety. Endurance athletes who are hoping to slim down or are in training for an important race and trying to get a faster time may look to lower-calorie diets.

Instead, you would be better off figuring out the ideal number of calories needed per day to fuel your lifestyle, she says. The more muscle and bulk you have, the more calories you can eat. Men also generally need more calories than women. She says to spread out your calorie intake evenly, try to have three meals and three snacks per day.

Good examples for snacks are apples and peanut butter or chocolate milk and a banana. Balanced meals would be chicken and rice with broccoli or a tofu veggie stir fry with quinoa. Read on to find out more about eating for endurance. Food choices can have a significant impact on your sports performance.

Endurance athletes put their bodies through a lot and consider how to nurture their bodies with food. Conversely, eating foods that your body responds well to can give you energy, help you maintain a healthy weight, and improve overall fitness.

But when it comes to endurance exercise, nutrition is about so much more than just those two things. In fact, what you eat can have a big impact on your energy levels, recovery time, and overall training efficiency.

This is where using a CGM for fitness and training can come in handy, as you can gain insight into how well you are fueling your body. Speak with a trainer or registered dietitian to see what foods and dietary tweaks suit your body.

Carbohydrates and protein often take center stage in conversations about eating for endurance athletes, but what about fat? This essential macronutrient is often overlooked, but it's just as important as carbs and protein.

There are three types of fats : saturated, unsaturated, and trans fats. Why is a good amount of fat intake so essential for athletes?

It helps with energy and muscle function and is burned as metabolic fuel for your muscles during endurance exercises or training sessions. Not getting enough fat can cause problems like fatigue and poor performance. So if you're an athlete currently training for your next event, make sure to include some healthy fats in your diet!

Carbohydrates are macronutrients that your body uses for energy. They come from a wide variety of foods, including fruits, vegetables, grains, pasta, bread, and dairy products.

Carbohydrates are an essential part of a healthy diet, providing fiber and essential nutrients. There are two main types — complex and simple carbohydrates. Complex carbs take longer to digest and provide sustained energy, while simple carbs provide quick energy but can also cause blood sugar spikes.

To get the most benefit, you should aim to include both complex and simple carbs in your diet. Why is it so important for endurance athletes? They need carbohydrates to fuel their bodies for competition.

While some may try to cut carbs out of their diet to lose weight, this can be detrimental to their performance. Carbohydrates are essential for providing the body with energy. Carb loading is an integral part of preparing for endurance events and training.

But, you have to consider the amount of carb loading you are doing, the amount of exercise you are doing each day, or the duration and intensity of your race or event. You should also consider adjusting your fat intake so as not to exceed caloric intake. As your time training or competing increases, so should your carb load.

The Mayo Clinic suggests averaging five to 12 grams of carbohydrates per kilogram of body weight daily while training and competing in endurance sports. Protein is an essential macronutrient that plays a significant role in optimizing health and fitness.

Athletes need protein for a variety of reasons. For one, they may engage in more resistance training and utilize more muscle than sedentary people, and so, may need more protein.

Protein helps repair and build muscle tissue , reduces muscle breakdown during extended training sessions, and aids in muscle recovery after strenuous exercise. Without enough protein, athletes can experience fatigue, joint pain, loss of lean body mass, and an increased risk of injury.

But how much protein do endurance athletes need? It depends on several factors, including age, weight, activity level, and training goals.

Common carbohydrate sources used in sports foods include maltodextrin, glucose or dextrose, sucrose, and fructose. Common products used on race day include sports drinks, energy gels, energy bars, and energy chews.

Post-Race: Aim for grams of carbohydrate, preferably in liquid form to promote rehydration as well as carbohydrate repletion, as soon as possible upon finishing a hard workout or race effort. During digestion, protein is broken down into at least individual chemical building blocks known as amino acids that form a little pool within our liver and are used to build muscle, skin, hair, nails, eyes, hormones, enzymes, antibodies, and nerve chemicals.

Some research has found that inclusion of small amounts of protein during prolonged activity can help enhance performance by sparing muscle glycogen as well as aiding fluid uptake.

Protein also can help mute hunger that arises during longer efforts. Athletes on restrictive energy intakes should aim for the high end of this recommendation. Race Morning: Include grams of protein in the hour leading up to race start to help stabilize blood sugars.

Common pre-race protein sources include peanut butter, non-fat milk or yogurt, eggs, and energy bars. During Race: If out on a training or race course longer than 4 hours, aim for up to 5 grams of protein hourly.

Common sources include sports drinks, energy bars, as well as whole food alternatives like turkey jerky and peanut butter sandwiches. Post-Race: A range of grams of protein taken immediately post-race is sufficient to support muscle repair and immune function post-event.

Common sources include milk, meal replacement shakes, and specialized recovery sports drinks. Replacement of electrolytes becomes instrumental in endurance bouts lasting longer than 1 hour, especially when training and racing in hot and humid conditions. The principle electrolytes include sodium generally bound to chloride , potassium, magnesium, and calcium.

These electrolytes are involved in metabolic activities and are essential to the normal function of all cells, including muscle function. Pre-Race: Athletes vulnerable to muscle cramping and fatigue as well as those competing in heat may benefit from increasing salt intake in the few days leading up to race day.