Nutrition for a Triathlon, Part 2
Author: Certified HyperStrike Trainers
Daily Training Nutritional Needs
For athletes, the American and Canadian Dietetics Associations (2000) recommend 55 to 58 percent of calories be carbohydrate, 12 to 15 percent protein and 25 to 30 percent fat. However, when making this recommendation, they include many other endurance sports that do not include weight training as part of their training or, they do not include ultra-endurance events that last greater than four hours. Thus, these recommendations may be appropriate for those training for Sprint or Olympic Distance Triathlons, but for the Half Ironman or greater, the protein requirements and fat requirements have been slightly altered for the recommended training diet as described below.
The Training Diet
The recommendations of the training diet suggest that a meal should be comprised of 60 to 65 percent carbohydrate, 15 to 20 percent protein and 20 to 25 percent fat. One research study has recorded that in elite level triathletes in the Hawaii "Ironman Triathlon World Championship", the average training diet was 59 percent carbohydrate, 21 percent fat, and 20 percent protein. The goal of the training diet is to provide adequate energy for recovery and tissue repair quickly and efficiently, without adding body fat.
For simplicity, if you ate 2,000 calories a day, 55 percent of that is 1,100 calories from CHO, which is equal to 275 grams of carbohydrates (there are four calories of CHO per gram; thus, 1100/4 = 275 g of CHO per day. For protein, there are four calories of protein per gram also). For some it is easier to keep track of grams than calories.
Protein
Some research suggests that protein should be 1.4-1.7 g/kg bodyweight (bodyweight in kg = bodyweight in pounds / 2.2 kg) per day (9) or as high as 2g/kg bodyweight per day in athletes (10). The Recommended Daily Allowance of 0.8g/kg bodyweight per day protein is based on what is healthy for the average sedentary individual, which is not necessarily enough for athletes.
The additional protein is crucial not only for muscle repair, but also as an additional energy source. During times of low CHO stores and exhaustion, the body will use its own muscle as an energy source. Because it is so difficult to build and maintain muscle, athletes should be careful not to lose it.
Fat
Keep fat intake to 20 percent of your total calories, consisting primarily of essential and monounsaturated fats. Essential fatty acids are the type of fat that the body cannot create found in fish, flax seeds and walnuts. Monounsaturated fats, which are fats with one double bond, can come from olive or canola oils, seeds and/or avocados.
For someone consuming 2,000 calories a day, the fat intake should be about 400 calories. This is equal to about 44 to 67 grams (each fat gram contains nine calories).
Keeping your fat intake to less than 15 percent may have a harmful effect by inhibiting absorption of those vitamins that dissolve in fat, and it has no effect on improving your body fat percentage.
Daily recovery between heavy training sessions requires a high total CHO intake, but also clever timing of meals and snacks to enhance muscle glycogen restoration. Low iron status may be an issue, particularly for female triathletes. Often the desire to maintain low body fat levels can cause female triathletes to over-restrict their food intake and miss out on nutrients such as iron. If they adhere to the above dietary recommendations, then even on a weight loss program, they should still have enough vitamins and minerals to fulfill the RDA.
Pre-Race Meal
The primary purpose of the pre-race meal is to offset fatigue during the competition.
There is no one-size-fits-all prescription for the pre-race meal. Different people react differently to the same foods. Some trial and error may be needed. Athletes should try to find food that won’t cause GI distress and will help to maintain focus and endurance. A few guidelines:
Here are some guidelines for your pre-race meal:
- Have a normal-sized meal approximately four hours before riding and a snack two hours before racing.
- If you are riding early in the morning, have a high-carbohydrate meal the night before and a snack one to two hours before the start of the race. This should consist of some protein and foods low in fiber and fat because these slow digestion.
- Avoid bulky foods, like raw fruits and vegetables, dry beans, peas and popcorn, which can stimulate bowel movements.
- Avoid gas-forming foods such as vegetables from the cabbage family and cooked dry beans.
- Drink 400 to 600 mL (14 to 22 oz) of fluid two to three hours before exercise depending on tolerance (1).
- Do not try new foods just before a race. Eat foods familiar with your digestive system.
- Some athletes prefer to use their favorite foods, which may give them a psychological edge.
- Athletes competing in Half Ironman, long Distance and Ironman races should increase their carbohydrate intake to 10 to 12 grams of carbohydrates body weight for 48 hours before race start.
Some athletes load up on carbohydrates in the days leading up to the race in order to increase muscle glycogen stores. It is a controversial issue for some.
During the Race
Although eating as directed above will allow you to top off glycogen stores coming into the event, you still have to contend with two potential enemies – dehydration and rapid glycogen utilization and depletion.
Dehydration
During long races, one can lose a great deal of sweat, and become dehydrated. A triathlete's rate of fluid loss will depend on the environmental conditions, intensity of play, acclimatization, aerobic fitness, hydration status, age, and gender.
Glycogen Depletion
Glycogen depletion varies with the intensity of the race and aerobic fitness level. Although liquid carbohydrates can help restore lost glycogen, it is never replenished as fast as it is lost.
To remedy both problems, bring a water bottle containing a solution of six to seven percent carbohydrate and electrolytes, such as Cytomax, Heed, Hammer Gel, or G Push. Try to avoid Gatorade, Powerade or any of the common sport drinks seen on commercials because they contain a considerable amount of table sugar, which may lead to GI distress and poor replacement of muscle glycogen.
During Sprint and Olympic Distance triathlons, it is neither necessary nor practical to eat foods while racing. Due to the high intensity of racing, athletes competing in these events usually rely exclusively on sports drinks and sports gels to meet fuel and fluid losses.
Here are several tips to keep in mind while planning your racing meal strategy:
Thirst is a late indicator of dehydration. Try not to feel thirsty, and hydrate every 15 minutes with 250 to 600 ml of water.
Drink a bit extra during the first few miles of the bike leg. Triathletes can't drink during the swim so it's a good time to catch up.
Consume 30 to 70 grams carbohydrates (or 1g /kg bodyweight) in 600 to 1200 ml fluid per hour which have a carbohydrate concentration of six to eight percent and provide 500 to 700 milligrams sodium per liter.
- New research suggests that soy or whey protein (1.5 to two percent of the solution) added to a CHO drink (six percent of the solution) can improve exhaustion and recovery time (6-8). Try this during the cycling portion of the triathlon.
- Limit body mass losses to one percent. This is largely dependent upon racing climate conditions, and can be achieved by maintaining hydration and electrolyte supplementation.
- Become familiar with racing conditions and the weather forecast to prepare your fueling strategy. Hydration and fueling needs will vary with these conditions. At higher temperatures, hydration and electrolyte requirements go up and the ability to digest food goes down.
- Gastric emptying is affected by the intensity of the race. The closer a triathlete performs to his or her anaerobic threshold, the less gastric emptying occurs. This is especially important during long distance triathlons, when athletes need more CHO and electrolytes because the body will burn more than it consumes.
- Try different brands containing different CHO concentrations at different stages of a race. For example, prior to the run stage of an Ironman, liver glycogen stores will be more empty and a drink containing fructose may be preferable to a maltodextrin-only product. Experiment as often as possible prior to the race and record your thoughts in a journal.
- Prepare a variety of foods while riding as taste preferences can change.
It is best to start drinking in the swim-bike transition and to drink at regular intervals during the bike and run sections. The bike leg is the only real opportunity to ingest any substantial amount of food or calories. Some great examples of “bike food” are sandwiches (white bread, no margarine, with crusts cut-off), fruit bars, sports bars, bananas, sweet biscuits, dried fruit and sports gels. Try eating solids in the first part of the ride but switch to fluids or gels in the last half so you don't have solid food weighing heavily in your stomach during the run. It's good practice to have a combination of regular food items and sports foods. Prepare accordingly for whatever works best for you, but no novel foods.
During the run, the challenges of obtaining carbohydrate requirements are met by using sport drinks, flat Coca Cola or sport gels because they are more practical to consume than food while running.
Recovery
Complete recovery can take up to 48 hours after a race.
- Consume 1.5g high-glycemic index CHO-rich foods and beverages within 30 minutes or as soon as possible after competition or a long day of training. Liver enzymes and muscle receptors are especially sensitive to carbohydrates to fill exhausted glycogen stores.
- Replace fluids that have been lost. For every pound that is lost, drink 20 oz. of fluids. This must be determined by taking weight measurements before and after the competition or at the end of the day.
- Continue regular CHO consumption of 10g /kg bodyweight and the same electrolyte replacement in the 24 hours after.
- Eat a similar meal consisting of a variety of whole-foods between two and four hours following this meal.
- Return to your normal high-carbohydrate diet at the next meal.
After physical activity lasting longer than an hour, the body best restores lost glycogen when carbohydrates and protein are consumed together in a ratio of 4:1 (6) or 3:1 (7,8), rather than simply consuming carbohydrates alone.
Furthermore, the combination of CHO and protein has the added benefit of stimulating amino acid transport, protein synthesis and muscle tissue repair, all of which will further speed recovery and re-energize you for your next competition.
Products such as Endurox R4 by Endurox and Recoverite by Hammer Gel will provide both nutrients. When in a bind another option is drinking 20 oz. of low-fat chocolate milk post-exercise.
It is better to consume the “meal” as a liquid in order to facilitate recovery faster, and follow with a variety of whole-foods between two and four hours later.
Return to the normal Training Diet at the next meal.
Do NOT FORGET the post-competition meal with those ice bags!
Alcohol
The temptation of binge drinking may come more after a match for a celebration of victory, building team morale or a gathering to ease the pain of defeat. A sensible amount will not hinder performance or health. In general, this means one drink for women and two for men.
But alcohol intake can interfere with the game and post-exercise recovery (3-5).
Get a post-exercise meal and fluids in first before drinking any alcohol. This way, less alcohol will have a tendency to be absorbed into the bloodstream and pass into the small intestine with the rest of the food.
Avoid any alcohol 24 hours post-exercise if you have any soft tissue injuries or bruises.
Alcohol and injuries are a bad combination, and it may actually increase swelling, bleeding and delay recovery (3-5).
References
- Nutrition and athletic performance – Position of the American Dietetic Association, Dietitians of Canada, and the American College of Sports Medicine. J Am Diet Assoc.;100:1543-1556, 2000
- Kraemer, W.J., J.S. Volek, K.L. Clark, S.E. Gordon, T. Incledon, S.M. Puhl, N.T. Triplett-McBride, J.M. McBride, M. Putukian, W.J. Sebastianelli. Physiological adaptations to a weight-loss dietary regimen and exercise programs in women. Journal of Applied Physiology, 83, 270-279, 1997
- El-Sayed, M.S. Effects of alcohol ingestion post-exercise on platelet aggregation. Thromb Res. Jan 15;105(2):147-51. 2002.
Peters, T.J., S. Nikolovski, G. K. Raja, T. N. Palmer, P. A. Fournier. Ethanol acutely impairs glycogen repletion in skeletal muscle following high intensity short duration exercise in the rat. Addict Biol.;1(3):289-95. 1996.
- Burke, L. M., G.R. Collier, E. M. Broad, P.G. Davis, D.T. Martin, A. J. Sanigorski, M. Hargreaves. Effect of alcohol intake on muscle glycogen storage after prolonged exercise. J Appl Physiol. Sep;95(3):983-90. 2003
- Williams, M. B., P.B. Raven, D. L. Fogt, J. L. Ivy. Effects of recovery beverages on glycogen restoration and endurance exercise performance. J Strength Cond Res. Feb;17(1):12-9. 2003.
- Zawadzki KM, Yaspelkis BB 3rd, Ivy JL. Carbohydrate-protein complex increases the rate of muscle glycogen storage after exercise. J Appl Physiol. May;72(5):1854-9. 1992.
- Ivy, J. L., H. W. Goforth, Jr., B. M. Damon, T. R. McCauley, E. C. Parsons, T. B. Price. Early postexercise muscle glycogen recovery is enhanced with a carbohydrate-protein supplement. J Appl Physiol. Oct;93(4):1337-44. 2002
- Lemon, P.W. Beyond the zone: protein needs of active individuals. J Am Coll Nutr. Oct;19(5 Suppl):513S-521S, 2000.
- Tipton, K. D., R. R. Wolfe. Protein and amino acids for athletes. J Sports Sci. Jan;22(1):65-79. 2004
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