FUEL FOR SPORT

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FUEL FOR SPORT

• Eating for Optimal Performance in Soccer
• JENNIFER SYGO, M.Sc., RD
• Registered Dietitian and Sports Nutritionist
• Athletes Care, King Yonge

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Introduction

• Eating for energy day-to-day healthy eating
• What to eat before and after practice and matches
• How to best prepare for tournaments
• Hydration and sports drinks

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Eating for Energy

• Introduction to food and blood sugar
• Want to keep our blood sugar stable, both
  throughout the day, and during sport
• How?

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Eating for Energy

• Frequent, small meals and snacks
• Eat 5-6 times per day
• Avoid going more than 4 h without eating
• Plan a mid-am and mid-pm snack to maintain energy
• Can also help to maintain a healthy body weight

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Eating for Energy

• When planning meals and snacks
• Try to include both a protein and a carbohydrate
• Carbs provide shorter-term energy (1-2 h)
• Protein helps to keep you feeling full and slows
  the blood sugar response (3-4 h)

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Examples

• Yogurt or cottage cheese and fruit
• Soy nuts and dried cereal and/or raisins (trail
  mix)
• Cheese or p.b. and crackers
• Cereal (gt3 g fibre and lt8 g sugar per 30 g
  serving) and milk
• Veggies and hummus
• Sandwich with lean meat
• NB cream cheese does not contain protein

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Fueling Up

• Many soccer player do not get enough
  carbohydrates in their diet
• Studies have shown substantial depletion of
  glycogen ( gas tank) during soccer matchesas a
  result
• Players tend to run less in 2nd half
• More likely to get injured, esp. in last 15-20
  min of match

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Fueling Up

• Strategy consume a high carbohydrate diet
• Include lots of fruit, whole wheat breads,
  cereals, starchy vegetables (potatoes, corn,
  carrots, etc.), oatmeal, beans,
  tortillas/pitas/flatbreads, etc. on a regular
  basis
• For health, make high quality carb choices (more
  whole grain, more fibre, less refined/white, less
  sugar)

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Source Kirkendall, D. Gatorade Sports Science
Institute, Sports Science Exchange 94 Vol 17
(2004), No. 3. http//www.gssiweb.com/reflib/refs/
696/sse94.cfm?pid47
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Pre-Exercise Eating

• Depends on length of time before exercise
• Must eat at least 4 h before start
• Try to eat some kind of breakfast before am
  workouts
• As exercise nears, decrease meal size, also less
  fibre, fat, sugar
• Ideal mixed meal 3 h before, then light
  carb-based snack 1 h before

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Recovery

• The importance of post-match refueling in
  preparation for the next match cannot be stressed
  enough. The team that neglects to refuel in the
  hour or two after a match will likely end up
  losing the next one.
• -- Donald T. Kirkendall, Ph.D., FACSMSports
  Medicine Committee, US Soccer Federation

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Recovery

• If exercising regularly (45 min at high
  intensity 4 times per week), need to consider
  recovery
• Need carbs to refuel muscle glycogen (gas/fuel),
  and protein to help repair muscles (car)
• Must be within 2 h, but ideal is 15-30 min
• Ideal quick snack (e.g. 1-2 c. choc. milk)
  within 15 min then dinner (meat, potatoes,
  veggies) 2 h later

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Hydration Pre-Exercise

• Need to build foundation with day-to-day
  hydration
• 8 cups (2 L) of any fluid (dont count coffee)
  good target for many, but can also use urine
  colour
• Pre-exercise 2 cups (500 ml) 1-2 h before
  start then sip another cup (250 ml) while
  warming up

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Hydration During

• 2-4 cups (500 ml to 1 L) per hour
• Lower end for smaller athletes, cooler days, less
  vigorous activity higher end for larger
  athletes, hotter days, more intense workout
• Better to sip in 15 min intervals, but not always
  possible

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Hydration During

• Soccer one of the toughest sports to hydrate
  properly but not impossible!
• Times to hydrate
• After a goal
• Ball out of bounds
• Injury stoppage
• Half-time (500 ml or more)
• Coaches plant cool water/Gatorade bottles along
  the field, encourage athletes to drink

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Hydration Post

• Good experiment try weighing self pre and post
  practice or game
• Want to keep self within 1 kg (2.2 lbs) of
  pre-exercise weight
• Greater losses increased risk of dehydration
  symptoms (3 wt loss 10 loss of performance!)
• Rehydrate with 3 cups (750 ml) per pound of loss

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Sports Drinks

• Do they work? YES, but
• Depends on situation
• Most valuable when
• exercise is gt45 min
• intensity is high
• weather is hot
• athlete may already be dehydrated
• Less valuable
• short workouts (lt45 min)
• easy pace (60-90 min or less)
• cool/cold days (60-90 min or less)

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Sports Drinks

• Not valuable
• when sitting on couch!
• when taken 20 min before exercise (blood sugar
  crash)
• Ideal
• immediately before activity (lt10 min)
• during practice or match
• half-time
• tournaments (during or after games)

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Sports Drinks

• Key components
• Carbohydrates (sugar)
• Ideal is 6 carbs (6 g carbs/100 ml of drink) ?
  Gatorade and E-load
• Faster absorption than water alone greater
  endurance, longer to exhaustion, lower heart
  rate, improved accuracy, etc.
• Also needs electrolytes (sodium, potassium) to
  replace sweat losses

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De- and Over-hydration

• Dehydration caused by lack of fluids
• Prevent by hydrating properly
• Overhydration caused by too much fluid vs.
  activity, and/or too much water alone (dilutes
  blood)
• Prevent by taking carb electrolyte drink when
  weather is very hot and/or when drinking water
  (2 L or more per hour)

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THANK YOU!

• One-on-one consultations available
• Call 416 368-9990 or e-mail jsygo_at_rogers.com