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Will your current diet fail you?


When it comes to sports success, diet is a big piece of the puzzle that many athletes struggle to appreciate and master. Around this time of the year, when the temps are moderate to cold, overall training load is low and the training stress is not extremely high, it's easy to get away with haphazard fueling methods and inconsistent eating habits. However, as training intensity and volume increase (especially with the added stressor of heat), the previous style of eating that you thought was working for you, may soon present major issues for your health and performance.

Karel and I are currently in Clermont, Florida for a mini train-cation. 3.5 days of a training overload in a different environment. While we can't completely check out of our daily work responsibilities, there's the understanding that we are here to train and to absorb as much training stress as we can.

With this comes a huge responsibility to our bodies to make sure we are fueling and hydrating well (it's hot here!) before, during and after every training session. Any major slip-up and we could compromise our health and performance. Similar to training in our home-environment, our goal of training is always to make a positive return on our training investments. With this comes attention and awareness of what and how we are eating.

An athlete who is dehydrated, glycogen-depleted, deficient in nutrients, sleep deprived and stressed will not perform at his/her best. Whether it's intentional (rigid dieting) or unintentional (poor planning/lack of understanding), it's not uncommon for athletes to suffer from hormonal imbalance, anemia, stress fractures, loss of strength and power, GI issues, fatigue, moodiness, lack of appetite (or overeating), low motivation and an overall decline in performance due to not meeting energy, fluid and electrolyte needs. In other words, as your training changes, your diet needs to change as well. The greater the training stress, the more emphasis you need to put on what, how much and when you are eating.

While some of the symptoms of improper fueling and inadequate nutrition will not show up until health and performance is already compromised, pay attention to the following that may indicate that your current diet is no longer meeting your training demands:
  • Feeling dizzy, lightheaded, weak or "fuzzy" when training (or during the day)
  • Headaches
  • Nausea
  • GI issues - bloating, gas, loose stools, constipation 
  • A significant decline in strength, power, speed and stamina
  • Trouble sleeping (falling asleep or staying asleep)
  • Lack of appetite
  • A significant change in your appetite
  • Unintentional weight loss, specifically a quick amount of weight loss in a short amount of time
  • Unintentional weight gain, specifically around the midsection
  • Prolonged recovery, abnormal muscle soreness, chronic joint aches
  • Heavy reliance on anti-inflammatory meds
  • Increased reliance on caffeine to "survive" the day and workouts
  • Decrease in self-esteem, mood and confidence
  • Suppressed immune system - more frequent sickness or more time needed to recover from sickness
  • Chronically feeling dehydrated, change in urination habits
  • Increased injuries
  • Loss of enthusiasm for the sport
  • Irritability, trouble concentrating 
Although disordered eating and rigid dieting are often the cause of not meeting the energy and hydration demands of training, most athletes lack the knowledge and appreciation for the amount of fuel, calories, nutrients and fluids that are needed to support sport specific training.

To reduce the risk of a health or performance setback this season, reach out to a sport RD (CSSD) who can optimize your diet and provide fueling strategies for before, during and after training to help you reach athletic excellence without compromising your health and well-being.

Don't just be dedicated to training. You can train as hard as you want to, but without good nutrition and fueling, you'll never reach your full potential.