Every athlete has unique nutritional requirements dependent on the training program, body composition goals, genetics and fitness level. Therefore, there is no one best diet to follow. More so, your nutritional requirements, food choices and strategies will change throughout the year, depending on training volume and intensity.
But even during peak training when energy requirements are increased, your food choices should remain nutritious and health-promoting. Leaving your diet to chance or training to "earn" your food may result in nutrient poor food choices, lacking key nutrients. And a diet of restriction, sacrifice and obsession will lead to less-than-optimal energy availability.
Being well-nourished puts your body into a state of optimal functioning, helping you become a better athlete. The foundation of building a healthy sports diet is to consume a variety of nutrient-dense foods from all food groups. Your diet should not include an off-limit food list unless you suffer from a food allergy/intolerance or need to avoid certain foods for ethical, religious or health reasons.
One of the biggest nutritional challenges for athletes is figuring out how much energy is needed to support your training. On top of that, eating the right foods, timed appropriately with your workout, can help you get more out of your training session.
Although your daily training diet will help you adapt to training stress, the diverse nature of your structured training plan will likely validate the importance of consuming well-formulated sport nutrition products during certain workouts. Ideally, sport drinks, gels and energy blocks/chews are portable, convenient and easy-to-consume during swimming, biking and running, providing a specific amount of fluids, carbohydrates and sodium which can be easily digested and absorbed. Sport bars are typically reserved for long-duration, lower intensity training sessions.
Because many athletes complain of GI (gastrointestinal) issues as a primary limiter on race day, training your gut to tolerate nutrition while exercising can help you avoid unpleasant symptoms such as cramping, bloating, dizziness, nausea, extreme fatigue and a sloshing stomach.
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