It can be difficult to identify which nutrition wisdom is outdated and which ones to follow as athletes. Is this the top 5?
Myth #1: Eating late at night makes you fat
Weight isn’t so simple and the timing of that late night snack doesn’t matter. Such restrictive ideas abound in diet culture and can lead to unhealthy restrictions that are not based on scientific facts and can lead to mentally healthy as well as physical productivity. In fact, one study found that Journal of Medicine & Science in Sport and Exercise Eating a high-protein snack before bed was shown to increase muscle protein synthesis by 22% and promote exercise recovery.
Myth #2: Carbs are bad
This myth, while not scientifically definitive, may have recently hatched from the trendy ketogenic diet or from more old-school Atkins-era diet myths. You should be skeptical of restrictive diets. Our bodies need carbohydrates to generate energy, and if he wants to run at a high percentage of his VO2max without affecting performance, he needs readily available carbohydrates. During low-intensity exercise, fat is more readily utilized by the body and actually produces more energy per gram than carbohydrates. Reducing your carb intake at certain points in your workout can be beneficial, but whenever a diet tries to demonize a single ingredient or nutrient, that should be a red flag.
Myth 3: You need to refuel with a food and hydration mixture after every run
If you eat enough throughout the day, you don’t need to eat or drink calories every time you run. Running longer than 60 minutes is where you need to focus on refueling. Because on average, our body contains enough energy in glycogen stores fuel to last from 90 minutes to 2 hours. A general refueling recommendation for workouts longer than 1 hour is to consume 40-90 grams of carbs, 200-300 calories, and 16-20 ounces of water per hour. So while you don’t need to binge on stroopwafels to jog around the neighborhood, you should definitely snack on your two-hour training run.
Myth 4: You Don’t Have to Worry About Protein
Runners who train consistently should pay attention to their protein intake. And not getting enough protein can increase your risk of illness, injury, mood swings, and poor recovery.
The amount of protein you need depends on your body weight, but the International Society for Sports Nutrition (ISSN) recommends 1.4-2 grams per kilogram of body weight. For a 150 lb runner, this equates to him about 95-136 grams per day. In general, aim for 20-30 grams of protein at each meal and 10-15 grams between meals.
Myth 5: You can only refuel immediately after running
You’ve probably heard about the post-exercise “window of opportunity.” It’s advertised that his 30 minutes after a hard run or workout is the best time to eat and refuel. This is due to the idea that muscles are most receptive to lost glycogen (or stored carbohydrates) during his 30 minutes immediately following strenuous exercise. This is important as glycogen is used for energy generation during training. Delaying glycogen replenishment can impede an athlete’s ability to recover from long or high-intensity workouts and increase the risk of injury.
Although many nutrition experts still recommend a 30- to 60-minute post-exercise refueling window, previous studies have shown that carbohydrate uptake and glycogen resynthesis rates increase 2 hours after exercise. is shown. Also, taking into account the type of exercise you’ve done, how much you’ve eaten before, and your current body type can give you more flexibility.
Consuming certain types of protein alongside carbohydrate sources has been shown to be beneficial for muscle glycogen replacement. Specific recommendations can be given to runners based on their weight, but general recommendations are not recommended. The point is to consume 45-60 grams of carbs and 15-20 grams of protein.
This story was originally published in a sister magazine, trail runner.
