   |
|
 |
|||||||||||
|
Newsletter: Volume 52, Nov 2003
If your goal isn’t motivating any more . . . Having gone through more than 120 marathon training programs, I’ve experienced many motivation letdowns. On most of these, I’ve rebounded, but on a few, I didn’t. Burnout and dropout are mental injuries. If you back off and adjust early, you can avoid major burnout later. Here are some adjustments to make in the middle of a training
program, if you lose your drive:
The body follows your mental mission: The more you embrace your new mission in advance, the quicker you’ll lose the aches and pains of the big race. Instead of wallowing in your misery, tell yourself that your muscles have achieved their "good tiredness" by overcoming a great challenge – and you’re still glowing from it. The positive mental momentum of your accomplishment will pull you through the few days immediately after when you may (or may not) feel that the legs don’t want to run a step. From Jeff Galloway’s Marathon You Can Do It! (Shelter Publications, 2002) Reserve now---Jeff Galloway’s Weekend Beach Retreat,
Blue Mountain Beach, FL Upcoming Beach Retreats: * December 12-14 For more info, click here or email carol.miller@jeffgalloway.com.
All of this controversy about carbs and proteins has led many runners to question whether the high-carbohydrate diet traditionally recommended for runners is really the right way to go. Should we be filling up on proteins instead? The purpose of this article is to clarify for you what the latest science says about the roles of carbs and protein in the life of a runner. No Atkins for Runners While carbohydrate continues to be demonized in the popular media coverage of fad diets, the evidence in support of high-carbohydrate diets for endurance athletes continues to accumulate. As everyone knows, the Kenyans are considered to be the best distance runners in the world. While the traditional Kenyan diet – lean, unprocessed, and mostly vegetarian - is certainly not the only reason behind the Kenyans' running dominance, it is very likely a strong contributing factor. Recently, researchers from the University of Copenhagen set out to determine the macronutrient breakdown of this diet. They studied the food intake of 12 adolescent male runners from the storied Kalenjin tribe over a two-week period. They found that a whopping 71% of their daily calories came from carbohydrate, only 15% from fat, and a mere 13% from protein. Their staple foods were corn and kidney beans. One of the main effects of endurance training is that it increases the muscles’ capacity to store carbohydrate for use during activity. A high-carbohydrate diet is required to take advantage of this adaptation. Dozens of clinical studies have demonstrated that the more carbohydrate an athlete has stored in his or her muscles prior to exercise, the better he or she will perform. For example, in a study performed at the University of Guelph, Ontario, well-trained women were randomly assigned to either a high-carbohydrate (78%) or a low-carbohydrate (48%) diet prior to a cycling test to exhaustion. The women in the high-carbohydrate group were able, on average, to continue exercising significantly longer. Runners do need more protein in their diet than sedentary individuals, due to the need to replace muscle proteins broken down during workouts and races. But they only need more protein in proportion to their overall need for more calories in general. Protein should account for about 15% of calories consumed. Carbohydrate should account for 60% and fat for the remaining 25%. Carbohydrate-Protein Synergy What tends to get lost beneath the clamor of the pro- and anti-carb and protein ideologies is the important fact that carbohydrates and proteins actually cooperate to boost endurance during exercise and to promote recovery after exercise. It’s not that one is good and the other bad. We need both, and we need them together, to optimize running performance. Carbohydrate is the primary fuel source for running. As you probably know, a whole mountain of research has demonstrated that consuming a sports drink containing 6 to 8 percent carbohydrate plus electrolytes during workouts and races improves performance and delays fatigue. For the past 30 years, sports drink formulas have been based on this research. But newer research has shown that consuming a small amount of protein with carbohydrate during exercise results in faster delivery of carbohydrate to working muscles. This is because both protein and carbohydrate stimulate insulin, the hormone whose job is to transport carbohydrate into the muscle cell. Runners generally fatigue when the working muscles’ supply of stored carbohydrate (called glycogen) becomes depleted. So, the faster the carbohydrate you consume during a run is delivered to the working muscles, the more glycogen is conserved and the more fatigue is delayed. In one study, athletes who used a carbohydrate-protein sports drink were able to continue 24% longer than athletes who used a conventional carbohydrate-only sports drink and 57% longer than those who drank only water. During prolonged runs, when carbohydrate fuel runs low, as much as 20 percent of a runner’s energy needs are supplied by protein. Under normal circumstances, these proteins are “stolen” from muscle tissue. This process weakens the muscles, reducing performance, and leads to post-exercise muscle soreness. However, there is evidence that consuming protein can reduce muscle protein breakdown during prolonged exercise and the weakness and soreness that come with it. By using a sports drink or energy gel containing protein, you are able to get the majority of the protein your body needs for energy from this source, so your muscles are left alone, and both your performance and your later recovery get a boost. Getting the right amount of protein is crucial. Exercise physiologists believe that a carbohydrate-protein ratio of 4 to 1 (that is, 4 grams of carbohydrate for each gram of protein) is optimal. When greater amounts of protein are taken in, the rate of stomach emptying decreases and gastrointestinal problems (e.g. stomach cramps, nausea) can result. After Exercise It is not possible to consume enough carbohydrate during moderate- to high-intensity exercise to replace what is burned, nor to completely offset muscle protein degradation. So it is important to consume additional carbohydrate and protein after the workout. This should be done as soon as possible, because the body is able to synthesize glycogen and protein at more than twice the normal rate due to heightened insulin receptivity in the muscle cells following exercise. Carbohydrate-protein sports drinks are again the best immediate post-workout nutrition source because of their rapid absorption and their water and electrolyte content. Using such drinks and/or water and solid foods, you should be sure to fully replenish fluid losses (i.e. return to pre-workout bodyweight) and consume 10-20% of your daily carbohydrate and protein intake within the first two hours after completing exercise. Action Steps Chances are you’re already eating more than enough protein. Chances are, too, that you’re getting less than 60% of your calories from carbohydrate. To find out, record everything you eat and drink for a three-day period and use a resource such as The Complete Book of Food Counts to determine the macronutrient breakdown. Then tweak your diet as necessary. It’s also likely that you’re not consuming carbohydrate with protein during workouts. The simplest way to correct this problem is to switch to one of the newer sports drinks such as Accelerade that contain the ideal 4:1 ratio of carbs to protein. Your body will let you know you’re doing the right thing. Then you can tune out all that fad diet noise! Matt Fitzgerald is the author of the forthcoming book, The Runner’s World Guide to Cross-Training. He coaches runners and triathletes online through Carmichael Training Systems (www.trainright.com).
THE GIFT OF GOOD FOOD FOR YOU & YOUR FRIENDS Whether it's a gift for yourself or your exercise buddy, a gift of good tasting but healthful food is always welcome. Yes, everyone loves fudge brownies (for the moment), but why not give gifts that invest in health, performance?and a happier wasitline? Here are some gift ideas selected from the more than 60 recipes in my new 2003 Sports Nutrition Guidebook, Third Edition. Enjoy! HOMEMADE ENERGY BARS 1/2 c. salted dry-roasted peanuts 1. In a large bowl, mix together the peanuts, raisins, sunflower
seed kernels, oatmeal and toasted rice cereal. Set aside. Calories per bar: 225, 30 grams Carbohydrate, 6 grams Protein, 9 grams Fat Recipe courtesy of the National Peanut Board: www.nationalpeanutboard.com
1/2 cup uncooked oats, quick or old fashioned 1. In a medium bowl, combine the oats, yogurt, and milk. Set aside
for 15 to 20 minutes to let the oatmeal soften. Yield: 6 6"-pancakes Serving size: 2 pancakes, 330 Calories, 84 grams Carbohydrate, 13 grams Protein, 8 grams Fat
3 large well-ripened bananas 1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Yield: 12 slices, Calories per slice: 135, 24 grams Carbohydrate, 3 grams Protein, 3 grams Fat
Nancy Clark, MS, RD is nutrition counselor at SportsMedicine Associates
in Brookline MA (617-739-2003) and author of her new 2003 Sports
Nutrition Guidebook, Third Edition, updated with the latest http://www.nancyclarkrd.com
On July 9, the FDA issued a regulation requiring food manufacturers to list trans fatty acids, or trans fats, on the Nutrition Facts panel of foods. They have until January 1, 2006 to do so. The move is designed to help consumers make healthier food choices, but it could also cause manufacturers to reduce or altogether abandon the use of trans fats in their ingredients. There is a great deal of scientific evidence illustrating the relationship between these fats and an increased risk of coronary heart disease. Trans fats have been shown to raise levels of LDL (“bad” cholesterol). As part of a well-known and ongoing prospective study know as the Nurses’ Health Study, the Harvard School of Public Health determined specific type of fat intake in 80,082 women ages 34 to 59 with validated questionnaires over a 14-year period. They concluded, “the replacement of 2% of energy from trans fats with energy from unhydrogenated, unsaturated fats would reduce (heart attack) risk by 53%. Look for trans fats wherever you’d expect to find fat: they may be found in vegetable shortening, margarines, crackers, candies, baked goods, fried foods, many processed foods and salad dressings. Simply stated, saturated fats and trans fats negatively affect cholesterol levels. Polyunsaturated fats and monounsaturated fats (such as olive, canola, flaxseed and corn oils) have good effects. Trans fats are never part of a healthy diet. The FDA website (www.fda.gov/oc/initiatives/transfat/) posts examples of food labels with information on trans fats, which will help you determine where to look for this important data. Until 2006, however, it’s necessary to pay attention to listed ingredients to determine trans fat levels in the foods you buy: if the ingredient list includes the words “shortening,” “partially hydrogenated vegetable oil,” or “hydrogenated vegetable oil,” the food contains trans fats. Recall, too, that smaller amounts are present when the ingredient is close to the end of the list. Finally, the more solid a spread is at room temperature, the more trans fats it likely contains; liquid margarine is therefore preferable to stick margarine. (New England Journal of Medicine, 1997, Vol. 337, No. 21, pp. 1491-1499, www.fda.gov/oc/initiatives/transfat/)
 Home | Site
Map | Contact Us Copyright © 2003, JFG, Inc. |
Training Programs
Newsletter
Archives