Tidbits of Sports Nutrition: Fueling the Athlete

How an athlete fuels their body has an enormous impact on their athletic performance! Without proper nutrition, an athlete is hindered in their ability to reach their full athletic potential. However, many athletes are lacking the knowledge about how to properly fuel their bodies or, sadly, have received bad nutrition advice from non-experts. As a Registered Dietitian, former division 1 college athlete, and former college sports nutritionist, I am excited to deliver this course with all the expertise and experience necessary to give your learner factual information on how athletes at the highest level approach nutrition. 

Learners will introduce themselves during week 1 and share which sport they play. Throughout the class I will make specific references to the unique needs of that particular sport and learners will get the opportunity to apply what we are discussing to their unique sport/training schedule during class. I prefer my classes to include some discussion so I frequently ask questions and allow learners to raise their hands if they wish to answer. I find that some learners need and like this to remain engaged, but knowing that others may feel hesitant, I do not call on people specifically for the sake of making them answer. 

Week 1
"Energy: How Muscles are Fed"
An athlete's main nutrition challenge is to ensure that energy stores are full to sustain intense and/or long durations of exercise. This week we will talk about how energy is stored, how stored energy is turned into usable energy to be utilized during activity, and what nutrients supply that energy. We will discuss how energy demand changes based on the intensity of the activity (endurance vs power). Then we will talk about dietary sources of energy (macronutrients: carbohydrates, protein, and fat) and which provide the most sustainable energy for exercise and how it varies based on intensity and duration of exercise. The focus this week will be on adequate carbohydrate and fat intake.

Week 2
"Strength: Where Muscles Get Their Power"
This week we will talk about how muscles generate power. Learners will differentiate between the role of nutrition to provide energy (discussed in Week 1) vs. this weeks focus on building muscle to increase POWER. The focus this week will be on protein and it's role in building muscle. We will dive into the role of protein to maintain, repair, and build muscle. We will learn about sources of dietary protein as well as the recommended timing for consuming protein to optimize muscle growth. We will also talk about the role of protein in the body for general nutrition. 

Week 3
"Maintenance Mode: Vitamins, Minerals, Electrolytes and Hydration"
This week we will focus on the smaller nutrients (micronutrients). These nutrients cannot be overlooked in an athlete's diet as they play critical roles in metabolizing and transporting nutrients to be used during/following exercise. Hydration is of the utmost importance for an athlete to understand, as it can be a limiting factor in exercise performance no matter how much energy or a power and athlete can generate. If you are dehydrated, your performance will suffer greatly! We will talk about how the body utilizes and requires fluid and electrolytes during exercise and how to adequately hydrate. 

Week 4
"Pre-Fueling, Refueling, and Recovery Nutrition Techniques"
This week we will cover fueling inside of 24 hours before competition, during competition, and after competition. Now that learners have a better understanding of where their energy and power come from, it's time to hone in on what to eat when. This week we will focus on "day of" nutrition to make sure that athletes are adequately prepared to perform at the highest level. Topics will include carbohydrate loading, hydration techniques, post-competition window for refueling, etc.

Week 5
"A Typical Day: Meal and Snack Ideas"
This week we will put together everything we have learned to plan out meals and snacks. We will discuss example menus for a full day of snacks and  meals. Menus will vary based on different factors such as (vegetarian/vegan athlete, endurance sport vs power sport, multiple practices per day, etc.). Learners will get the opportunity to help build menus for themselves based on their particular sport with my help. 

Learners will be encouraged to keep a food journal each week focusing on the topic we discussed that week. For example, in week 1 we will discuss where our ENERGY comes from (carbohydrates). Learners will be encouraged to keep a journal that week where they draw a pie chart/picture of their plate at each meal recording the % of their meal that was from carbohydrate foods (as carbohydrates are an athlete's main source of energy). We will briefly review this at the beginning of the next class.