Written by Kaz Louise Stoner

Nutrition is an integral part of sports and athletic performance. Nothing beats a balanced diet made up of macronutrients including carbohydrates, protein, and fats. Each athlete should carefully plan out their meals to ensure sufficient intake of all. However, if there is no whey an athlete is getting the appropriate nutrition to fuel their performance, supplements are a great and efficient way of doing this, if taken correctly. 

Disclaimer: supplements are not meant to replace balanced meals. The ideal scenario would be getting enough from ingested food and supplements should be taken only if really needed. 

There are many forms in which an athlete can ingest supplements including bars, tablets, capsules, liquids, and powders. Most of these products focus on the intake of protein, creatine, amino acids, and electrolytes. 

Protein

When you exercise, soft tissues in your body (including muscles), are sustaining mini-traumas that need to be repaired. What does it mean to endure mini-traumas?

It means that the muscle is getting slightly injured and this is essential for muscle growth. These traumas result in the body repairing the muscle fibres, which in turn increases the size and mass of the muscle leading to hypertrophy. Broken down aspects of the protein that are usually received from diet (amino acids), are the building blocks that repair these muscles. 

Natural sources of protein include

Vegetarian: eggs, milk and cheese, soy, tofu/ tempeh (or many other meat substitutes), nuts, seeds, beans, lentils, and pulses

Non-vegetarian: fish and meats. 

If your diet does not consist of enough protein, you can supplement this with many different types of protein powders and bars. Below are a couple of examples.

1. Whey protein – this type of protein comes from milk. It is quick to digest and rich in amino acids. Studies also find it to reduce appetite. 
2. Casein protein – this is also a derivative of milk. It’s digested more slowly however. It offers muscle a more steady exposure to the protein reducing the rate of breakdown. 
3. Pea protein – a great plant-based protein alternative coming from yellow split pea. It is particularly rich in BCAAs. 

BCAAs – Branched Chain Amino Acids

Amino acids are the building blocks to protein. There are 20 different types. 11 are naturally produced by the body however 9 have to be ingested. Of these 9, there is a group of 3 that are fundamental to muscle hypertrophy: leucine, isoleucine, and valine. Although these words sound confusing the concept is quite straightforward and similar to the protein system previously mentioned. The main focus should be on leucine.

Evidence shows that with exercise, leucine decreases in the body and thus, to increase protein synthesis, it needs to be included in diet. There is some evidence also suggesting that BCAAs can reduce fatigue and decrease delayed onset muscle soreness (Doms or qtugh ta laham).

Contrary to popular belief, however, BCAA supplements are not essential to getting these amino acids in one’s diet. A good intake of these BCAA rich foods should be enough for an athlete: chicken, eggs, cottage cheese, tinned tuna, and wild salmon. But if you insist on intaking more, BCAAs can be used as a supplement. These usually come in 2 forms; powder or tablet. So… which is better? 

Powder is mixed with a liquid that allows them to get to the body very quickly. Tablets are easier to consume and more time efficient. 

Creatine

This is one of the most researched and also most effective supplements that is currently on the market. Creatine is a molecule that is found in all muscle cells and is primarily made in the liver. Its job is to store high energy phosphate groups which enhances energy carrying in the body. The phosphocreatine is a stored energy in cells and it aids the body to produce more ATP  (which is a high energy molecule commonly known as the body’s energy currency).

Essentially; more ATP = more energetic performance.

Creatine can also lead to changes in cell function that can lead to muscle growth giving more muscle gain to the athlete. 

Creatine can be taken in different forms but the most researched and conclusively beneficial form is creatine monohydrate. Always check the correct safety dosage according to your physical activity level, weight, and height. 

Electrolytes

Sodium, potassium, magnesium, and calcium are all forms of electrolytes that the body needs a certain amount of. All water contains electrolytes, unless labeled distilled. Electrolyte water (usually sold under brand names such as gatorade or powerade) dissolve electrolytes in water in the hopes of:

• Regulating blood pressure
• Preventing dehydration
• Maintaining appropriate blood acidity (pH)

When we sweat, we lose a lot of these electrolytes and thus, sports drinks aim to replenish these lost nutrients. The same concept applies when someone is sick with nausea and vomiting. It’s recommended to drink sports drinks, to replenish what was lost. Water is usually enough to meet general hydration needs. In training situations where the body is extremely over-exerted, the athlete has a lot of exposure to the sun, or the athlete loses a lot of fluids via sweat, electrolytes can be supplemented.

You can buy these from a store with the sports drink brands as previously mentioned or bought in powder form to mix into water.

The Bottom Line

Whilst supplements can definitely enhance performance, we recommend always speaking to a nutritionist and trained professional to get the best out of your sports nutrition. 

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What is yoyo dieting?

Yoyo dieting is a series of changes in eating habits that follow a cycle. It starts off by slashing calories by a large amount, losing weight, eating normally again, and putting all the weight lost (and sometimes more) back on. We live in a culture of yoyo dieting.

From ‘flat tummy teas’ to ATKINS, and ‘how to lose stomach fat in this two week programme’ to ‘no carbs’. Surely, if these were sustainable ways of eating, the world’s obesity crisis would be non-existent. However, when it comes down to it, there is no short-cut to a healthy lifestyle.

The yoyo dieting era is simply affecting our mood and tiredness levels and its time to get informed, because let’s face it, no one is living their best life without cheese fries.

‘I have a slow metabolism’

Hypocaloric dieting (eating in a calorific deficit) can alter the structure of skeletal muscle (studies found significant increases in calcium and decrease in enzymes with also type II muscle atrophy). Thus, this leads to metabolic changes within the body as a result of food restriction.

I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase ‘slow down your metabolism’… but what does this actually mean? Metabolism refers to the chemical processes the body must maintain to sustain life. This whole process uses energy to do so (some of which is gained by the consumption of food). When there is not enough energy stores, due to hypocaloric diets, all the processes slow down.

It should now be evident that eating too little is NOT going to help you lose weight. Whilst indeed, you must be in a calorific deficit to lose weight (energy output higher than calories consumed), there is no need for such a severe decrease in calories! It causes more harm than good in the long run.

Lifestyle change:

The key word here is lifestyle. We all need to remove the word diet from our dictionaries and replace it with healthy lifestyle. If you want to lose weight, keep it off, and be healthy (which should always be a priority), a healthy lifestyle should be followed.

This includes eating an abundance of nutritious food (vegetables, fruit, wholegrains, healthy fats, natural sugars, organically sourced produce etc.)

Can you eat pizza? Of course! One pizza will not make you put on weight nor should you feel guilty for it. If you fill your days with intuitive eating and getting nutrients and munching on healthy foods, in the grand scheme of things, one pizza is miniscule.

We’re a fast paced generation who demand immediate results but we often should just take a step back and look at the bigger picture. Stop saying; ‘I want to lose weight now to fit into those jeans!’ There is no two-week fix to bad eating.

It should be your decision, to keep making good decisions, about food throughout your life. It is also worth noting that you cannot spot reduce fat. There is no way to lose arm flab or weight from your stomach.

Everyone has a different body type and are more prone to putting on weight in particular places. That’s all up to genetics and not what you eat.

Tracking macros:

Macronutrients include fats, protein, and carbohydrates. They are the fundamentals needed in food in any diet. Steering clear of fats, cutting off carbs, eating too much protein. These are all extremely common mistakes people believe will help them lose weight.

Tracking macros is a great way of knowing exactly what you are putting into your body. You can easily eat two pot noodles a day and lose weight. However, living oblivious to the fact that this exceeds your whole day’s sodium limit is not exactly healthy eating!

Depending on your goals (losing weight, building muscle, remaining the same weight, putting on weight), everyone’s macronutrients should be different. There is no point in saying everyone should eat 20g of carbs a day. Comparing an athlete to a sedentary desk worker’s day shows there is no logic behind this.

Calculating individual’s macros according to their physical exertion throughout the day is a great way of tracking a healthy lifestyle. We suggest the myfitnesspal app to get you started!

Dietary Guidelines:

Have you ever heard a woman needs 1500 calories per day and a man 2000? Whilst this is recommended for the average individual, a question comes to mind. What is average, and who falls under this average category in our active day and age?

Running from one lecture to another, chasing the bus, walking your dog. These are all activities an average person carries out throughout the day but how far? For how long? Is everyone’s metabolism the same?

As we discussed earlier, everyone’s rate of metabolism is different and therefore no one can be categorically placed under a 2000 calorie mark. Eating calories depends on your ‘Total Daily Energy Expenditure’ [TDEE].

This is the number of calories you burn everyday and it depends on body composition, gender, hormone profile, activity level, and many other things! It is different for everyone. it sounds scary but it is broken down into the following:

Resting/ basal metabolic rate – this includes calories burnt under resting conditions (such as sleeping or lying down). This number tends to be higher for bigger individuals.

Non exercise activity thermogenesis. These are calories used in activities that are not sleeping, eating or sports related. Activities such as fidgeting or constantly moving around in a chair. Some people have a higher rate than others and will therefore burn more calories.

Physical activity = physical exercise

Thermal effect of eating – the amount of energy required to eat and digest food. Proteins are the hardest macronutrient to digest and therefore require more energy.

Usually, the bigger a person is the more energy they use. If a light person goes for a run it is easier than for a heavy person who is running and carrying all their weight. Thus, more calories are burnt and more need to be replenished. Physical exercise needs to be fueled not starved. Workouts will not be as effective if the body does not have the right nutrition to pair with it.

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