Winter Olympic Nutrition

Have you been watching the Winter Olympics as much as I have since the games have started? Do you watch the athletes with admiration and possibly envy, thinking: "I bet they get to eat whatever they want and not worry about it."

While in theory the quantity part may be true for some of the endurance sports such as the cross country skiers who burn 4,000-5,000 calories, they are still mindful of the quality of food choices they're making to enhance performance. In explosive power sports, such as ski jumping, the athletes have to be conscious of quantity and quality as their calorie needs are much lower since they're not engaged in hours and hours of fat-burning aerobic endurance activity. Being calorie conscious is especially important in a sport where body weight can mean the difference of a few extra feet in the air.

Here's an interesting article from U.S. News that talks about what the athletes eat to prepare for the Olympic games. Besides my love for sports nutrition, this article was exciting for me to read since I got to meet the dietitians mentioned in the article when I attended a sports nutrition seminar at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs back in October. Here's a link to my blog entry where I highlighted what I learned.

Whether you're a weekend warrior or competitive athlete, the important thing to keep in mind is that your nutrition needs to match up with the length, frequency, and intensity of your training. It also needs to take into account your weight and body composition goals. And finally, while carbohydrates have gotten a bit of a bad rap lately, carbohydrates are the main fuel for performance. Carbohydrates should not be eliminated but need to be matched to an athlete's training demands.

Need help matching your nutrition to your training needs? Contact me for an appointment today.