Sports Nutrition Presented by Kirsty Lerm

Contents  What to eat before training/match  What to eat after training/match  Fluids and recovery  General tips and hints

Pre exercise nutrition  Evening before crucial for providing fuels for the next day  Good nutritious meal with carbohydrate/protein balance  Pasta with a meat sauce, rice with meat and vegetable stir fry

Before exercise  The best pre exercise meal needs to be high in carbohydrate, low in fat, with moderate protein.  As a guide, 2g of carbohydrate per 1kg of body weight is suitable for a pre game meal

Before exercise cont.  Carbohydrate intake is crucial for energy, recovery and preventing fatigue!  Carbs should be consumed 2-3 hours before the match, during the match and after. How can this be achieved?

Carbohydrates  Your body doesn’t care where the carbohydrates come from!  2-3 hours before exercise include good carbohydrate source  During game, aim for 500ml of sports drink per hour to replenish carbohydrate stores  After game, at least 1g of carbohydrate per kg of body weight

Protein  The hardest component for the body to breakdown. Therefore, a big protein meal close to a game will not have time to digest properly.  More important after match for recovery

Post Exercise Nutrition  Crucial for proper recovery and preventing fatigue.  It takes about 20 hours to completely replenish muscle glycogen stores with the right nutrition  Carbohydrates are converted into glycogen faster than normal in the first 2 hours after exercise

Carbohydrates post event  g of carbohydrate within the first 2 hours after exercise  Bonus if consumed as a drink ie- Powerade because you are also replacing fluids -600ml bottle Powerade = 45g -Bread roll = 35g -Large apple = 30g

Example meal plan Friday Breakfast: 4 Weetbix, skim milk and banana AM snack: tin tuna with 5 vitawheats Lunch: Chicken and salad roll PM snack: Piece of fruit and tub yoghurt Dinner: 2 cups cooked pasta with a tomato based sauce ie- bolognaise

Meal plan cont. Saturday Breakfast: 2 pieces of toast with spread of choice, bowl of cereal and 2 pieces of fruit AM snack: Fruit smoothie or juice Dinner: 1-1½ cups steamed rice, 150g lean meat and vegetables

Fluid Intake  Important to stay well hydrated the day before and of the match  Everyone is different, aim for 2L everyday  Before the game, have a glass a water to avoid dehydration

Fluid during activity  As a guide, you should be consuming 150ml-200ml of fluid every 15 minutes  Try to avoid feeling thirsty – this is an indicator that you are dehydrated thus not able to perform at your best!  If you don’t like water, sports drinks are ok if working for more than minutes

Post match fluid intake  Extremely important!  Weigh yourself pre and post match and record the difference in weight  1kg = 1L  Needs to be replaced by 150% for example – loss of 2kg, consume 3L after the match

Other fluids  Alcohol – if you are serious about your performance, alcohol should be avoided 48 hours before the match. Why? 1.It is dehydrating 2.It slows injury recovery 3.High in kilojoules (beer belly) 4.Not a good source of carbohydrate

For those who are serious about their performance…  General healthy eating throughout the week, not just the day before a match  Avoiding refined carbohydrates – sugar, white bread, processed foods  Having plenty of fruits and vegetables for your vitamins, minerals, fibre and antioxidants

Healthy eating cont.  Protein source at every meal  Plenty of leafy green vegetables and wholegrains for magnesium (muscle repair) zinc (wound repair and immune boosting) and B vitamins (energy production)

The End More information Great fact sheets with advice on training, diet and lots of other conditions