Nutrition
Jan 6, 2024
Poor nutrition: how to recognize and avoid it
If you want to be successful in endurance sports, you need regular training sessions as well as sufficient sleep and a healthy diet. The wrong diet, insufficient regeneration phases and lack of sleep are often the reasons for a drop in performance and can have health consequences.
What do you need to consider when eating a healthy and balanced diet and what are common nutritional mistakes and their consequences? As an athlete, how can you avoid an unbalanced diet and stay fit for top performance? You can find the answers in our blog article.
These factors influence your diet
A healthy and balanced diet is important for everyone. It ensures that your body gets the energy and nutrients it needs to function properly. However, there are various factors that influence what you really need and how much of it.
The amount of calories we need varies according to gender, height, body weight and age. As we age, our body functions start to slow down, which means we need less energy.1 Senior citizens need around 200-300 fewer calories per day than younger adults.[2] Men also burn around 500 kcal more per day than women with a muscle percentage of 30-35% due to their higher muscle percentage (40-45%).[3]
The taller and heavier a person is, the more calories they need. However, when it comes to weight, it should be borne in mind that the increased energy requirement only applies to additional muscle mass. Fatty tissue consumes significantly less energy, which is why no additional calorie intake is recommended for overweight people compared to those of normal weight.[4]
Last but not least, your energy consumption naturally also influences your nutritional requirements. For endurance athletes, energy requirements can double or triple during intensive training phases. Instead of 2000 kcal, for example, your body then needs 4000-6000 kcal.[5]
What does the body really need and how do you avoid nutritional mistakes?
Carbohydrates, proteins and fats - the three groups of our macronutrients - have been the subject of heated debate for years when it comes to sports nutrition. You can find out more about these three nutrient groups and their metabolism during sport in our blog article Nutrition habits - healthy nutrition for endurance athletes.
Many people are almost obsessed with an endless hunt for protein. And not entirely without good reason. Proteins are involved in building our cells as well as tendons and muscles. They ensure the regeneration that our body so urgently needs after sport.
However, you don't have to overdo it here. Depending on your level of sport, you need around 0.8 to 2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight every day. You can cover this requirement sufficiently with a normal diet. It is important to focus on variety. Make sure you eat a variety of protein sources so that your body is regularly supplied with all 8 essential amino acids. If your diet includes meat, fish, eggs, dairy products, cereals, nuts and pulses, you will be well supplied.[6] Particularly good sources of protein include tuna, turkey breast, low-fat quark and almonds.[7] And for vegans, there are suitable supplements in the form of substitute products that have a high protein content from the outset.
Carbohydrates are important for providing energy. They are stored in the muscles and liver in the form of glycogen and are quickly available to the body during heavy exertion.[8] Endurance athletes should therefore consume around 5-10 grams of carbohydrates per kilogram of body weight every day.[9]
However, quality should also be a priority here. One serious nutritional mistake is to cover your carbohydrate requirements with sugary foods and sweets. They cause your blood sugar to rise rapidly and give you a brief energy boost. However, this quickly passes and also causes an excessive release of insulin.[10]
Complex carbohydrates from rice, potatoes, bread and, above all, wholegrain products are much more important.[11] They ensure that the glycogen stores in your muscles and liver are replenished and you are ready for the next training session.
Our body usually gets enough fat from a normal diet. Consuming additional fat for training is a common nutritional mistake that occurs with the wrong diet. Around 1.5 grams of fat per kilogram of body weight per day is sufficient.[12] Unsaturated fatty acids are particularly important, many of which our body cannot produce itself.
High-fat foods are digested slowly and are not recommended either before or after exercise.[13] It is much better to focus on carbohydrate-rich foods with proteins so that the glycogen stores are replenished and the body can regenerate.
Recognizing and avoiding poor nutrition through variety
The wrong diet is not only found among fast food fans and those with a sweet tooth. Athletes who follow strict diets often experience deficiency symptoms or a drop in performance. The problem here is usually a lack of balance.
If you eat chicken breast with broccoli and rice every day, you are taking in vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates and proteins, but always the same ones. This nutritional error leads to an unbalanced diet and consequently to deficiency symptoms, a lack of energy and a drop in performance.
It is important to pay attention not only to the quantity of nutrients, but also to their variety. A varied diet with a varied mixed diet is particularly healthy.[14]
Nutritional mistakes: bad timing
Timing is also important for a healthy diet. Ecotrophologist Mareike Großhauser advises not to eat large meals around three hours before training. However, you can have your last snack 1.5-1 hour(s) before your training session. Großhauser recommends light snacks with carbohydrates and protein before exercise, such as a banana, a bread roll or oatmeal with yoghurt.[15]
After the training session, the body should be quickly supplied with carbohydrates so that the glycogen stores are replenished. Fruit spritzers are particularly suitable for this. You shouldn't wait too long to eat either, as the body can utilize the nutrients supplied to it particularly well within an hour or so - the so-called anabolic window. This is when carbohydrates and proteins should be on your plate again so that your energy reserves are replenished and your body can regenerate.[16]
Food supplements - useful or dangerous?
Endurance athletes who eat a balanced diet generally manage well without supplements. An undersupply of macronutrients, vitamins and minerals and, as a result, deficiency symptoms often occur with an unbalanced diet. We recommend 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day to provide the body with vitamins, as well as healthy oils, wholegrain products and fish or meat once or twice a week.[17] Or the correspondingly available substitute products that do not contain meat.
If deficiency symptoms do occur, they should be clarified individually by a doctor. Taking vitamin supplements on your own can lead to an overdose and subsequently to diarrhea, headaches or vomiting.[18]
Expert recommendations often differ when it comes to macronutrients. During intensive training phases, it can be useful to take carbohydrates and proteins in solid or liquid form in the form of food supplements. The rapid absorption of nutrients kick-starts anabolic regeneration and ensures that energy stores are replenished quickly.[19]
However, Christine Joisten, a doctor of general and sports medicine, speaks out against the supplements. In her opinion, the body benefits much less from them than the industry. Energy bars in particular also contain a lot of unwanted fat in addition to the desired proteins.[20]
Fit for endurance sports - avoiding the wrong diet
Depending on age, gender, body size and training plan, we all have different nutritional needs. In addition to the right amount of calories and macronutrients, a varied diet is particularly important. It provides us with vitamins, minerals, healthy fats, complex carbohydrates and proteins.
A poor diet usually means an unbalanced diet. However, this can usually be easily avoided by increasing variety, even without dietary supplements. However, if supplements are used, this should be carefully considered and may only be done after professional advice.
Tim Fabiszewski
Author
Sources
Cf. Health Knowledge Foundation (2022): How many calories do you need a day? https://www.stiftung-gesundheitswissen.de/gesundes-leben/ernaehrung-lebensweise/wie-viele-kalorien-braucht-man-am-tag.
Cf. Engberg, Anna (2021): Nutrition in old age. Pflege.de: https://www.pflege.de/leben-im-alter/ernaehrung/.
Cf. Medisana (2021): Losing weight successfully. Why do men lose weight better and faster than women? and Stiftung Gesundheitswissen (2022). https://www.medisana.de/healthblog/erfolgreich-abnehmen/.
Cf. Stiftung Gesundheitswesen (2022)
Cf. Pia (2021): Nutrition for endurance athletes: 5 principles that matter. Pushing Limits: https://pushing-limits.de/blog/wheresthefood-blog/ausdauersportler-ernaehrung-basics-tipps/
Cf. Anona (2014): The five most common dietary mistakes. https://anona.de/ernaehrungsfehler/
Cf. Süddeutsche Zeitung (2021): Poor nutrition destroys the best training plan. https://www.sueddeutsche.de/wirtschaft/ernaehrung-schlechte-ernaehrung-zerstoert-den-besten-trainingsplan-dpa.urn-newsml-dpa-com-20090101-210525-99-735071
Cf. Redaktion Gesundheitsportal (2020): Nutrition and endurance sports. Gesundheit.gv.at: https://www.gesundheit.gv.at/leben/bewegung/sport-ernaehrung/ausdauersport-ernaehrung.html#:~:text=The%20basis%20for%C3%BCr%20every%20form,energy%20should%20come%20from%20carbohydrates
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Vgl. Waechter Lena (2022): Sportler profitieren von gesunder Lebensmittelauswahl. Infothek-gesundheit.de: https://infothek-gesundheit.de/ernaehrung-fuer-sportler-die-dos-und-donts/.
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