Garbage in, garbage out: Sports Performance!

 

You’ve probably heard the nutritional advice “garbage in, garbage out.” If you’re really interested in athletic performance, you will pay attention to that.

For that matter, if you’re really interested in good health, you will heed that advice. But, you might ask, “what is garbage” when it comes to what you eat?

It’s easy to jump on the fast food companies in this category but with a little effort, you can eat decent at fast food places. Look for those places that have grilled offerings. You do have to pay attention to the sodium content in a lot of fast foods but there are possibilities out there.

A lot of places provide customers with a list of ingredients and nutritional value on their menu. Several years ago, an attempt was made to require that, but somehow that set of information was squashed.

The hidden salt and sugar in a lot of restaurant items and condiments is absurdly high. And that’s coming from a condiment guy. I love my condiments. I share a genuine love of ketchup with one of my grandsons. He wants it on everything.

Salt, sugar, and flour. If what you’re eating is high in any of those three, you probably qualify for the “garbage in” category. Don’t get me wrong, it’s impossible to avoid all three and I don’t. Moderation is the most we can ask for, most of the time.

I do believe that food is there to enjoy. Big Ed’s pizza. Zaxby’s chicken strips. What my wife cooked for Thanksgiving. A burger from Smalltown BBQ. I do have my weaknesses. Anything from the Italian Apron.

But for the most part, I eat smart. Vegetables. Fruits. Lean meats. I go to the grocery store and look for items with only one name. Asparagus. Carrots. Chicken. Bananas. Bacon (OK, I guess that last one was wishful thinking).

Athletes too often neglect the nutritional aspect of training. On one stint working at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, I was amazed at the volume of food many of the athletes consumed. Mass quantities of mostly healthy food to replace the incredible amount of calories they were burning off in training.

Most athletes aren’t working that hard. Most tend to respond to hunger by eating anything that won’t move. What they’re missing is that what they eat is the fuel for their performance.

Athletes need a balance of protein, complex carbohydrates, and fat. We ignored the fat part for a long time, thinking that all fats were bad. Fats are essential but they have to be good fats. That means avocados, not French fries. 

No one diet is the best for every athlete. You either have to be open to learning on your own (which takes a lot of trial and error) or seek the advice of a nutritionist. What we do know is that the right food can help you compete and to train (we often forget that part).

A pre-game meal used to be whatever you had available. Now, a lot of teams have organized pre-game meals so that their athletes get lean meats, vegetables, and some carbs. Eating a light snack right up to game time works for a lot of people. You can’t run on an empty tank.

Food at halftime used to be taboo. We now know that it is important. Eating a high glycogen meal soon after competing or a hard training session is also important to give you the energy to go again the following day.

You have to find what works for you but it’s safe to say that the burger and fries is not your best option.