A Slice of Humble Pie with P2
🥧 A podcast where we curiously explore nutrition, fitness, mindset, sports, wellness, & beyond. ☕️Host @parastoobadie
A Slice of Humble Pie with P2
Performance Nutrition, Part 1
In this episode, learn how fueling your body can elevate not just your physical capabilities but also your mental and emotional resilience. We'll unpack why it's essential optimize nutrition to excel in training and improve recovery. Forget restrictive labels, we're focusing on nutrient density and the power of macronutrients and micronutrients to maximize performance.
Join me, your host P2, as we break down the intricacies of energy availability and its pivotal role in keeping fatigue and injuries at bay. You'll learn about the importance of nutrient timing, effective hydration, and the strategic use of ergogenic aids. We dive into the consequences of low energy availability and discuss personalized yet straightforward strategies to enhance athletic performance sustainably.
Whether you're an elite athlete or just getting started on your fitness journey, this episode offers invaluable insights that could be the game-changer.
To learn more about Nutrition Fundamentals, check out: https://parastoobadie.com/level-up
Website: https://parastoobadie.com/podcast/
Email: asliceofhumblepiewithp2@gmail.com
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Welcome back to Slice of Humble Pie. I'm your host, pitu. I'm a nutrition and fitness professional, a lover of pie and a curious human on planet Earth. Today's episode is a solo one and it's the first of many that's going to be on performance nutrition. So what does it mean to eat for performance Now? Now, naturally I have to do a little disclaimer, as this is a podcast, it may or may not be slightly different for everybody, because obviously in this forum we can't get specific, so I'm talking more general terms for athletes. When we're eating for performance, most people immediately think physical, but naturally it's our physical, it's our mental and our emotional as well. It impacts the entire overall well-being of an athlete, a human being. Why is this important? Well, if you're eating enough, then you have the capacity, you have the energy to perform or to execute the various cognitive and physical tasks that training or your sport requires. You're able to recover well and, essentially, train hard, compete and do more of these things for the long haul, with the ultimate goal being a sustainable approach. Now, it's important to point out here that when I say sustainable, I mean as an overall lifestyle. You know, lifestyle, we're here to lifestyle, but that actually may look different for everybody, and that's where the sustainability, the individualization, is important for you to self-reflect and recognize any barriers or things in your environment or social circle that would, you know, contribute to it not being sustainable. But also it's important to recognize that, when it comes to athletics and especially competition, there are going to be certain practices that are not sustainable and those are meant to be for short term, like, for example, if, uh, there's a weight cut happening for weight class sport athlete or you know you're doing a bodybuilding competition, like certain behaviors or strategies are not sustainable but they're very intentional, and so, overall though, we're looking at like the bigger picture, and if you have a foundation set where it is more sustainable, then there is opportunity to use strategies with intention and then sort of revert back to a lifestyle that has focus on performance as well as a great relationship with food.
Speaker 1:I'm going to divide this episode into a couple of different components. First, we're going to just talk about some of the science and the you know the structure of what I mean by eating enough and then what happens if you're not eating enough and then just the steps to follow of what to do, a practical application. So the first thing. The term that most of us have heard is BMR, which is basic metabolic rate. Now, that means that the basics of energy that your body requires to function and this is like we're not even talking about performance, we're talking just about basic autonomic body functions and that would be your basic metabolic rate on an average Again, average number for women is around 1400 calories and for men is around 1700 calories. Now, naturally, this depends on your muscle mass, on your height, on your strength and weight. There's a lot of factors involved, but overall, if you have more lean muscle mass, then you also end up having a higher basic metabolic rate, which is one of the other benefits of resistance training and just doing sports in general even if we're not talking about athletics and sport is that you end up just being more efficient. Just, you have higher use for energy and your body is more efficient and it uses it differently as well. So how do we determine we're eating enough? First and foremost, it has to be well above the BMR, right? So if this is your basic functioning for your body to do stuff we haven't even talked about training, we haven't talked about the other aspects, right, and so, in that context, to go with the averages, knowing that we are not aware of the early muscle mass, we don't know height, we don't know weight, we don't know training history. Another average-ish target would be, let's say, 2400 calories all the way up to 4000 plus. And if some of you are listening and you're like, oh my goodness, like of course I realize I'm talking about calories right now. And if you are comfortable with tracking, it's really. And if you are comfortable with tracking, it's really. It's very telling because you can have some data to also look at the context and qualitative stuff. But we'll get to more of the other things that you can look for in a moment. But just stay with me Even if you're not tracking, there's still ways of eating for performance and recognizing if you're not eating adequately.
Speaker 1:For you, if you are an athlete, training in general, that's sort of the range that you're aiming for, minimum, and if you're below that then you're under eating. We'll get there in a second. So overall, you're eating someone at a maintenance, possibly a surplus of your intake. You don't necessarily want to be in a deficit for optimal performance. Or if you are in too much of a deficit, that's where you're really compromising your performance. Again, it depends on the context.
Speaker 1:So what is the number of? What are you eating? Well, the goal is to have as nutrient dense as possible, where appropriate. So what I mean by that is getting enough macronutrients. That would include protein, fat and carbohydrates your protein at this level could range from one to one point eight gram per per pound of body weight and and then also the micronutrients, which would include vitamins and minerals.
Speaker 1:And you've heard me before, if you followed along with any of my stuff, that I'm very particular on not using some of the language, such as clean eating or junk food. And I intentionally just said nutrient nutrient dense because when we are trying to eat for sports nutrition, sometimes you you can't because there is going to be a limit on how much volume of food you can eat, and something like jelly beans, for example, is actually really beneficial for an athlete, especially when it's know maybe competition or when we get to around workouts. So the point of what I'm saying is to you know, I have this in the Nutrition Fundamentals course. I highly recommend that you look through it to recognize what I mean by language, because obviously at this point I'm assuming we have all of our foundations, so you're eating well above your basic metabolic rate out of maintenance, and the whole point is to eat adequate amount of macronutrients and micronutrients, ultimately as nutrient dense as possible, leaving some room for nutrient void foods, to have a good quality, to have a good relationship with food and to be able to make it sustainable. Ultimately, the more you exercise, the more fuel, air quotations, the more energy you need.
Speaker 1:Now another label, so we have most of us have heard RDA. So some of the if you're buying anything, most of the labels in the back of them are usually based on RDA and what that stands for is your recommended dietary allowance. You know, just wanted to have an active, healthy lifestyle and you're doing some physical activity. Cool, rda is enough. You're just making sure that you're getting your nutrients. That hit that minimum. It's usually from eating a variety of foods great.
Speaker 1:But if you are demanding more from your body as our athletes, especially if you're in an intense portion of your training, then you're going for more, what we call your optimal intake. It's more of the upper limit. Now, what I don't mean here is just to throw more of every nutrient to its maximum possible, because everything has its purpose. For example, let's say we're talking about water soluble versus fat soluble vitamins. So what that would be is vitamin B is water soluble and vitamin A or vitamin D as fat soluble. Now, vitamin D is excellent and we obviously need it, but if you're just taking an outrageous amount for a very long time, that is fat soluble, so your body actually holds on to it and at my point it might become a toxic level that might create other situations. So what I'm not saying here is to go have a bunch of everything, is to recognize that the bare minimum that our body requires is not going to be sufficient if you are demanding more of your body as an athlete, especially in intense training and in competition.
Speaker 1:Essentially, the whole point of the performance aspect is to, you know, support us being able to perform. So when you're eating enough, you are creating something called EA, which is energy availability. If you have adequate energy availability, this is the good stuff that happens. So, whether or not you were, you know, were tracking your calories or your macros, but in general, this is what you're looking for. So let's say, yeah, I'm eating, I have good energy availability. What's happening? Well, you are able to focus better on training. Perhaps you're accomplishing PRs, personal records in the gym. Maybe you have better output, you're more explosive, or you can lift more, or you have more stamina, like you know some of the very positive aspects of why you're training in the first place.
Speaker 1:And naturally, again, I'm not saying that just eating equates that you have to train for certain things, for example, build your cardiovascular capacity. But I'm specifically talking about like, let's say, you have your fitness space and if you are eating enough versus not eating enough, this is how you can differentiate. So if you're fatiguing faster, if you're just really tired. Those are some other things I'll touch on in a moment. So hold on, let me finish the what goes well part. So you're able to focus, you're accomplishing personal records, you're feeling good in the gym, you're pushing it, and the other thing is that you can perhaps balance other things in your life as well. So, on the contrary, the opposite, what happens if it's not enough? So, if you have low EA, that's actually referred to as LEA, which is low energy availability.
Speaker 1:Now, I mentioned tired earlier and obviously, if you're a human being, you get tired at some point. And in terms of tired, I don't mean like, oh yeah, this sucks, it's hard, I'm tired. I mean like the type of tired where your toes are tired, the ones where you are absolutely exhausted and you're not really gaining. You don't feel like you're getting better and you're not really gaining. You don't feel like you're getting better, like you're just constantly exhausted, like you're lethargic, you feel run down. Ultimately, you have poor recovery. You might be at higher risk for injury. You might just be less aware, less focused. You're really struggling to be like what is coach saying? What am I supposed to do? What's happening? Something that could have been your, you know, warm up or something you could have done previously, may not be something you can execute at the gym today. It's not so much like a reflection of your capacity as an athlete, but more just, you have less fuel in the tank, if we can call it that.
Speaker 1:There's two parts to this low energy availability. If it's one time, or a couple times or a couple days, you just realize that maybe, oh, I didn't eat enough, or I forgot to have lunch, or okay, I can remedy this by addressing it next time. But if you are having this be consistent, or you've been in a deficit for a really long time and it's been days or weeks you end up pushing your body beyond its capacity where, right, you have essentially more output than input and at some point something's got to give. And if it's not your physical body, it could be mentally, like you're burned out. It could be emotional, like you're just having a really hard time navigating everything else that's happening From, like the dynamics of sport and your coaches and your teammates, to, like you know, the the added pressures of competition on top of like just picking fights with your partner or having a hard time socially. Like these are all other aspects of it as well.
Speaker 1:So if you are low energy for a long time, it could lead to a couple of other more severe complications. So in females it would be. Uh, one potential consequences is eaa, which is exercise induced amenorrhea. That essentially means that we end up missing our period, like our body's too stressed to even have our cycle. Well, the most suggested solution to this is to increase calories and just eat more, so just doing too much, and the body's just shutting down certain essential functions because it just can't keep up with what you're trying to do with it. And then in males, there's also consequences, for example, insufficient testosterone, reduced libido, decreased bone density, which affects women too. Overall, you're just, you know, demanding far too much that your body can't keep up with, and things are going to happen, and so the risk of injury I mentioned other things that could potentially happen to is a full burnout, or the sport just feels like too much, because you're essentially forgetting that you're a human being that's multifaceted, that has, you know, several things going on at the same time.
Speaker 1:And the fuel and food, when we're talking about it, it's not just shoving IVs and nutrients in us, it's also recognizing that food is multifaceted, it is emotional, it is culture, there's a lot going on. So we're trying to incorporate all of that where we're eating for performance, for sustainability. We know what happens if we're not eating enough. We know what happens if it is enough, and we have some basic awareness of what that means, of what enough is. So what can we do about it?
Speaker 1:Right now, my very first suggestion, my first step, would be to recognize if a food doesn't mesh well with your body. What I mean by that is do you have allergies, do you have intolerances? Something like a serious one, for example, is if you are celiac, obviously you're literally allergic to gluten. That's not about reducing what you're having, it's just eliminating it, or you're just bad news bears. But the point of this first step is to recognize what works for your body and to be aware of your digestion. So if you are having poor digestion, you're probably not absorbing. Could be other issues going on, because there's a lot, so I recommend that you explore that with your health care professional.
Speaker 1:But something really simple to consider is, using myself as an example. I don't mesh well with dairy. Through an elimination diet many years ago I recognized that dairy in most of its forms either it's lactose or casein or whey just does not mesh with my body and I'm immediately just very uncomfortable, bloated. If I'm trying to increase my protein intake, having more whey or having more milk is not going to be an appropriate thing for me, so I just don't. So right, even though whey is one of the most bioavailable and one of the best absorbed forms not in the case of the fact that I'm intolerant to it. So I have to go to a different option. So in this case, make sure that you recognize what foods mesh with your body and just do speak with a professional and perhaps go through an elimination diet approach to figure that part out.
Speaker 1:Okay, step one digestion. Step two kind of building on that mindful eating. Now, mindful eating, being mindful, intentional, they're kind of cohesive. They're all under the same umbrella, and why that's important when we're talking about performance is a the intention, the mindset, breathing it's also the stress response. So we have our sympathetic nervous system and our parasympathetic nervous system. Now we have our flight or fright response, just as humans and we're designed to, you know, be able to respond in case of an emergency and run away from that lion that may be chasing us. But when that happens, your digestion is one of the first things to shut down, because if your body is trying to put your safety as top priority, it's not trying to also digest your lunch. So, in the case of just improving our digestion or our overall well-being with just eating, before we've even talked about the rest, is mindful eating, and this is switch from the synthetic to the parasympathetic by simply breathing, sitting down, being present, avoiding distractions, taking our time chewing, chewing thoroughly, and making sure we're supporting our bodies, starting with basic mechanical digestion. So, step two being aware, mindful, patient. Now we get to the eating enough.
Speaker 1:So, whether you are tracking your macros, your calories or using various other types of portion awareness and you're looking at essentially like how you're going to do that. So before you start asking me like is intermittent fasting amazing? How should I eat? Again, this is part of what I mean by individualization and recognizing what works for you in terms of meal distribution. So if I were to take, let's say, an athlete who is aiming for 2,400 calories, well, if they're comfortable eating three meals, and then there would be a couple hundred calories left aside in terms of simple carbohydrates and protein that are going to be essentially around training. So your meal distribution, how are you dividing it? We have something called stored glycogen. That would be the carbs that we have stored in our body and they are used as fuel and they're really good for, let's say, if you're doing an endurance sport. But they also have quick fuel, which would be consuming simple carbohydrates around the training window. So when you're trying to time, when you're eating, what that's just.
Speaker 1:Then we get to the nutrient timing, like I just mentioned, and that's specific, more to like when you're actually eating, and then what you're having before training, possibly intra training, and after training. So if you're having very high intense training that surpasses an hour, maybe it's a good idea to have an intra workout where you're having an influx of a quick fuel. So some some form of simple carbs that could be this is where the jelly beans come in or honey, or you could have certain liquid carbohydrates, a carbonyl or whatnot. That may be in a liquid. Again, it depends on the intensity and duration of your training.
Speaker 1:I just mentioned liquids, so let's move on to hydration. Now. That's a big aspect of performance nutrition. But if you are, like I mentioned previously in this episode, just someone that's trying to eat well and have a healthy lifestyle, drink when you're thirsty, you have plenty of fluids. Notice, if your urine output is like very dark yellow or a light yellow. That's kind of how you're going for to see how hydrated you are.
Speaker 1:But for our purposes, when we're talking about more intense training by your hydration, again, overall it is your fluid intake, it's not just water. Look, we don't want to be doing something like distilled water, because then you're not gaining the minerals and electrolytes that are important, which is also more important if you have a high sweat rate or if you're again doing very intense activity. So if you are a combat athlete or or a field sport like rugby or football, and also in your environment and are you in thailand, like I am, we're just existing. You sweat profusely, you know. So it depends on the sweat rate and it's important for you to have those electrolytes in this context because they are the minerals, are important for cell and nerve function and they all work cohesively for us to be hydrated.
Speaker 1:Now, if we have a little bit of dehydration, even one to 2%, can start to have an influence. It can start to impact our cognitive function, our reaction time, and if we stay dehydrated or if it increases, the percentage increases like that's a problem because we're getting closer and closer to heat stroke, which is danger zone. But dehydration overall can influence performance, such as cognition, like I mentioned, reaction time, possibly speed, possibly flexibility, and it could potentially, you know, increase risk of injury, including possibly more of a risk of a concussion. All to take away from that is just to make sure you're also recognizing hydration as part of the intake for performance nutrition, and I mentioned electrolytes. So the next step would be the ergogenic aids, so like creatine, and having other supplements.
Speaker 1:Now, earlier talking about the RDA versus optimal intake, this is where it would be appropriate. So, unless you have spoken to your physician, which I suggest that you do with your naturopathic doctor or your medical doctor, whoever that you trust trust to get a blood requisition and just see where you're. Where you're at and certain things you might really be deficient in and you actually require, like, for example, iron, but not everyone is, so don't just start taking iron because someone else is like this. That was very individual and it could very much be a problem if you're taking something you don't need, but something like, for example, creatine or magnesium or caffeine again based on your use and that might be beneficial. Maybe some caffeine brings you more focus right before training. Having some magnesium may help improve your recovery, and creatine has a multitude of benefits for your energy. This is where the support of ergogenic aids is great. Just make sure that it's quality sources and you're only really taking what makes sense. You don't have to throw thousands of dollars here and then, ultimately, the last step here.
Speaker 1:So before I get to number six, let me recap. Number one digestion. Check your allergies and toler. Number six let me recap Number one digestion. Check your allergies and tolerances as a food best well. Number two mindful eating. Number three eating windows and recognizing your meal distribution and your nutrient timing. Number four your hydration and adding electrolytes, especially if you have a high sweat rate or you're in an environment or doing a sport that is very intense and you require it. And number five, the ergogenic aids, where you can add supplements and other things that may support the previous points. So, number six how do you eat for performance? Honestly, keep it simple for performance. Honestly, keep it simple, keep it sustainable and make sure it's appropriate for you.
Speaker 1:And if you listened to the previous episode, great. If you haven't, please go back and listen to it now. That's the whole point of nutrition fundamentals, which is the self-paced course part of the community that I created all the details are in the show notes is to answer those questions you might have and to get us to the point that we can elaborate more on performance so that we're all on the same page with some of those fundamentals, from language to barriers, to recognizing, assessing our environment, assessing our relationship with food and then, ultimately, those are all layers that you build on until you get to the point that you're focusing a little bit more on higher performance. So the details for nutrition fundamentals are in the show notes. And, yeah, this was a great episode. I had a lot of fun.
Speaker 1:I want to talk a lot more about this. I know I didn't cover a bunch, so stay tuned. Upcoming episodes. I want to dive deeper and talk a little bit more about low energy availability and how that does impact women and men. I want to explore a little bit more the female athlete triad and also bring in some case studies. Stay tuned and thank you so much for your time and for listening. I'm very excited to hear from you Again. The details are in the show notes. Feel free to email questions, comments and let's make this more of a discussion. Until next time, have a good one.
