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Sports Nutrition Tips
to Help You Lose Weight and Perform Better
The American College of Sports
Medicine (ACSM) is the world’s largest organization of sports
medicine and exercise science professionals. At ACSM’s annual
meeting in Denver,
more than 6,000 exercise scientists, sports dietitians,
physicians and other health professionals gathered to share
their research. Here are a few of the nutrition highlights.
More highlights are available at www.acsm.org.
Looking
for a way to get fit quickly? High intensity interval training
(HIIT) is effective, though it’s hard work. Once you are fit,
you can then reduce the exercise intensity to a more enjoyable
(sustainable) level. Dr. Martin Gibala of McMaster
University in Ontario
does not believe HIIT is a heart attack waiting to happen, but
recommends untrained people first get a proper medical
check-up. HIIT can be an effective part of a weight reduction
program. Overweight men who did 20 minutes of HIIT (8 second
sprints with 12 seconds recovery) three times per week for 12
weeks achieved a 7 percent drop in body fat. In another study
with untrained, slightly overweight women ages 30 to 45, those
who did high intensity exercise lost more weight and body fat
than those who did lower intensity training. One benefit of
high intensity exercise is it can suppress the appetite
(temporarily) compared to lower intensity exercise. HIIT can
create a significant afterburn. Men who expended roughly 500
calories during 47 minutes of vigorous exercise continued to
burn 225 extra calories in the next 18.5 hours. When athletes
lose weight, they lose muscle as well as fat. For example,
soldiers during nine weeks of combat training lost 9 lbs (4.2
kg) body weight, of which one-third was muscle loss and
two-thirds fat loss. They consumed about 15 percent fewer
calories than required to maintain weight.
Even bodybuilders and figure competitors do
not lose just body fat when they “lean out.” In the
12 weeks pre-competition, male bodybuilders lost about 4 lbs
(1.8 kg) lean body mass and 11.5 lbs (5.2 kg) body fat. The
female figure competitors lost about 5.5 lbs (2.6 kg) lean and
about 6.4 lbs (2.9 kg) fat.
· Why do women struggle harder than men to lose
undesired body fat? Perhaps because they are women. In the
animal kingdom, female animals generate less body heat after
overfeeding compared to the males. Research with humans
suggests similar energy conservation. When four men and four
women were overfed ice cream for three days (150 percent of
energy balance needs), the men burned off some of the extra calories
while the women conserved energy. Should you believe the
calorie estimates displayed on exercise machines? Not
necessarily. The Precor EFX556i overestimated energy
expenditure, particularly with women.
A novel way to burn a few extra calories is
to sit on a stability ball while you are at work. At a call
center (where 90 percent of the time is spent sitting),
employees who sat on the stability ball for five hours during
the workday burned about 260 more calories per eight-hour
shift. Theoretically, that could lead to loss of 26 pounds in a
year! They burned about half a calorie more per minute sitting
on a stability ball than sitting in a chair. The biggest
barrier to using the stability balls was aggravation of
pre-existing back pain.
Trained cyclists who consumed equal calories of
either a sports drink or banana chunks during a 75-kilometer
cycling time trial performed similarly. The banana, however,
offered a beneficial anti-inflammatory response. Natural foods
generally offer more benefits than engineered sports foods.
· Chocolate milk is a popular recovery food that
contains carbohydrates to refuel muscles and high quality
protein to build and repair muscles. Both full-fat and skimmed
chocolate milk offer similar recovery benefits.
· Beer is a plant-based beverage that offers
anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Marathoners who
drank 1 to 1.5 liters of non-alcoholic beer per day for three
weeks prior to a marathon and two weeks after the marathon
experienced less post-race inflammation and fewer colds.
Non-alcoholic beer offers a wise way to enjoy the natural high
of exercise along with positive health benefits.
· Have you ever wondered how much elite endurance
athletes consume during an event? A post-event survey of
Ironman triathletes, marathoners, long-distance cyclists, and
professional bike racers suggests the Ironmen consumed about 70
grams (280 calories) of carbohydrate per hour; the cyclists, 53
grams (212 calories) and the marathoners, 35 grams (140
calories). The endurance athletes who consumed the most energy
had the best performances.
· How common are intestinal problems during
endurance events? About 31 percent of the Ironman
competitors reported GI serious problems, compared to 14
percent of the half-Ironman competitors, 4 percent of the
cyclists, and 4 percent of the marathoners. Those with a
history of GI distress reported the most symptoms, as well as
those who exercised in higher heat.
· If you are going to be competing in the heat,
you might want to pre-cool your body. One way to do that is to
enjoy an ice slurry. Runners who consumed about 14 oz. of ice
slurry before they exercised in the heat were able to run about
1 percent faster during a 10 kilometer (6.2 mile) race.
· Female athletes commonly restrict their food
intake. Among 44 female high school cross-country runners (16
year olds):
–39 percent restricted food, thinking being lighter would help
them perform better.
–42 percent reported missed or absent menstrual periods in the
past year-a sign of being under-fueled.
–They were eight times more likely to believe missing multiple
periods was a sign they were in better shape.
These young women need to be educated about the
medical problems associated with missed menstrual periods!
· To resume menses, amenorrheic women need to
correct the energy deficit. Those who drank a
360-calorie carbohydrate-protein supplement
resumed menses, on average, in about 2.5 months (±2 months).
The longer they had been amenorrheic, the longer they needed to
resume menses.
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