Building a Performance Plate
Happy March! This month is all about sports nutrition: whether you are an elite athlete, someone who likes to move their body or someone who is curious about movement and their body, this month is for you.
There are different versions of athletes dependent on sport, training level, aerobic activity versus anaerobic activity, etc. Regardless, we are all athletes. We all move our body in some degree resulting in the need/want to understand how we fuel for this movement.
I will get in to more specifics with my master/elite athletes as the month goes on, but today is bringing it back to simple and learning how to build a performance plate.
Let’s break it down.
Find protein. Protein often gets overlooked. Aiming for 20-30g per meal is key as our bodies can only absorb up to 30g protein in one sitting and we pee out any excess.
Add color. Hello fiber, fruits and veggies. This goes second because not only does it provide our body with vitamins and minerals, it further provides hydration in our diet…a key factor in fueling for sport.
Add grains/starches. Grains and starches break down to carbohydrates which is our bodies main source of fuel. The main focus here on amount and type is dependent on what we call periodization which is based on the sport. If our training load is less, we need less carbohydrates. However, we never skip this step and less carbs is still a good amount of carbs.
Add herbs + spices. Not only do they bring taste for relationship building with food and bringing out satisfaction, but herbs + spices trigger certain genes in our bodies to reduce inflammation.
Add in fluids. We bring it up twice because it is important. Adding in no-calorie fluids helps our bodies to take the fluids + nutrients from food (minerals) to hydrate us throughout the day instead of just before/after movement.
Triple check joy/satisfaction factor. This is a big one. Look back at your meal and make sure it is satisfying and/or brings up joy. If not, add something to it. This can be a dessert/sweet component, alcohol, condiment. Something that helps us continue a healthy relationship with food whether it is “pro-inflammatory” or not.
Curious on specifics with sports nutrition or fueling for your specific movement? We would love to work with you! Our practice stands on the foundation of education and in the world of sport/movement, education is KEY.