1. NUTRITION PLANNING FOR
RACE SEASON
Stevie Winsborrow, BA, DTR, RMT
Nutritionist, Wellness Coach, Massage Therapist
Yama Training & Wellness

2. SPORTS NUTRITION
 What you eat and when you eat affects your athletic
performance
 A wisely selected diet can help you
 Be stronger
 Train harder
 Compete better

3. THE IMPORTANCE OF BREAKFAST
 Eat it every morning
 Glycogen stored in the liver can be substantially lower in the morning
 Blood sugar is also likely to be low
 You need to refuel your body to replace the energy it used while you slept
 Exercising with low blood sugar may result in early fatigue, lightheadedness and
generally poor performance
 Eating breakfast also helps you to think
 It’s OK to choose non “traditional breakfast” foods

4. HYDRATION
 During Exercise, you lose fluid and electrolytes as you sweat
 If you don’t replace both fluid and sodium during exercise, you can become dehydrated
 The single largest contributor to fatigue during exercise is dehydration caused by
fluid and sodium losses
 Inadequate sodium and fluid intake make your heart work harder and make exercise
more difficult
 Dehydration also slows metabolic rate
 Thirst alone is not a good indicator of your hydration needs during exercise
 Drink before you are thirsty

5. FUEL (PRE-EXERCISE NUTRITION)
 Four main functions:
 To help prevent hypoglycemia (lightheadedness, needless fatigue, blurred vision, and
indecisiveness)
 To help settle your stomach, absorb some of the gastric juices, and abate hunger
 To fuel your muscles, both with food eaten in advance that is stored as glycogen, and
with food eaten within an hour of exercise
 To pacify your mind with the knowledge that your body is well fueled
 3-4 hours before a practice, workout or competition
 Choose foods with lots of carbs
 Drink plenty of water or sports drinks
 One hour before
 Have a snack of primarily carbs
 Wash it down with at least 12 ounces of a sports drink

6. High carbs are best because they
provide ready energy to working muscles
are digested quickly
fuel anaerobic and aerobic activities, especially those at higher intensities
Liquid meals work best for some because they
can empty quickly from the stomach
can be taken closer to event time
are a good source of carbs
work well for the “nervous athlete” whose digestion is slowed by stress
are perfect for multi-event competitions, like triathlons
Why not high protein?
It doesn’t provide quick energy
It elevates resting metabolism, which could impair the body’s ability to cool off
Excess protein contributes to water loss and may accelerate dehydration
May high protein foods are also high in fat, which slows digestion

7. CARBO-LOADING
 A strategy involving changes to nutrition that can maximize muscle glycogen
stores prior to endurance competition
 Extra supply of glycogen has been demonstrated to improve endurance by
allowing athletes to exercise at their optimal pace for a longer time
 Eat carb rich fuels 2-3 days prior to a marathon or other event that will involve
more that 90 minutes of hard exercise
 Choose foods such as whole grain pasta, brown rice, potatoes, beans, fruit, juices

8. FOODS TO AVOID PRE-RACE
 High fat, sluggish foods - they take too long to digest
 High fiber foods may cause stomach distress
 Gas forming foods such as broccoli, cabbage and beans
 Salty foods may cause a bloated feeling
 Caffeinated beverages exacerbate water losses and may cause muscle tremors
and heart palpitations

9. PRE-EXERCISE SNACK IDEAS
 Low fat yogurt
String cheese
 Fruit and grain bar
Whole grain pretzels or crackers
 Fruit – fresh and/or dried
Whole grain bagel
 High carb energy bars
Low fat granola bars
 Cereal and milk topped with a banana
Oatmeal
 Trail mix

10. QUICK ENERGY (MID WORKOUT)
 During breaks, drink water or a sports drink.
 Both will hydrate you
 For longer, more intense exercise, a sport drink will also give you fuel and replace sodium lost
in sweat
 When exercise is intense and longer than an hour, you need extra carbs
 During long events, choose one of the following per hour







1/3 c raisins
1 banana
2 oranges
1 energy bar
4 small fig bars or 2 graham crackers
2 energy gels
24 oz sports drink

11. RECOVERY
 Workouts and competition deplete your glycogen stores
 Muscle tissue gets damaged as you train and compete, and require repair
 Your muscles are also being stimulated to adapt to your training workload
 Recovery involves reloading carbohydrate fuel store, repairing, and building new
muscles tissue, and rehydrating
 Recovery doesn’t start after exercise until you provide your body with the
nutritional components that it needs
 Carbs
 Protein
 Fluids and sodium

12. 1. Focus your meal on carbs
2. Eat carbs as soon as tolerable after a hard workout
3. Eat 75-150 grams carbs within 2 hours after a hard workout, with
protein
4. Drink enough fluids to quench your thirst and then drink more
5. If you crave salt, sprinkle a little on your food
6. Eat wholesome fruits, vegetables and juices that contain potassium
7. Post exercise, drink natural juice more often than sports drinks
8. Keep eating carb rich foods for 2 days after exhaustive endurance
9. Take a day off from exercise

13. TOP RECOVERY SNACKS
 Lowfat chocolate milk
Lowfat granola
 Lean meat sandwich
PB & J sandwich
 Fruit w/ nut butter
Tuna w/ crackers
 Cereal with lowfat milk
Trail mix with nuts and dried fruit
 String cheese and a piece of fruit
Cottage cheese and fruit

14. NUTRITION IN REHAB
 Injuries do happen
 Nutrients help body to heal and get strong again
 Vitamin C – helps to form collagen
 Vitamin A – cell growth and development, bone development, helps immune system
 Zinc – wound healing

15. SOMETHING TO CONSIDER
 ANTIOXIDANTS
 Side effect of exercise: free radicals
 Molecules that cause damage to muscle tissue; not desired
 Antioxidants “absorb free radicals, neutralizing before damage
 Diet consistently rich in fruits and vegetables keep free radicals to a minimum
 Colorful foods include (but not limited to) apples, berries, bananas, oranges, kiwi, melons,
grapes, mangoes, apricots, peppers, broccoli, carrots, green beans, tomatoes

16. FOR MORE INFO AND
NUTRITION COACHING
Stevie Winsborrow
www.yamatrainingandwellness.com
yamatrainingandwellness@gmail.com
719.582.6670
25 N Cascade Ave Suite 90