The sports nutritionist deals with the diet of athletes who want to improve their performance and reach the top of their form
The role of the sports nutritionist in 7 points
For sportsmen and women, whether they are amateurs or professionals, a correct diet is fundamental to obtain the desired results.
Indeed, despite constant training, poor eating habits can lead to poor efficiency of the body, greatly reducing sports performance and, in the worst case, developing diseases.
Why call on a sports nutritionist?
A nutritionist in particular :
Knows the biochemical and physiological mechanisms of digestion and absorption, the metabolic processes of nutrients and recognises the effects of excess and deficiency malnutrition in the athlete under demanding workloads;
Is able to assess body composition in its basic subsets (molecules, cells, tissues) and techniques for assessing individual districts; body metabolism, energy expenditure, measurement techniques and methods (plicometry, impedancemetry, calorimetry, dexa);
Is able to define the energy intake and nutritional qualities of different foods and knows the basic composition and factors that regulate the bioavailability of macronutrients and micronutrients for each type of athlete;
Is able to verify the correct consumption of foods to achieve the recommended levels of nutrients for the maintenance of health and the achievement of maximum performance;
Is able to assess the most appropriate nutritional status for the physical and psychological characteristics of the individual under stress, particularly with regard to competitive physical activity;
Knows how to provide the athlete with nutritional awareness, guaranteeing and above all maintaining the set objectives in the long term.
Manages dietary rhythms, which essentially concern the distribution of energy during the day, which must take into account the time of training or competition: it is on the basis of these data that the nutritionist formulates and implements different dietary schemes.
Diet for the amateur athlete
Generally speaking, the recommended diet for an amateur athlete is based on the Mediterranean diet, which ensures a good glycidic intake, accompanied by a sufficient supply of water and minerals.
Generally speaking, the calorie quota to be included is 15-20% of the athlete's normal daily intake.
Diet for a professional athlete
In the case of the professional athlete, it is advisable to differentiate the diet between training periods and the diet during competition periods, in addition to the basic diet.
The latter should not be too different from a healthy and balanced diet followed by any adult who wants to stay healthy.
1. Diet for an athlete during training
During periods of training, the diet should be high in calories to meet increased needs, with sufficient protein intake.
For athletes with highly developed muscle masses, it is important to identify the correct amount of protein in relation to body weight, an amount that will ensure proper muscle development without overloading the liver and kidneys.
2. Pre-race diet for athletes
It should be pointed out that the interval considered between the meal and the competition is the one from the end of the meal to the beginning of the warm-up (which triggers physical activity, even if bland, which slows down the digestive processes) and that often the digestion of the pre-race meal is slowed down by a possible increase in the subject's nervous tension.
It is therefore advisable to calculate this interval to calibrate the time of the pre-race meal and what to eat, in order to avoid low-calorie foods, very voluminous foods (such as mega-doses of low-calorie vegetables) which cause unnecessary intestinal stagnation because they are not eliminated in time before the race.
Also avoid foods that are too salty, which cause unnecessary weight gain due to temporary water retention.
3. Diet after the race
At the end of the race it is essential to replenish the electrolytes and minerals "consumed" during the race, so it is important to replenish them through fruit juices, water and mineral-rich foods.
What diet should athletes follow?
In fact, it is up to each athlete to identify his or her own "ideal diet": Just as there is no fixed rule that determines an individual's running pace, there is no universally valid diet for athletes, so it is necessary to experiment and try over time to identify the diet that suits your physical needs.