Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 63, October 2014 | Page 40

Ma nutrition

Six Steps to
Health

When you’re training for your next athletic
goal, having the right fuel can go a long way
to successfully ticking it off, and your optimal
nutritional status can be easily achieved by
following these easy steps.
– BY CHRISTINE PETERS, REGISTERED DIETICIAN

1. Focus on lowering your body
fat percentage, instead of losing
weight.
This will improve your power to weight
ratio when climbing hills (running or cycling).
This should not be achieved by drastically
reducing your energy intake, as this may
negatively affect your daily training and
recovery, and ultimately your performance
on race day. Meeting daily protein
requirements helps improve body
composition, while trying to lose body fat
and gain muscle mass during training.

5. Enjoy a variety of foods.

aids in order to perform optimally. Remember
your diet is your biggest insurance for health
and performance. Natural food is constantly
being proven to have as good an affect on
performance as ergogenic aids, if not better.
So try the humble raisin instead of a sport’s
chew: Recent studies found that raisins
perform just as well as a carb supplement,
including zero gastrointestinal side-effects for
endurance sport.

There is no single magic food. Each food
offers its own specific nutrients and eating a
variety of food helps ensure a well-rounded
nutritional intake. Don’t cut out any foods
because it’s the fad to do so.

6. Keep the focus on natural foods.
Don’t get manipulated by clever marketing
that you need special sports supplements and

2. Keep a daily fluid, food and
symptom diary.
Logging your intake will help you get to
grips with when, what and how much you are
consuming, as well as how it affects your
mood and performance. This makes it easier
to identify the necessary dietary changes
that need to be made in order to improve
performance.

3. Establish a routine.
Meal regularity is extremely important, as
missing meals can result in over-indulgence
at the next meal or choosing convenience
meals and snacks which are generally high in
fat and sugar, and low in nutritional value.
Keep that balance going!

Alcohol is loaded with empty calories and can
promote fat storage, and can negatively
affect motor skills, strength and performance
when it comes to exercise. So, switch to a
light beer or spritzer (white wine and soda) or
a single tot of spirits with a low-calorie mixer
(e.g. a diet cold drink, water or soda water).
Note that drinking light beers or single
tots of spirits does not mean that you
can drink more!

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ISSUE 63 OCTOBER 2014 / www.modernathlete.co.za

The Bottom Line…
The overall thing you have to keep in mind is to keep it natural
and balanced with a specific eye for ‘real’ foods: Fruit, veggies

(and leave those peels on!), whole grains and

lean meats. Eat more seeds and nuts as a

snack alternative, and remember to keep

hydrated throughout the day. These

simple rules will make you feel
energised and will help your

performance in training and chasing

that PB!

Images: Fotolia

4. Keep an eye on your alcohol
intake.