Diet for high performance athlete

[joseph]

Hey does anyone know what a good diet for a 1-200 meter sprinter would be? I just tested my time today for 100m after like five years of not competing but just working out and doing some martial arts and my time is in the mid 11's. I need it in the low 10's by next summer.

[Melinda]

Make sure your diet is really balanced. As odd and as junior high as this sounds, the best diet for any athlete is following the Canada food guide as close as you can and stay low on candy and junk food.

[hockeybronx]

For sprinting you want to have as low body fat percentage as possible.

As with anything there are some basic guidelines:
- drink plenty of water
- eat frequent meals all day. Bananas are amazing small snacks that you can have, have one every 2 hours or so.

Melinda is right about the Canada food guide thing. I think the most overlooked section is the fruits and vegetables. The vitamins and minerals within are so essential.

You have to find the "magic" foods into your diet:
- Tuna (27 grams of protein, 0.7 grams of fat, no carbs
- Lean Beef - all protein, little fat, no carbs
- Chicken Breasts - high protein, little fat, low carbs.

And then theres all the "instead of's":
- water or milk instead of alcohol
- rice or salad instead of fries when you go out
- getting 8 hours of sleep instead of partying or wasting time here
- finding variation in your workouts instead of struggling to stay motivated doing the same crap over and over again.

Monitor your progress (I'm sure you already are). Remember to work on your agility and flexibility as much as possible, as you probably know flexibility is imperative for speed.

Good luck:thumbsup:

[lint]

Originally posted by Melinda
Make sure your diet is really balanced. As odd and as junior high as this sounds, the best diet for any athlete is following the Canada food guide as close as you can and stay low on candy and junk food.

Not necessarily. In a recent article in Discover Magazine,

What Does Science Say You Should Eat?
Most diets aren’t realistic or advisable, including the U.S. agriculture department’s famous food pyramid. Instead, a Harvard scientist recommends a new way of eating based on the world’s largest and longest food study.
By Brad Lemley
Photography by Dan Winters
DISCOVER Vol. 25 No. 02 | February 2004 | Biology & Medicine

There was this quote regarding the USDA Food Guide Pyramid (which is very similar to the Canada Food Guide. This quote is from Walter Willett, chairman of the department of nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health.



the federally sanctioned USDA Food Guide Pyramid is deeply flawed. “The thing to keep in mind about the USDA pyramid is that it comes from the Department of Agriculture, the agency responsible for promoting American agriculture, not from agencies established to monitor and protect our health,”


Certain foods may be promoted not for health reasons, but rather because the agricultural industry needs you to buy their products.

If anyone wants the whole article, pm me.

[Melinda]

That is in the united states...While I'm not questioning the article, in canada we are encouraged to eat more fruits and veggies then anything else in the food guide and we hardly have a market for either in Canada. BC is pretty much the fruit market of the country and we dont see alot of it in the rest of the country. Besides, most of our products come from other countries (with the exception of beef and grains) whereas Americans usually have their own fruits, vegetables, ect. The only thing I think we'd be "brainwashed" to eat is beef. I dont think this is entirely acurate for canadians.

[lint]

Originally posted by Melinda
That is in the united states...While I'm not questioning the article, in canada we are encouraged to eat more fruits and veggies then anything else in the food guide and we hardly have a market for either in Canada. BC is pretty much the fruit market of the country and we dont see alot of it in the rest of the country. Besides, most of our products come from other countries (with the exception of beef and grains) whereas Americans usually have their own fruits, vegetables, ect. The only thing I think we'd be "brainwashed" to eat is beef. I dont think this is entirely acurate for canadians.

Actually, grain products is the highest, and as you've mentioned, there are plenty of wheat farmers in Canada. interesting? The agricultural industry indeed has a say in what is published in the Canada Food Guide.

They also don't distinguish between the different types of foods (carbs, fats, vegetables) or consider such things as the glycemix index or load. Only the quantity.

http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hpfb-dgpsa/onpp-bppn/images/food_guide_big.gifhttp://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hpfb-dgpsa/onpp-bppn/images/food_guide_bar_big.gif

[grocko]

I actually run for a track club in the city.....

Eating any kind of protein right after a workout really helps build up. I usually eat some almonds or a burger (Yes, the meat in the patties DO have protein in them if you make them yourself). In the mornings, sometimes I like to make some scrambled eggs and then put salsa on top. This is VERY nutricous (sp?) and have been told by many other athletes that they do they same. To be quite honest...dropping into low 10's from mid-11's is quite hard. I ran my first 11.5 race when I was fifteen, and am now just getting under 10.80 at 19 almost 20. Mind you though, i'm not really a 100 meter runner. Throw me in a 400 or 400mH and it would be totally different (48.27 for a 400)

[joseph]

^^^:thumbsup: Nice. Throw me in a 400 and i'll die :D lol I usually run 100 and 200m. before I stopped running I did 10.9 for a 100 so I'm trying to get back to that. By the way which club do you run for? I might join Caltaf in September.


Thanks for all your replies by the way guys. I appreciate it.:)

[grocko]

I run for the Calgary Spartans, but might be switching teams to CALTAF after this season is done actually. Good luck!

[joseph]

Thanks you too:thumbsup:

[Tyler883]

Man didn't rise to the top of the food chain to end up eating dried crunchy tofu burgers.

I like my beef, eggs, and fish. You can live without them, but who would want to? LOL

[joseph]

^^^^Actually i do eat whatever i feel like eating i don't diet at all because i work out all the time. However i can't be doing that 1 month before i start competing or i can probably kiss the possibility of lower 10 second times goodbye.

[Hakkola]

Don't waste your time looking for a nutrition tips from generic guides if you're actually serious about running.

See a nutrionist, find out what you're eating enough of, what you're eating too much of, and what you need more of, no point in guessing and wasting your time eating something that you don't need.