Eat Right to Fight, Round 2: Energy Nutrition

Written by Mark Mian of AlterCenter

Fighters are typically concerned about eating right to maximize their energy, control their weight, and recover from workouts (which includes building muscle). This week, I’ll explain the basics of how to eat for optimum energy before training and competition.

Not Created Equal
We’re supposedly created equal in human rights (sure), but we’re definitely not all the same body type. Each  body has a preferred way of getting energy from food, and so, not all foods behave the same way when put into different bodies. For that reason, it’s too simplistic to ask which food, diet, exercise or training regimen is the best for everyone. It all depends on you: “One human’s fitness is another human’s fatness.” Know what I’m sayin?

Anyway, “biochemical individuality” is why my first nutrition posting was about helping you to find your “Metabolic Type” with a simple online quiz. Your Metabolic Type determines how foods affect your energy and growth. While everyone needs carbohydrates  as a primary source of energy, each person also needs a specific balance of protein and fat to complement the carbs.

Maximize Your Energy Here

Here is a simple two-step program for finding energy foods. It’s simple: find the right combination of foods for your body, and then get the timing right.
1. Eat the Right Balance
The food you eat at any given time should conform to the best ratio of carbs:protein:fats for your Metabolic Type.

2. Timing is Everything
Food isn’t really usable until it’s been processed by your digestive system. So “digestibility” is the first thing to respect when choosing what to eat, and when to eat it. Beef breaks down very slowly compared to a protein shake. So guess what… Don’t eat beef less than about 4-5+hrs before activity. The trick is to time your foods so that they always deliver the right nutrition when you need it most.  Food is a “time bomb”, in a sense.

Some General Rules:
1. Solid/dense/fibrous/gooey food digests slower.
2. Processed, refined, liquid foods digest faster.
3. Cooking proteins & fats/oils slows digestion (& less healthy).
4. Cooking vegetables & starches/grains speeds digestion.

A. Protein Timing
This is a loose ranking of how quickly protein sources generally break down when eaten by themselves. Combining different foods & supplements will also affect timing. — heavy and/or fibrous foods slow things down.

5-6hrs: Melted Cheese
4-5hrs: Pork & Game (Deer, Buffalo, Moose), Hard Cheese
3-4hrs: Beef/Lamb
2-3hrs: Turkey, Chicken
1-2hrs: Fish, Soy, Eggs, Nuts & Seeds
<1hr: Protein Powder

B. Carbohydrate Timing
A system called the Glycemic Index (GI) was developed to help diabetics choose carbohydrate-rich foods that won’t rapidly elevate their blood sugar levels and cause harm. The GI ranks foods in terms of how fast they go from food in your big mouth to sugar in your blood. The higher the number, the bigger the energy rush (and resulting crash). A lower number means the energy will come in slower and last longer.

Since blood sugar is what supplies your mind and muscles with the fuel they need to work, the GI is also useful for athletes. The closer you get to your workout, the higher the GI of your food can/should be. The highest GI foods are best consumed (as liquids) within your workouts – when carb/sugar burning is at its highest. But, if you eat High-GI foods and don’t do activity, it will more likely be converted into bodyfat! In general, eat Low-GI foods when you’re not exerting yourself. Whole grains, beans/lentils, and fruit are best for carbs. Avoid sugars, candies, soft drinks, and other super sweet stuff.

High GI = 70+. Medium GI = 55-70. Low <55.

Click here to see the Glycemic Index for many foods.

[The second part of the list ranks the food by number, so you can quickly find and pick ones appropriate for the time of day.]

C. Burn & Crash
Blood sugar is what gives your mind and muscles the fuel to do their thing. It comes mainly from digestion, as well as from your muscles and liver. When you’ve burned out your steady supply of blood sugar, a condition called “Hypoglycemia” sets in (aka “Low Blood Sugar”). Performance will fall downhill from there if you don’t ingest some carbs fast –but you won’t always feel hungry by that time! You might just feel irritable – which has spawned the expression: “I’m hangry!” Either way, once you’re out of blood sugar, your body will break down muscle protein to replace it. Counter-productive.

The main symptoms reported by about 75% of 600 patients with Hypoglycemia were: Nervousness, Irritability, Exhaustion, Faintness/Dizziness, Tremor/Cold Sweats, Depression, Vertigo and Drowsiness. So, if you experience these during the day or while training – consider first when it was that you last ate… before you smack anyone.

Conclusion
I hope that helped and wasn’t too complicated. Let me know. Otherwise, use the GI foods list above to experiment with foods around and beyond training and stop asking me if a Starbucks Frappucino is a good pre-workout meal.

*wai*

Mark/Alter