As a sports dietitian, as well as an endurance athlete (triathlon and marathons) that struggles to lose weight, I often find myself frustrated with the low response my body has to my consistent training and very disciplined eating habits. I also have many athletic clients that struggle with the same dynamic. I thus began to research the concept of “Metabolic Efficiency”, defined as “Energy intake based on body weight that is required to maintain current weight.” I even went as far as having a basal metabolic rate test done, only […]
Carbohydrates for Athletes
Athletes are well aware that carbohydrates are their main source of fuel, particularly during activity. Seems simple enough, however, the word carbohydrate itself opens a can of worms, worth dissecting. Carbohydrates are categorized as either simple or complex, and complex they are. Simple carbs are also known as sugars, occurring in the form of either a monosaccharide (1 sugar unit) or a disaccharide (2 units). Complex carbs are polymers of simple carbs (many sugar units). The unit referred to, is particularly scrutinized, since it is a functional ingredient in sports […]
Carbo loading as part of a Runner’s Diet – Defined
Marathon season is almost in full swing; is the traditional pasta dinner the night before a marathon advisable or is that the old way of thinking? Find out now!
Training (outside!) in the winter
Resolve to run (outside!) through the winter. Why some people make it through and others don't.
Increase Your 5k Performance through Proper Nutrition
For many, the phrase “increase your performance for a 5k” conjures images of supplements and ergonenic aids. An ergonenic aid is something that claims to enhance energy and performance. Wise athletes treat food as fuel. Like fuel for a car, energy for an aerobic, intense event, such as a 5k, has an optimal blend. Carbohydrate and fats are the optimal energy for high intensity aerobic exercise. Typically, an athlete should have enough fat stored to get through a 5k race without having to “eat” more fat; carbohydrates thus becomes the […]
Nutritional Strategies for Muscular Recovery
Strategies are laid out for both endurance, muscular (resistance) work outs, or both ILANA KATZ MS, RD, CSSD Different activities require different energy, or metabolic, requirements on muscles and as a result, muscles necessitate different nutritional components when they work for speed, power, and/or endurance. A burst of energy, or high power and speed, over a short period of time are called anaerobic activities, which are almost entirely reliant upon glycogen (muscle carbohydrates) and phosphocreatine (source of energy for muscular contraction). Resistance training presents an obstacle in terms of balancing […]
Fat Loading… does it work? (Ilana Katz MS, RD, CSSD)
Why carbo-load, when you can fat load? This came to me the night before a long training run (4 hours). I was at a birthday celebration, and admittedly, indulged in all the fried food and ice cream with whipped cream (oh well, once I had given in to temptation, I might as well go all out) I could lay my hands on. I was constantly anticipating how awful my run the next day was about to feel, knowing I had forfeited my planned carbo-loaded meal. While fat loading, I was […]
W.O.D – Ilana’s daily work out challenge !!
TREADMILL (35 minute interval/ grade work out) This work involves alternating between treadmill with varying grades, and leg muscle work outs off treadmill inbetwen. Follow the interval rotations as follows: Minutes speed Grade % 0 – 5 mins warm up (brisk walking, nothing too intense) 5 – 12 mins: 3.0 12% 12 – 19 mins 5.5 8% 19 – 20 mins 7.5 0% 20 – 20:30 off treadmill, squats Carefully get back on treadmill 21 – 22 mins 7.5 0% 22- 22:30 off treadmill, squats […]
TEN BEST SPORTS NUTRITION TIPS
1. Rev up your metabolism by eating within 30 minutes of waking up, even if its pre workout. If you have a hard time eating before a work out, start off with half a banana to get used to it, its easily digestible, high in carbs and low in fiber, which contribute to a more efficient work out. 2. Recover with a 3:1 carb to protein ratio combination as soon after your work out as possible. Some good examples of this ratio is a protein shake with 1 scoop of […]
Hydration for Cycling: Drink and Ride
Drinking and Riding. A Century old Story. It is Century season. Yes,” century,” :one hundred,” it too has a season. Whether that means miles or kilometers, it is 100 of them. In the cycling world, we like to call 100 miles a real century and 100 kilometers a metric century, which equals approximately 67 miles. Either way, to get on a bicycle, and pedal for that long, sitting in one position on a tiny seat, up and down hills is an accomplishment. I decided to blog on this topic for […]
