Fuelling success with a diet for sporting victory

Senior features writer

Thursday 26 July 2012

Talent, dedication and sheer hard work may be the building blocks of Olympic success, but having a team of nutritionists, psychologists and medics behind you certainly doesn't hurt.

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Picture: Steve Cox health & wellbeing how i … give eating advice to top athletes rebecca McQuillan

As the Olympics and then Paralympics get under way in London, the athletes' success will be a tribute not only to their hard work, but also that of their support staff. Ruth McKean, a performance nutritionist with the Sportscotland Institute of Sport, will be watching keenly the athletes she has worked with, including Paralympic cyclist Aileen McGlynn.

Nutritional advice can make a big difference, not only to the performance of a top-flight athlete but also to anyone who undertakes regular physical exercise, and the problems Ruth encounters are often broadly similar. "A typical one is that levels of ferritin [a protein that stores and releases iron] are depleted," she says. "In that case, we would be proactive about preventing the athlete becoming anaemic."This situation might arise because the athlete has been training hard without altering their diet to compensate for the greater expenditure of nutrients and energy. "A lot of people just eat the same no matter what, even though they have gone from running 80 miles per week to 200 miles per week," says Ruth. "Also, running can suppress the appetite, whereas swimming, say, seems to increase it."The answer is to put in place a higher-iron diet that boosts performance and helps the athlete feel less tired.The foods she advises athletes to eat are broadly similar to those that feature in any healthy balanced diet – porridge, low-sugar cereals and starchy foods like pasta – though the quantities are likely to be much higher and the timing of meals different. "We encourage them to graze throughout the day," she says. Snacks are based around fruit, nuts, yoghurt and cereal. All athletes are heavily discouraged from eating processed foods such as meats, chocolate, cakes and biscuits. To help them resist, Ruth advises using visualisation – imagining, for instance, that there are maggots crawling all over their favourite chocolate bar.So what about ordinary punters doing 10K races – what should we be eating?Practise the breakfast you're planning to eat before your race, says Ruth. "You must try out the volume and type of food with your training. You might be having porridge or beans on toast, but practise it before a hard run." This can help ensure you don't feel bloated, over- or under-fed or experience cramps on the day.If you are prone to cramps or diarrhoea during competitive runs, she advises cutting out caffeine and cutting down on fibre the day before the race, and eating three to four hours before the race begins.She adds that many runners make the mistake of eating too much beforehand. "Don't drink high-sugar drinks or eat jelly babies before the race. It's only six miles so you don't need to carb-load, so even cut down on portions a bit. You don't need it. You will have enough energy to do the race if you've been training for it. And drink according to your thirst."It might not make you Usain Bolt, but it'll make for a far more enjoyable run.

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Fuelling success with a diet for sporting victory

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