Sport's nutrition

1^st part: at the base of food

Since the basal metabolic daily caloric needs: learn to understand what we eat, should be planned as a diet food and how to choose a good dietitian.

We start with this first article, a long way in the "world food", which will lead us to better understand the basics of food human because we feed, what food we need and in what proportions. Try to understand how nutrition affects performance in athletics and what food arrangements can use to improve or better, to allow the body to reach 100% of its efficiency without damage to the same. In a country where all are technical experts and all tackle the issue in scientific and systematic way so as to shatter any myths or false gurus that fuel our concerns in this area; if you want, you can calls for more explanation or clarification without fear of do bad figures because no one is born "learned" and hammer have doubts clarified that wrong certainties. As evidence, we begin to deal with the "foundations" of food and that is: what we eat? Our body to carry out its many functions, it needs energy, as seems obvious, retrieves through foods ingest. The human body, even in conditions of absolute rest, it needs energy for maintaining vital activities (respiration, heart rate, brain function, etc..) Without which life itself ends; this minimum energy is called basal metabolism (MB): namely, the minimum dose of energy that the body needs to live. The M.B. is calculated fasted for more than 12 hours, because the absorption of food requires energy, which varies according to the constitution and to the climate, because the MB increases with cold climates and tends to decline with hot climates. But caution: increases with the increase of body temperature, so much so that it has been calculated that for every degree increase in temperature above 37 degrees, MB increases by 13%. If we consider that in the competition our body temperature can easily reach 40 degrees, we understand how important it is this value in calculating the daily calories ration to be taken. We said that the M.B. varies according to age, it goes from about 53cal/m2/h value (calories per square meter per hour) of the child of 6 years, 34cal/m2/h the adult of 70 years. Coming to us, we can consider that the M.B. an athlete of an age between 16 and 35 years is approximately 40cal/m2/h for mans and about 37cal/m2/h for women. In these cases I have referred to the canonical measure of calories per square meter of body surface area, detected by calculating the oxygen consumption but, more simply, we can consider that the value of MB of an athlete 16-35 years old corresponds to about 1 calorie per kilogram of body weight per hour. At M.B. then be added calories for the specific dynamic of food: namely calories needed the absorption and use of food ingest. This value can be estimated in 10% of M.B. subject with a balanced diet and a calories in line with its weight form. And so we arrived at the value of Metabolism Rest, which is of course the value of Metabolism Baseline more value for the specific dynamic of food. The value of Metabolism Rest in a sedentary person is the almost daily caloric needs, however, active in the subject, this value must be added calories expenditure in the normal daily activities (work, study, etc..), And of course those used in sporting activities. So we come to determine the daily caloric requirements, that is the amount of calories that we ingest during the day and that will allow us to have a stable weight, due to the balance between calories eaten and calories consumed. It is obvious that it is impossible to refer to standard tables (which too often are published): the figure of daily caloric requirements is totally subjective and variable and only with the help of a good dietitian can be determined with good approximation. Now we start to draw some conclusions. First it is important for the athlete, but also because of the sedentary, have a weight as close as possible to form their own weight, it seems clear that there is no point in spending thousands of dollars on a super light bike when  then has to 5-10 kilos overweight, it is even if better the other way (without considering the countless medical illnesses due to overweight). Consider, also, that with age increased weight is physiological, in these cases an increase up to 10% maximum, compared to their weight form, it is very acceptable. This should not be an excuse, but actually, after some 50-60 years, it is very difficult to stay within their ideal weight, unless drastic reductions in food that frankly seem excessive and at least counterproductive. To stay as close as possible to weight form must be controlled diet as possible and, above all, swallowing a quantity of calories appropriate to our real energy needs, and if we would ingest a higher amount of calories, we would increase weight, go down vice versa. In this regard, discredit a myth that often hear around gymnasiums or gatherings tourist cycle: there are sports that make weight loss more or less than others (I also heard that the bike does not lose weight.…): lower of their body weight happens only when the amount of calories they eat is lower than expenditure during everyday activities. In these cases, sporting activity (everything!) not only helps to increase the value of calories consumed throughout the day, but it helps, too, toning muscles and use the excess fat (but on this issue could return in the future with a greater depth). An appropriate diet should therefore take into account the specificity of our body, and also of our daily activities, both professional sports. Now, here also seems clear that a diet may not be copy from a magazine or a grown from the other. More than ever in the field in question, the seriousness is important, punishment have counterproductive and harmful effects. We therefore turn to a skilled dietitian, which must first evaluate our physical and its requirements (possible decrease weight, increase or stability), and then assess our lifestyle, our commitments and professional sports, particularly will have to pay attention to our own needs (example: the need for meals away from home) in perspective sporting commitments, as well as daily training and competitive trials. Not just a single visit, as it is not easy to identify the real daily caloric needs, and each individual responds in a specific way, different from the others; more visits and interviews will, gradually, to arrive at an appropriate table food to our physical and our needs. In these cases the ability to listen and be heard is important both for the athlete and for the dietitian fact, the diet must be shared and accepted, otherwise it will be one, almost, unnecessary constraint. On the other hand, the athlete must play its best feelings, especially referring to races in: it will then transform this information dietitian in a new food program.Even in these cases, it's best to be wary of those who play so superficial and hasty their job, because from personal experience, I can say that the daily caloric requirements is very difficult to determine in the single day, while you can calculate well within the week, in parallel to the constant control of body weight, which should always be checked in the morning fasting, stripped and after been to the toilet, obviously to a diet controlled and predetermined on which we will work with the appropriate adjustments. In practice, we start from a basic diet, which will be much more accurate as the dietitian has done its work well, then, taking control body weight, it will determine how many calories should be added or removed to diet departure, to get the balance between calories consumed and calories ingested. For those who are overweight, it is good to clarify that reduced weight should never exceed 500-1.000 grams week, and the same value can be considered valid in cases of increase in weight, while if it would effect additional training scheduled races or not, you need to add additional meals that go to supplement the usual ration food. As you can see, this is a very complex and above all easily changeable, nonetheless we must discourage a proper weight form is the basis and fundamental for the achievement of good athletic performance (and also add a healthy). In this case, it is best to avoid the do-it-yourself, and you should be followed by a dietician to be assessed on the basis of the facts set out above; for others, council started to control body weight (measured as above), started to decline moderately intake of calories if you are overweight.

 

Luca Salvatelli