Fuel your adventure for success and enjoyment!
In the same way the outdoor sports equipment industry has experienced explosive growth, so to has sports nutrition and hydration. Whilst this has provided neat and convenient packaging of food and drink, it can also be expensive and not that much fun to eat or drink.
There is definitely a place for sports nutritional products, but it is exactly that ‘a place’, when its packaged convenience and size are beneficial. The savvy marketing of sports nutrition has coerced an increasing number of people into believing that they can’t exercise without the use of sports drinks, gels and energy bars which simply isn’t the case.
There is constant noise concerning the latest healthy eating fad and the new ‘food pariah’, if we lived by what we are told we’d be on a different diet every week. At WSBR we take a simple approach to the food we eat whilst active using the following rules:
Rule 1 - How much should we eat and how often?
Dependent on your sex, height, weight, sport and the duration of activity you will require a different amount of nutrition and fluid. The simplest method of calculation is through understanding the calorific intake required per hour. Using an Ironman distance triathlon as an example an athlete may require between 200-600 calories per hour. This requirement will vary between individuals and sport so it is important to conduct research into your individual requirement and sporting activity. Once you have calculated this amount it is important that you factor in an additional reserve of between 10-20% percent ensuring you have enough fuel to compensate for unforeseen circumstances.
Once you have calculated your calorific burn rates to sustain yourself it is important to test different types of nutrition ensuring they are palatable and don't cause digestive issues. During any event or activity in excess of 2-3 hours (especially high intensity) it is important to constantly eat and drink. If you struggle with the ability or discipline to eat/drink frequently you will need to practise it like a drill, we use the 'rule of 15' ensuring that we eat/drink every 15 minutes using your watch bike computer clock as a prompt.
The reason we have placed the emphasis on a constant eat/drink drill whilst exercising is to maintain blood sugar levels and replenish your bodies glycogen store of which staying hydrated is also a key element. Your body uses blood sugar and glycogen stored in your body (muscles and liver) to fuel your body and brain during prolonged exercise, failure to eat will result in the depletion of the bodies store of glycogen and blood sugar levels leading to 'bonking' or 'hitting the wall'. Bonking and hitting the wall are both symptoms of physical and mental fatigue which in extreme cases will end your race. If you catch this early you can recover by taking on simple carbohydrates and reducing exercise intensity until you feel better, in extreme cases it will end your chance of a competitive race or event.
Rule 2 - Eat a balance of protein, fat and carbohydrates
Again this will vary dependent on the nature of the activity. Shorter events between 4-24 hours will require a higher proportion of carbohydrate as opposed to events lasting days or weeks which require a more normal balance of protein, fat and carbohydrates.
Rule 3 - Eat fresh when available
Not only is fresh fruit, vegetables and meat better for you it tastes great and will help to refresh your appetite and mental state. When possible incorporating fresh food into your racing diet and general outdoor sports nutrition will make for a more balanced diet in general.
Rule 4 - Minimise the use of processed foods, when possible!
This is a no brainer, the more processed the food is the less healthy it will be for you. However, sometimes we have to choose food that is easy to carry, calorie rich and available.
Rule 5 - Ease of use and portability..
Most outdoor activities are self propelled, the more you carry the harder the physical task in hand. Its important to strike a balance between lightweight, long life and minimum fuss preparation versus nutritious, tasty and fresh. Prior to the event of the sports nutrition industry people have been eating portable and long life food stuffs carried across mountains, deserts and jungles for thousands of years. There is huge value, enjoyment and health benefits to investigating how we can make real food work for us. Not everything you eat has to come out of foil and plastic packaging!
Rule 6 - Enjoy what you eat!
You should enjoy every part of the outdoor experience, why should food be the anticlimax. During an ironman in the blistering heat if you pass the cold refreshing water melon at the feed station over a gel you are missing out. At the end of a day bike packing through mountain passes there is nothing better than the enjoyment of preparing a big meal with real food over a boil in the bag.
There is definitely a place for sports nutritional products, but it is exactly that ‘a place’, when its packaged convenience and size are beneficial. The savvy marketing of sports nutrition has coerced an increasing number of people into believing that they can’t exercise without the use of sports drinks, gels and energy bars which simply isn’t the case.
There is constant noise concerning the latest healthy eating fad and the new ‘food pariah’, if we lived by what we are told we’d be on a different diet every week. At WSBR we take a simple approach to the food we eat whilst active using the following rules:
Rule 1 - How much should we eat and how often?
Dependent on your sex, height, weight, sport and the duration of activity you will require a different amount of nutrition and fluid. The simplest method of calculation is through understanding the calorific intake required per hour. Using an Ironman distance triathlon as an example an athlete may require between 200-600 calories per hour. This requirement will vary between individuals and sport so it is important to conduct research into your individual requirement and sporting activity. Once you have calculated this amount it is important that you factor in an additional reserve of between 10-20% percent ensuring you have enough fuel to compensate for unforeseen circumstances.
Once you have calculated your calorific burn rates to sustain yourself it is important to test different types of nutrition ensuring they are palatable and don't cause digestive issues. During any event or activity in excess of 2-3 hours (especially high intensity) it is important to constantly eat and drink. If you struggle with the ability or discipline to eat/drink frequently you will need to practise it like a drill, we use the 'rule of 15' ensuring that we eat/drink every 15 minutes using your watch bike computer clock as a prompt.
The reason we have placed the emphasis on a constant eat/drink drill whilst exercising is to maintain blood sugar levels and replenish your bodies glycogen store of which staying hydrated is also a key element. Your body uses blood sugar and glycogen stored in your body (muscles and liver) to fuel your body and brain during prolonged exercise, failure to eat will result in the depletion of the bodies store of glycogen and blood sugar levels leading to 'bonking' or 'hitting the wall'. Bonking and hitting the wall are both symptoms of physical and mental fatigue which in extreme cases will end your race. If you catch this early you can recover by taking on simple carbohydrates and reducing exercise intensity until you feel better, in extreme cases it will end your chance of a competitive race or event.
Rule 2 - Eat a balance of protein, fat and carbohydrates
Again this will vary dependent on the nature of the activity. Shorter events between 4-24 hours will require a higher proportion of carbohydrate as opposed to events lasting days or weeks which require a more normal balance of protein, fat and carbohydrates.
Rule 3 - Eat fresh when available
Not only is fresh fruit, vegetables and meat better for you it tastes great and will help to refresh your appetite and mental state. When possible incorporating fresh food into your racing diet and general outdoor sports nutrition will make for a more balanced diet in general.
Rule 4 - Minimise the use of processed foods, when possible!
This is a no brainer, the more processed the food is the less healthy it will be for you. However, sometimes we have to choose food that is easy to carry, calorie rich and available.
Rule 5 - Ease of use and portability..
Most outdoor activities are self propelled, the more you carry the harder the physical task in hand. Its important to strike a balance between lightweight, long life and minimum fuss preparation versus nutritious, tasty and fresh. Prior to the event of the sports nutrition industry people have been eating portable and long life food stuffs carried across mountains, deserts and jungles for thousands of years. There is huge value, enjoyment and health benefits to investigating how we can make real food work for us. Not everything you eat has to come out of foil and plastic packaging!
Rule 6 - Enjoy what you eat!
You should enjoy every part of the outdoor experience, why should food be the anticlimax. During an ironman in the blistering heat if you pass the cold refreshing water melon at the feed station over a gel you are missing out. At the end of a day bike packing through mountain passes there is nothing better than the enjoyment of preparing a big meal with real food over a boil in the bag.