Are you drinking enough water? Dehydration is a common problem everyone has experienced. We’ve all had the symptoms – the dry, chapped lips that can lead to headaches, dizziness and nausea and if we’re not careful -- heat stroke, which is a serious condition. When you sweat, you lose electrolytes through your skin so all of those important minerals that help keep your body functioning efficiently and effectively, are lost and as a result, your performance decreases. Therefore, for optimal activity performance, drink lots of water! And a bit of Gatorade in your water bottle will certainly help to keep your electrolyte supply topped up.
Drinking enough water is definitely important but so is eating enough of the right foods. It is recommended that in order to keep your energy levels high and keep you functioning at your best, more than half of your meal should be carbohydrates, such as bread and pasta. It is from carbohydrates that our bodies are able to make brain food so our mental activity stays at a constant, responsive level. Protein, such as red meat, is important in order for muscles to grow and repair. Good fats, such as the fat from nuts or avocado, are important for storing energy throughout the day. Each person’s diet will be slightly different depending on their lifestyle and body type, but eating the right foods and the right proportions are important for everyone. It is no lie – you are what you eat!
So what are the right foods? If we use common sense, we know that fast food is probably pretty low on the scale of good food versus bad food! We all know what is healthy food and what is not healthy food, but do we know what proportions we should be consuming specific to our individual needs?
For example, endurance athletes really need to make sure they are getting enough carbohydrates in their diet. Eating a heavy protein meal, such as a steak dinner, just before going out and doing a long endurance activity wouldn’t be a great choice. Meat (protein) takes a long time to digest, and during prolonged exercise, the energy it takes to digest the meat would be competing with the energy it takes to power the working muscles, which would result in decreased exercise performance. Carbohydrates, on the other hand, are digested by the body within a couple of hours and supply the working muscles with adequate energy to ensure efficient performance. After a long and tiring exercise bout, athletes should make sure they get an adequate amount of carbohydrates right after exercise – spaghetti and meatballs would suffice!
People who live a more sedentary lifestyle, certainly wouldn’t want to consume the amount of carbohydrates an endurance athlete would because if the carbohydrates aren’t burned for fuel, they tend to assist one in putting on excess weight. Though it is still important to get adequate amounts of carbohydrates, the sedentary lifestyle requirements for carbohydrates are not as great.
Women need an adequate supply of protein that is rich in calcium and iron, such as red meat, because they lose a certain amount of these minerals each month. A deficiency in these minerals can potentially lead to osteoporosis (weak and brittle bones), anemia (fatigued and weak feeling) and/or amenorrhea (missing periods). A combination of these, and the often-associated eating disorders, is referred to as the “female athlete triad.” Female athletes have to be especially careful that they are eating enough of the right foods and the right amounts.
Your body has amazing abilities to perform all sorts of actions. Why wouldn’t you want your body to be working as efficiently as possible? What you feed it determines how it works. If you look after it, it will take you far and long!
Tip:
Go for a 15-30 minute brisk walk after your evening meal. This is a very simple and effective way of assisting in healthy weight loss. It gives your metabolism a bit of a boost before slowing right down for bedtime, which helps digest your dinner more quickly and efficiently instead of continually contributing to your waistline!