Hot Weather Sport Nutrition - diving into details

You may be able to get away with haphazard fueling and hydration strategies in cooler temps, but now is not the time to wing it when it comes to utilizing sport nutrition products during your long workouts.

If you've ever struggled with the application of sport nutrition, you've likely experiences several pronounced, uncomfortable and performance-limiting symptoms related to underfueling, overfueling, dehydration and overhydration such as headache, no urge to urinate, sleepiness, lack of appetite, nausea, bloating, fatigue, muscle aches, moodiness, diarrhea, sloshy stomach, headache and dizziness.

Proper fueling during intense or long duration exercise helps you sustain a desirable effort to maximize training adaptations. You can also practice fueling strategies for competition and train the gut to tolerate nutrition while exercising at various intensities.

Contrary to the opinion of other nutrition experts, I'm a huge proponent of consistently using sport nutrition during training - regardless of the workout intensity and duration. I've also had great success prioritizing liquid calories during long distance training (for myself and for the hundreds of athletes that have reached out to me for sport nutrition consulting).

If you are training for a long-distance event (90+ minutes) or training intensely in the heat for 60+ minutes, a sport drink provides a practical and easy way to obtain fluids, electrolytes and carbohydrates, in the right formulation to optimize digestion and absorption. Sport drinks are very safe and effective but are often misused or neglected – especially in the heat.

Sport Drink Formulation

For a sports drink to work effectively, it must have the same or less than osmolality of blood. As a reference, blood plasma has an osmolality of 280-300 milliosmoles per kilogram and a bottle of Gatorade has an osmolality of ~330 mOsm/kg. A sports drinks osmolality (Iso-, hyper- or hypotonic) is dependent on the carbohydrate type (ex. glucose, fructose, maltodextrin) and concentration (grams) in a solution (fluid ounces) – in other words, how quickly it can absorb into your blood stream. If a drink’s osmolality is greater than the blood’s (concentrated or hypertonic), liquid will be pulled from the blood and into the intestine to equalize the two concentrations – this net movement of water is theoretically dehydrating. A iso or hypotonic drink, in contrast, will provide a favorable osmotic gradient so that water diffuses into the cells. If you fail to replace the fluids and electrolytes (sodium) lost in sweat, a cascade of negative events occurs, such as a rise in osmolality, a drop in blood pressure and an increase in heart rate. In contrast, if you drink too much water too quickly and don’t consume drinks with adequate sodium, sodium levels will drop as body water levels rise, causing cells to swell.

What about homemade concoctions?
Because fructose uses a different intestinal transporter compared to glucose or sucrose, and once in the bloodstream, has to be taken up by the liver to be processed into a usable fuel source for the muscles (which can take up to 90 minutes), juices are not recommended as a "sport drink" during exercise. Focus on your daily meals and resist the urge to be a scientist when it comes to formulating sport drinks.

As for coconut water, although coconut water contains calcium, phosphorus and magnesium (electrolytes found in sweat), sodium and chloride are the major electrolytes because they reside in the extracellular fluid. Compared to a sugar-rich hydration beverage, coconut water is a safe and natural option to occasionally enjoy as an alternative to water. However, to sustain moderate to high-intensity exercise for longer than 90-minutes, the body depends on ingested carbohydrates and sodium – both of which lack in appropriate amounts in coconut water. Additionally, if you are paying extra for coconut water to increase your daily potassium intake, look no further than the produce aisle – a large potato contains 1553 mg of potassium! If you enjoy the taste of coconut water over plain water, choose it for light activity. But to prevent dehydration, to replace lost electrolytes and provide the muscles with carbohydrates, a well-formulated sport drink is encouraged. 

Gels, Bars and Chews

Gels, bars and chews are highly concentrated, portable sources of carbohydrates that are easy to consume during exercise but they lack the fluid and electrolytes that you’d find in a sport drink and are not in the right formulation by themselves to be easily digested and absorbed. Same goes for salt pills. Most gels and chews contain around 100 calories (or 25g of carbs) per serving. More concentrated in carbohydrates compared to a sport drink, gels and chews must be consumed with water to encourage gastric emptying. For every 15g of carbohydrates, at least 8-ounce of water should be consumed. Athletes may prefer to dilute a gel into a flask or bottle of water to create a more dilute concentration. Considerably low in sodium (50-100mg), gels and chews are ineffective to replenish sodium lost in sweat. Remember, your fluid, sodium and carb intake will be for nothing if it’s just sloshing around in your gut.

This doesn’t mean that you can't consume solid food or a gel or chews during long distance training, but to minimize GI issues and to simplify sport nutrition, I strongly advise to prioritize liquid sport drinks when you train (and race) and use chews for a central nervous system pick-me-up and bars/solid food to keep the tummy happy.

Digestion and Absorption

When applying the topic of sport nutrition, it's important to understand that just because you are consuming carbohydrates, sodium and water, this doesn't mean that your muscles are receiving what you are consuming. If a product is not consumed properly (or formulated properly when mixed), it'll simply hang around in the gut - causing bloating, a sloshy stomach, heart burn, belching, vomiting, gas and/or diarrhea. fluid ingestion. This can further lead to dehydration and glycogen depletion.

Water is absorbed in the small intestines and by the time it enters the large intestines, roughly 80% absorption has occurred. The rate of gastric emptying and intestinal absorption are dependent on the volume and formulation of the beverage. The greater the concentration, the greater the osmolality. This is why you should never concentrate your sport drink – like putting 400-600 calories (2 or 3 hours worth of calories) in one bottle that only has 28 ounces of fluid OR consuming a sport drink with protein or fat. When you drink plain water, there’s a drive for the water to dilute the blood (water moves toward blood) but if you drink a more concentrated beverage than blood, like a hypertonic sport drink or soda or juice, water will move from inside the bloodstream and into the gut – which is dehydrating. The inclusion of electrolytes and glucose in a beverage promotes retention of fluids. When you add a little sugar with sodium (as in a sport drink), you can pull a great amount of water across the small intestines, optimizing water absorption. To help with fluid and electrolyte loss, it's not just about the carbs. You also need to ingest water and electrolytes from a sport drink to keep plasma volume at normal levels.

As a helpful reminder regarding sport nutrition application, keep things simple, consistent and easy to repeat. Practice, practice, practice. 

How to fuel for a night race

It wasn't too long ago when I was staying up way past my bedtime to watch Karel race Pro 1/2 in  night criterium events. The start time for these events could be anywhere between 6-9pm! Oh the adrenaline watching these cyclists go round and round the downtown streets, making sharp turns and accelerating past one another, while attacking and dodging sketchy movements.

If you are an athlete training for an event, there's a good chance that your event starts early in the morning. Night races, however, are growing in popularity, for a variety of reasons. While an event may cover the same distance regardless of the start time, there are unique obstacles to overcome when racing in an evening race - specifically nutrition.

Seeing that most athletes train early morning and race early morning, there are plenty of opportunities to understand what foods will work the best before and on race day morning. As for a night race, you may struggle to understand what to eat during the day and right before you event when you are not use to competing so late in the day. Your sleep cycle may get thrown off, your mental state may be out of whack and more so, your digestive system has been trained to flow stronger at certain times in the day. All of this can make a night event very stressful!

But not to worry. Here are my suggestions to help you fuel for a night race/event:

1. Nutrient timing - One of the most important tips for fueling for a night race is watching your fat and fiber intake in the 4-6 hours before the event. Nerves, large food portions or excessive snacking can increase the risk for GI issues. It's best to start the day with a large filling breakfast of carbs, protein and fat and then aim to eat small mini meals every 2-3 hours throughout the day. Never let yourself get too hungry during the day.
   
2. The day before matters -  Although what you eat on race day can help stabilize blood sugar levels and top off your fuel tank, what you eat in the 24-hours before race day will most likely affect your race day performance. Eat too little or too much the day before your event and there's a good chance that you will feel low energy or stuffed before/during your event - which may lead to last-minute over-eating or under-fueling. Treat the day before race day as you would for a morning event - start off with a large breakfast and taper off your meals throughout the day so that you don't go to bed (the night before your night race) with a full/uncomfortable belly.
   
3. Practice in training - Unless your race is a last-minute idea, don't let race day be the first day that you think about dialing in your pre-race/during race fueling. It's suggested to plan at last 3-4 "long" workouts in the evening (around the same time as your race - within reason) to practice your nutrition during the day, as well as before and during your workout. Not only will you build confidence in your nutrition but you will also get to know how your body responds to certain efforts in the evening. Also, consider practicing a good warm-up before your workouts that you can apply to race-day. If your body is use to performing in the morning, you may need a little more time to wake-up the body before an evening race.
   
4. Don't overdo caffeine - It's very normal for individuals to use caffeine as a pick-me-up during the work day and athletes are not immune to using caffeinated beverages to function in life. Excessive use of caffeinated beverages is not encouraged before a night race - this includes energy drinks, caffeine pills and coffee. Although a cup of coffee, as part of your normal morning routine, is just fine, too much caffeine can act as a laxative (not what you want before a race) and may cause extra stress on the heart, not to mention possible dizziness, light-headedness and nausea. The best strategy for an evening race is to do a light warm-up in the morning and then plan another light pre-race workout as you would normally do in the 90 minutes before your event.
   
5. Don't stress - If you are an athlete who normally experiences pre-race GI issues due to nerves/anxiety, consider adding meditation/visualization and other coping strategies into your race day regime to help reduce your pre-race worries. Even with the best training and nutrition plan, some athletes aren't equipped for night races. But hey, you won't know unless you try! 

Understand your appetite tips

Struggling to understand your appetite?
I find that far too many athletes are on the search for the perfect eating plan for weight loss, more energy and improved health. Sadly, this plan doesn't exist for the masses. Figuring out the ideal style of eating for you takes some work.

Calorie or macronutrient -focused meal plans which offer no flexibility or options do not address normal hunger and satisfaction cues.

Whereas I do like the idea of having a meal template for different meal and snack options to better understand your appetite,hunger and satisfaction and to create new nutrition habits, you can't expect a meal plan to be a forever approach to eating.

Your diet will always evolve just like you evolve from baby, to child to adult to elderly adult. And when it comes to training for an event, a periodized approach to nutrition is also a way to support your extremely active lifestyle as you develop your skills, strength, power, speed and endurance.

It takes time to work on your eating to determine what works best for you. But if you are constantly trying to do what everyone else is doing or waiting for the perfect moment to start something new, you'll waste many months, if not years, struggling to understand your own appetite.

Here are some suggestions to help you learn how to eat in a smarter way while moving closer to meeting your energy and health goals. 

1. Plan your day of eating before it happens.
You should include carbohydrates, protein and fat at your 3 meals and snack between meals (aim to eat every 3 hours).
You should not follow any diet fad or specific style of eating during this time as you need to learn what works best for you and your body.
Try to follow a similar style of eating with your meals and snacks for at least two weeks but pay attention to your hunger and fullness. Every evening, reflect on the day and make one or two small tweaks based on what didn't go well during the day. Your goal is to feel that by the end two weeks, you have a better idea of how much food is enough to leave you nourished, satisfied, healthy and energized. You have to trust yourself in this process as you may find yourself with confusing signals from the brain and belly. Even though it's only two weeks, many athletes make the mistake of doing the same things over and over and never make a change. Give yourself a week to make small changes  each day and then try to follow a style of eating for week #2 based on what worked and didn't work in week #1. 

2. Create easy options for fueling before and after your workouts.
For the athletes who have little appetite before or after workouts or for those who have extreme hunger, it is important to have a plan with your eating so you don't overeat but also so you don't undereat. If you want your body to work for you, you have to feed and fuel it properly on a consistent basis. You  need to understand what helps you fuel for an upcoming workout but also what helps you recover, replenish and rehydrate.  If you have a plan, you will be more likely to follow through with your good intentions. Consider easy to digest options which are easy to find and prepare before and after workouts. Training is stressful - don't make your fueling plan stressful.

3. Understand YOUR body.
I often hear from my nutrition athletes that they do well in the mornings with eating and then everything falls apart in the afternoon or eating. More willpower is not the answer. If you are following a diet plan or a style of eating that is not fit for you, you will spend your entire life struggling to understand how to eat and constantly hoping to do better tomorrow.
Learn to understand what works best for you. Eating is not cheating and what works for one person may not work for you. Accepting your hunger, your fullness and your individual needs is the first step to creating a diet plan that works for you.

4. Create a fueling game plan.
While it is easy to consume treats, indulgences and reward food to replenish the calories that were used in training, it's important to understand what foods, drinks and products work best before, during and after your workouts to help you better adapt to training. While you may need to work with a sport dietitian to understand how much and when you should be eating and fueling to help you meet energy, electrolyte and fluid needs, it's important to figure out what works best for you, your appetite and your body around and during your training.
Whereas one athlete may be able to eat a stack of pancakes, syrup, milk and fruit and eggs after a long run, another athlete may struggle to eat a handful of berries. In this scenario, the later athlete would benefit from a liquid recovery meal after the workout and to slowly ease into solid food as tolerated. No two athletes are the same, especially as it relates to fueling before, during and after workouts. However, every athlete should nail the basics before creating a personalized fueling plan. There are general guidelines that all athletes should follow and once these are mastered, individual scenarios and situations can be discussed.
In any case, you need a game plan that will allow you to train consistently and meet your energy needs.