How Does Nutrient Timing Affect Athletic Performance
By Allison Fayard
You may have heard the word “macronutrient” being thrown around on “FitTok”, but what exactly does it mean?
The term macronutrient, often called macros, refers to the nutrients that the human body requires for energy and to maintain the body’s systems and structure. These include carbohydrates, protein, and fat.
It is ESSENTIAL for athletes to consume a ratio of all three macronutrients to ensure they reach their training goals.
While there are many fad diets popularized in the media, such as Keto or low-fat diets, athletes should avoid seriously restricting or excluding any of these nutrients from their diet as it could have many negative effects on their performance.
Each of the macronutrients serves a different function for the human body due to their molecular structure. This is important to note because these differences lead to each nutrient being digested and absorbed at different rates within our bodies.
In order to maximize nutrient use, and ultimately an athlete’s performance, nutrient timing must be understood.
The amount of any nutrient your body needs varies depending on how hard you are training.
Light training day: About 1 hour or less of light to moderate activity, such as jogging, skills practice, or a light day in the weight room.
Moderate-intensity day: 2-4 hours of moderate to high-intensity activity, like a hard lifting session, game day, sprint training, or sports practice.
High-intensity training day: 4 or more hours of hard training, like pre-season two-a-days, tournament days, long and intense lifting sessions, or a max-intensity sprint session.
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are the main source of energy during high-intensity activities for the brain and central nervous system.
Carbohydrates have been attacked in the media for falsely causing obesity (1). This can create a lot of confusion when athletes need to make good food choices to fuel their bodies.
High-quality sources of carbs include whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and beans. Examples of whole grains include barley, brown rice, oatmeal, whole-grain pasta, bread, or crackers.
There is a wide variety of fruits and vegetables available in most grocery stores.
Learning how to look for those that are in season in your geographic location is a good way of ensuring you have nutritious, whole foods in your diet.
Additionally, it is important to note that frozen and canned fruits and veggies are perfectly fine choices, and sometimes have even more nutritional value than their fresh counterparts (8).
There is not a one-size-fits-all answer to how much carbohydrates should athletes eat in a day to perform well.
The amount your body requires individually changes when your training intensity, type of training, and time of training change (1).
In general, for a light training day athletes need to consume about 3-5 grams of carbohydrates per kilogram of body weight.
For a high-intensity training day, aiming to consume 6-10 grams of carbohydrates per kilogram body weight will provide more energy to sustain activity (1, 2).
When it comes to the timing of this nutrient, carbohydrate timing is very valuable for athletes' performance.
Because carbs are our main source of energy for intense activity, many athletes would benefit from consuming most of their carbohydrates throughout the day around training.
For athletes who have practice or other sessions earlier in the day or morning, aim to consume around 1-4 grams per kilogram of body weight of carbs up to 1 hour prior to training (2).
If your training session lasts longer than 60 minutes or is very intense, supplementing with 30-60 grams of carbs per hour of training will help avoid an energy crash.
In this case, drinking a Gatorade with a handful of pretzels at halftime would be very beneficial.
Finally, within the immediate hour or so after training, athletes should replenish their bodies with 60-120 grams of carbs.
A post-training meal high in carbs and protein provides the body with energy and nutrients to repair the body after a hard workout (1, 2).
Knowing this information, what does carbohydrate timing look like in real life?
For example, an athlete who has a morning training session or game is recommended to choose an easy-to-digest carb to have before playing. Some easily digested carbs include Gatorade, fruit juice, or a cereal bar. After training, go for a higher-carb meal to replenish your body and refuel; a fruit smoothie with protein or a sandwich are examples.
Protein
Proteins are the building blocks of muscle, tendons, and other soft tissues, as well as components of several enzymes, hormones, and neurotransmitters.
Proteins are made up of both essential and nonessential amino acids, the latter of which can only be obtained through proper nutrition and a balanced diet.
Athletes who are under consuming protein will notice a decrease in strength, lower energy levels, and a slower metabolism (2).
Especially for athletes who participate in strength training or those recovering from injury, consuming enough protein daily is essential.
High-quality protein sources help our bodies to effectively maintain, repair, and grow skeletal muscle.
Some quality sources of protein include lean meats, like chicken and turkey, as well as fish and dairy products, including greek yogurt and cottage cheese.
For athletes who cannot or choose not to eat meat or animal products, there are also many sources of protein from plants.
Athletes who follow vegan or vegetarian diets, however, must pay attention not only to the quantity of protein they consume but also the quality. Plant protein sources are often incomplete, lacking the essential amino acids (9).
In order to obtain all of the essential amino acids and optimize your protein intake, athletes should strive to consume a wide variety of high-protein foods.
Examples include beans, tempeh, chickpeas, quinoa, nuts, and plant-based protein powder (1, 2).
The nutrition guidelines for protein consumption recommend athletes consume 15-30% of their calories from protein.
Athletes have higher daily protein requirements compared to the average human body.
While a sedentary person requires only 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram bodyweight, athletes should aim for 1.2-2.0 grams of protein per kilogram bodyweight (2, 3).
There are many resources available currently that preach a strict muscle protein synthesis (MPS) window, urging athletes to consume 20-30 grams of protein within 30 minutes of strength training.
However, more recent studies show that MPS rates peak for up to 24 hours post-exercise. This means that an athlete should not feel pressured to down that protein shake immediately after training or that the protein is pointless past a certain time.
Additionally, athletes should consume around 20-30 grams of protein before their activity, especially if resistance training.
The studies actually show that consuming protein consistently throughout the day, every 3 to 5 hours, maximizes your body’s ability to synthesize protein leading to greater muscle adaptations (3).
Fats
Fats are a necessary nutrient in a balanced diet, providing energy, making essential elements of cell membranes, regulating hormone levels, and facilitating the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins (1, 5, 9, 11).
Fats are our body’s primary energy source for light to moderate activities.
In the past, some researchers and physicians believed that a low-fat diet was the key to weight loss and a toned physique.
However, today’s research tells us that a diet rich in high-quality fats is much more beneficial to your health because it provides a variety of nutrients that are only present in fat; including fat-soluble vitamins (Vitamins A, D, E, and K) and essential fatty acids (1, 3, 4).
Furthermore, research shows that decreased fat consumption is correlated with increased injury rates in female athletes (10).
When you think of foods that are considered “fat”, many people first consider things like butter, ice cream, and oil. There are four main types of fats: monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, saturated, and trans fat.
Each category of fats is made of different chemical structures, leading them to each have different effects on the body systems.
Unsaturated fats, both mono and polyunsaturated, are fats that tend to be liquid at room temperature; they are found mostly in vegetable oils, fish, and nuts.
Saturated and trans fats are solid at room temperature and are mainly found in butter, lard, full-fat dairy, and high-fat meats.
Saturated fats also occur naturally in red meat and should be limited to less than 10% of your daily calories (3, 5).
Aim to make unsaturated fats your main source of fats as they are proven to aid in better sports performance and provide a range of health benefits.
Omega-3 is a fatty acid found in unsaturated fats, and it is worth noting due to its anti-inflammatory properties.
While some inflammation is necessary for athletes’ bodies to adapt, too much inflammation can hinder your performance on the field or court.
On the other hand, saturated and trans fats are linked to negative impacts on digestion, increase the risk of complications within the cardiovascular system, and are simply harder for our bodies to utilize as energy (1, 3, 5).
Many foods that contain fat also have more than one type of fat present in them; for example, butter is a saturated fat because it is solid at room temperature, but it also contains some unsaturated fats, too.
Examples of high-quality fats to include a variety of in your diet include: avocados, nuts (cashews, peanuts, almonds, walnuts, brazil nuts), extra virgin olive oil, seeds (flaxseed, pumpkin seeds, sesame), fatty fish (salmon, mackerel, herring), and tahini (5).
Current guidelines recommend that 20-35% of total calories daily come from dietary fat, however, this varies widely among individuals.
Athletes participating in more endurance-based sports would likely benefit from consuming more fat than athletes who participate in short, but intense sports.
As an athlete, it is important to consistently get at least 20% of your calories from fats, as anything less can have negative impacts on your overall health and performance (1, 5).
When considering the best time of day to include fat in your meals, you must first consider your training load and schedule.
Fats are very slowly digested compared to carbs, meaning a higher-fat snack may not be the best choice for a pre-training snack.
Incorporating high-quality fats within your diet and scheduling further away from your training is the best way to optimize your body’s ability to utilize the fats (1, 3, 5).
Recovery Day
Most athletes know the importance of giving their body at least one rest day every week, allowing for the body to catch up and rebuild after experiencing high stress during your sport.
Not only do our bodies need a break from hard physical activity some days, it also requires different amounts of energy and fuel (6).
There are many factors that affect recovery, but the most valuable are nutrition and sleep. Proper nutrition helps reduce fatigue, restore glycogen stores, promote muscle regeneration, and supports both physical and immune health (1, 6).
Nutrition is a tool that athletes should use to help better prepare for competitions, training sessions, and traveling.
Recent studies show that diets high in protein and carbohydrates significantly reduce wake episodes and decrease the amount of time it takes to fall asleep, compared to diets low in protein and carbs (6).
While we sleep, there is an increase in blood flow that provides oxygen and nutrients to help repair skeletal muscle.
Consistently consuming high-quality protein throughout the day, especially in the evening, puts your body in the most advantageous state to recover while you sleep (3, 6, 7).
The amount of protein you consume should optimally be fairly consistent from day to day, as our muscles are continuously adapting and repairing.
Similarly, carbohydrate consumption may change slightly from day to day depending on your activity level. On high-intensity training days, as discussed previously, your body needs continuous energy from carbohydrates to delay neuromuscular fatigue (6, 7).
When we have a rest day or a lighter-intensity training day, our bodies need slightly less energy because of the decrease in activity. Figuring out how many carbs to eat on your rest day is as simple as ditching your usual pre-training carbohydrate-dense meal for one with more protein and a few healthy fats.
To conclude, the research available today continuously suggests the importance of proper nutrition for sports performance.
Not only do athletes need to ensure they are consuming enough quality food, they should also be aware of when they eat it.
Carbohydrates and fats are our main sources of energy, carbs being utilized quickly for high-intensity training, while fats are digested slowly to provide lasting energy.
Protein is a building block of the human body and necessary for our muscles to repair and grow stronger day after day.
By paying attention to the timing of your meals, athletes are setting themselves up for success in their sport.
A properly timed meal could be the difference between hitting a wall in your game and out-running your opponent for the buzzer-beating score.
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REFERENCES
1 - Bytomski, J. R. (2017, November). Fueling for performance. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved July 2022, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5753973/#:~:text=Athletes%20have%20varied%20carbohydrate%20requirements,per%20day%20for%20intense%20training
2 - Thomas, T. D., Erdman, K. A., & Burke, L. M. (2016, February 23). Position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, dietitians of Canada, and the American College of Sports Medicine: Nutrition and Athletic Performance. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Retrieved July 27, 2022, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S221226721501802X
3 - Thomas, T., Burke, L. M., & Erdman, K. A. (2016, March). Nutrition and athletic performance - vevu.hr. Medicine and science in sports and exercise. Retrieved July 2022, from https://www.vevu.hr/upload/kol_33/50Nutrition_and_Athletic_Performance.pdf
4 - Kerksick, C. M., Arent, S., Schoenfeld, B. j, Stout, J. R., Campbell, B., & Wilborn, C. D. (2022, April). International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: Nutrient Timing. Taylor & Francis. Retrieved July 27, 2022, from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1186/s12970-017-0189-4
5 - An athlete's Guide to Understanding Dietary Fat. NSW Institute of Sport (NSWIS). (2020, February 18). Retrieved July 2022, from https://www.nswis.com.au/nutrition/an-athletes-guide-to-understanding-dietary-fat/
6 - Heaton, L. E., Davis, J. K., Rawson, E. S., Nuccio, R. P., Witard, O. C., Stein, K. W., Baar, K., Carter, J. M., & Baker, L. B. (2017, July 12). Selected in-season nutritional strategies to enhance recovery for Team Sport Athletes: A practical overview - sports medicine. SpringerLink. Retrieved July 2022, from https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40279-017-0759-2
7 - Mielgo-Ayuso, J., & Fernández-Lázaro, D. (2021, January 20). Nutrition and muscle recovery. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved July 2022, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7909540/
8 - Bouzari, A., Holstege, D., & Barrett, D. M. (2015). Vitamin retention in eight fruits and vegetables: A comparison of refrigerated and frozen storage. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 63(3), 957–962. https://doi.org/10.1021/jf5058793
9 - Rogerson, D. (2017). Vegan diets: Practical advice for athletes and exercisers. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 14(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12970-017-0192-9
10 - Holtzman, B., & Ackerman, K. E. (2021). Recommendations and nutritional considerations for female athletes: Health and Performance. Sports Medicine, 51(S1), 43–57. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-021-01508-8
11 - Podlecki, L. (2020, March 19). Relative energy deficiency in sport (red-S). Oak Tree Nutrition. Retrieved July 2022, from http://oaktreenutrition.com/nutrition-bites/2020/1/23/relative-energy-deficiency-in-sport-red-s
