OLYMPIC COACH - United States Olympic Committee

Enhancing Performance
Through Nutrition—
EAT TO
COMPETE!
by Jackie Maurer, MS, RD
CEAD Project Coordinator &
Nutrition Counselor
University of Arizona
Good nutrition isn’t just for dieters. What you
eat and drink before, during and even after
competition plays a critical role in how well
you perform and recover. Sound performance nutrition
practices should be a part of every athlete’s training;
however, many athletes don’t know what performance
nutrition is or even how to “eat to compete” their best.
This article will provide the foundation for athletes to
build a strong performance nutrition plan, and with practice
help them to enhance their performance.
Performance nutrition is comprised of three principles:
1. Quantity—how much food and drink you need
to consume daily to meet your calorie (energy)
needs.
2. Mix—the mixture (carbohydrate, protein, fat, fluid)
of the food and drink you need daily to provide the
right type of calories necessary for your sport.
3. Timing—when to eat the quantity and mix of
food and drink you need daily to optimize your
performance.
VOLUME 16 NUMBER 4 12 O L Y M P I C C O A C H
QUANTITY—HOW MANY CALORIES
DO ATHLETES NEED DAILY?
Before figuring out how many calories an athlete needs
daily, it’s helpful to know exactly what they are. Calories
are the energy content of food. The number of calories,
or energy, an athlete needs to maintain their weight depends
upon: age, body weight, gender, resting energy expenditure
and physical activity levels. Calorie needs are based upon
total energy expenditure (TEE), which includes two
major parts:
1. Resting Energy Expenditure (REE):*
the amount of calories needed to keep body systems
going and control body temperature at rest.
2. Activity Energy Expenditure (AEE):*
the amount of calories used during activity.
* Note: In addition to the above two factors, a small percentage of TEE comes from something called, the thermic effect of food (TEF). The TEF represents the
energy expenditure that is used to help digest, absorb, transport, metabolize, and store calories (energy) from food and beverage. Since TEF usually accounts for
such a minor percentage of TEE (~6%-10%) and the exact amount varies greatly with total calories consumed, type of food consumed, and degree of excess
body weight, it is often not included in simple equations for estimating TEE (daily calorie needs).