By Hayden Christie & Mael Bouthier
•
16 Feb, 2024
Athletes have high energy and nutrient requirements to fuel their performance and meet their body’s needs for overall health and well-being. Some athletes even need up to three times the amount of calories as a sedentary individual. Cyclists, rowers, endurance runners and even some team sport athletes may need up to 4000-6000 calories per day to fuel and recover from their high training load. Consuming this amount of food in three meals, especially with long exercise sessions, can be very challenging. One of the barriers to these athletes meeting their energy requirements is time and satiety. While snacking is often viewed as unhealthy for the general population (depending on the type of snack), athletes need to understand that snacks are a useful way to meet their daily nutritional goals. Snacking plays a crucial role in the nutrition and performance of athletes, offering a convenient way to ensure they are fueling their bodies correctly throughout the day and around their training schedules. This blog post delves into why snacks are important for athletes, common snacking mistakes to avoid, and suggests some snacks tailored for different purposes. One of the primary benefits of snacking is the ability to distribute food consumption evenly throughout the day. This strategy enables athletes with high energy demands to consume smaller main meals by incorporating multiple snacks during the day, ensuring they can complete their meals more comfortably. Often, these athletes face challenges in meeting their energy requirements because of the vast quantities of food they need to consume daily. Training multiple times a day for up to two hours at a stretch is incredibly time-consuming and can hinder some athletes from either preparing large meals or consuming substantial quantities of food between two training sessions. This limitation is often due to the time constraints that don't allow for either cooking or lengthy meal times. Moreover, eating large amounts of food in a short interval can lead to gut discomfort, potentially disrupting their subsequent training session. Snacks can also be very useful when planning food timing around training. Snacks can serve as both pre-workout and post-workout options. This can be useful when trying to top up your glycogen stores right before training or an event, thus helping you perform better. Snacks can also serve as post-workout options, supplying you with enough carbohydrate and protein to enhance training adaptation and promote recovery. Lastly, by having high-protein snacks throughout the day, athletes can stimulate muscle protein synthesis more often, enhancing muscle growth and adaptation from training. Snacks are an essential ally for athletes with high energy requirements, assisting them and others in optimizing the timing of nutrient intake to enhance performance and recovery. However, numerous athletes encounter pitfalls in their approach to snacking, which hampers the potential benefits. When people think of snacks, they may envision chocolate, candies, and chips, but this is far from what athletes require. Snacks should serve a purpose in an athlete’s diet and should be as high in quality as their meals. Many athletes opt for less-than-ideal snack choices, such as chips, pies, and sugary sodas. Depending on their goals, athletes' snacks should be either calorie-rich and nutrient-dense or high in carbohydrates or protein. The need for a high caloric intake does not justify consuming an entire bag of chips when they could opt for a more balanced alternative, like peanut butter toast with fruit and a glass of milk, for instance. This approach not only meets the calorie requirement but also provides a healthier, more nutritious balance. For athletes with high energy requirements, looking for energy and nutrient-dense snacks to meet daily energy goals, consider the following: Including healthy fats in your snacks can increase calorie content without adding too much volume. Good options include olive oil, avocado, peanut butter, and nuts. Turning snacks into smaller meals with a range of nutrients, including carbohydrates and protein, can help meet nutrient goals for the day. Smoothies are an easy way to consume a lot of calories and nutrients in a small amount of food. For athletes who struggle to get enough calories despite adequate snacking, mass gainers can be useful, but be careful not to overdo it and ensure they are batch-tested. Snacks can also be another opportunity to incorporate more vegetables and fruits. Including fruits in your smoothie or vegetables such as spinach will be beneficial. For those aiming to optimize performance with high-quality pre-workout snacks, consider the following: Pre-workout snacks should be high in carbohydrates, low in fiber and fat, and moderate in protein content to ensure easy digestion and glucose provision during training while preventing gut discomfort. Fruits, such as very ripe bananas, with low fiber content and mostly fructose and glucose, make great pre-workout snacks. Aim to consume pre-workout snacks 1 hour to 30 minutes before exercise, depending on the type of snack. Lastly, here is what to look for in a snack when seeking a good post-workout option: Post-workout snacks should contain 20g to 30g of protein and a moderate to high amount of carbohydrates to optimize muscle protein synthesis and glycogen replenishment. Combining protein and carbohydrates has been shown to improve glycogen store replenishment. Consume your post-workout snack immediately up to 1 hour after exercise to reap the best benefits. In conclusion, snacks are a valuable tool for a range of athletes and goals. They can help athletes meet their energy and nutrient daily goals while aiding others in optimising performance and recovery Here is a list of pre and post workout snacks we often recommend to clients: Pre-workout snacks: Muesli bars Fresh fruits (e.g., apples, bananas, oranges) Greek yogurt with berries Whole grain crackers with hummus Rice cakes 3 Weetbix Whole grain toast with avocado A bagel (good for large training days) Here are some high-protein snack options: Greek yogurt/High-Protein yogurt Hard-boiled eggs Cottage cheese and crackers Protein bars or protein shakes Jerky (beef, turkey, or chicken) Tuna and crackers A handful of almonds Protein nut bar Small ham + cheese wrap Protein smoothies with whey protein powder and fruits