Fueling for Performance Goals
If your goal is to improve strength and performance, your focus should be on eating the right amount to fuel your training and your recovery.
ENERGY BALANCE
Eating for optimal performance means you should be eating at maintenance or in a surplus, and your intake should change in conjunction with changes in your training. This means that you should be eating at least as many calories as you are burning throughout the day.
If you have performance goals, it is NOT the correct time to be in a calorie deficit!
Our nutrition and goals should change with different seasons in our lives. When you want to perform your best, you need to eat like it! And while that may mean you won’t be at your very leanest, that’s ok. Staying as lean as can be all year round is not possible for many people, and unhealthy for all.
If you want to get faster, train harder, or perform better, you must eat more in order to fuel your training and your recovery.
MAINTENANCE CALORIES | eating as many calories as you burn on average
CALORIE SURPLUS | eating more calories than you burn
An athlete with performance goals should also prioritize quality foods, quality sleep, and recovery.
(And here’s a gentle reminder that anyone can be an athlete!)
Meal timing isn’t the biggest factor that will affect your performance, but eating the right food at the right time will help you stay properly fueled and recovered, and paying a little more attention to the makeup of pre- and post-workout meals can be beneficial.
NUTRIENT TIMING
Worrying about meal timing isn’t effective if your overall calorie intake isn’t adequate, so make sure you have mastered the basics before focusing on the details.
PRE-WORKOUT MEALS
Your pre-workout meal should be consumed 1-2 hours before your workout.
CARBS | Aim to consume ~30% of your total daily carb goal in the eating window before your workout. Choose fast-digesting carb sources such as fruits, potatoes, rice, pasta, oats, or cereal. If you train first thing in the morning, these pre-workout carbs can be included in your last meal or snack the previous night.
FAT | Try to keep your pre-workout meal low in fat.
PROTEIN | Keep this meal moderately high in protein. When choosing a protein, opt for lean sources like chicken breast, egg whites, or a protein shake.
POST-WORKOUT MEALS
Your post-workout meal should be eaten within 1-2 hours of completing your workout. The macro breakdown of your post-workout meal is similar to that of your pre-workout meal and is essential in helping you refuel and recover.
CARBS | Consume another ~30% of your total daily carbs right after your workout. Again, stick with fast-digesting carb sources such as fruits, potatoes, rice, pasta, oats, or cereal.
FAT | Fat intake should be relatively low in your immediate post-workout meal.
PROTEIN | Make it a priority to consume some lean protein right after your workout. This could be a good time for a protein shake, especially if you don’t usually feel hungry immediately after a workout.
Our goals are constantly evolving. You may not focus on improving performance forever, but if that is your current goal, making sure that your dietary approach matches that goal will help your hard work pay off.
