YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT!
“You are what you eat!” We have all heard this countless times but it couldn’t be more true. If you give your body the right amount of “fuel” at the correct time you will be amazed by the results. Dr. Justin Roberts, Hertfordshire University lecturer and performance nutrition advisor for Manchester City FC talks about the role of nutrition in building muscle and gaining mass.
Dr. Justin Roberts
Senior Lecturer/ Researcher – University of Hertfordshire
Performance Nutrition Advisor– Manchester City FC
1. Many athletes still believe that a lot of protein is needed to build muscle. Is that right?
Building muscle mass requires sufficient overload from training, as well as an adequate intake of amino acids from protein sources. Research studies have demonstrated that athletes generally require a higher protein intake per kilogram bodyweight per day than non-athletes (ie: 1.2-1.7g/kg/d). Also, power and strength related sports may require higher intakes of protein per day than say endurance sports. However, most (but not all) athletes may well be eating a high protein diet already, so this is worth assessing.
Protein requirements as you can see are influenced by bodyweight and type of sport (or stage of training). However, we also know that protein quality as well as timing of intake are also important factors that may influence muscle growth. Protein intake pre and post training may support the recovery process, which has a role to play in adaptations to training. Protein intake is therefore an important consideration for any athlete.
2. You also look after many professional athletes. What are their nutritional needs?
All athletes are different. Whilst there may be individual or team performance goals, the nutritional demands of one athlete may well be vastly different to those of another. There may be general guidelines that can be applied to various sports, teams or positions, but it is also important to consider individual needs from both a health and performance perspective. Nutrition plays a vital role in performance and is integral to the training and recovery processes. Some athletes may be looking to lose bodyfat or gain muscle mass. Others may need to focus more on hydration and calorific intake strategies, whilst others may have specific micronutrient needs. Another way of expressing the importance of nutrition for athletes – they may well train twice a day, they may well sleep twice a day, but they are likely to eat 4-6 times a day! One of the things I always say to athletes is that if you want the best performance from your body, you need to put the right type and amount of fuel into it.
3. How do you assist athletes who want to achieve their desired weight or build muscle?
The first thing to consider is what type of sport the athlete is involved with. There may be implications of sudden weight loss for example, or there may be other variables that influence how they adhere a nutrition strategy. The next stage would be to assess what the athlete may have previously done to achieve the goal. What has previously worked or not? It is important to consider individual food requirements, as well as current intake and body composition measurements. The nutrition programme ideally should provide a means to gradually progress towards the goal as opposed to sudden shifts in bodyweight. However, there are some sports (weight making) where the desired levels are more immediate. In addition to providing a suitable nutrition programme, food timing and additional supplementation should be considered. Working with a professional sports nutrition company such as Powerbar has allowed us to take into consideration scientific principles to develop suitable guidelines to assist athletes to achieve such goals.
4. What do you mean by metabolic characteristics? Do you need to have a blood sample taken?
Metabolic characteristics refers to the individual factors that determine an athletes body composition, digestion, muscle mass, hormonal interactions, recovery speed and so on. Whilst there are various diagnostic tests that can be undertaken to assess specific characteristics it is not always immediately necessary. Simple body composition assessment, or dietary and health questionnaires can be used to ‘screen’ such metabolic characteristics which may be useful in identifying which nutrients or further tests may be more beneficial than others.
5. If I have understood you correctly, then your diet plan takes into account both my nutritional needs in everyday life and also in training?
This is correct, remember a diet plan not only involves a typical training day, but also your everyday life. Therefore, the diet or fuel plan needs to consider the demands of your sport, the goal you wish to achieve, as well as your everyday lifestyle. This is one reason why diet plans should be individualised to support the persons demands. There could be other factors such as lifestyle stress, poor recovery or sleep, high work demands that could all influence training readiness and performance characteristics. The nutritionist needs to take all factors into consideration when working with an athlete.
6. And where can I get a diet plan that is tailor-made for me?
There are many people offering nutritional advice. From a general perspective this is fine. However, for more tailor-made assessment and advice, it is important that you seek consultation from a qualified professional, preferably also someone with experience in the field who may understand more about specific demands for athletes.
