Eating For The Peak Athlete

Generally speaking being an athlete requires a balance of timing and planning. It takes approximately 3 1/2 hrs. to digest what you have eaten. By then, it will be time to eat again. This depends heavily on what you will be doing. Several small meals per day allows the body to use it's fuel more efficiently. Eating large meals encourages the body to store the extra calories as fat. If you do not eat frequently your body recognizes a deficit of calories and will "catabolize" (eat) it's lean tissue. In short to prevent fat and loss of muscle several meals a day should be eaten. Approximately every 3-4 hrs while awake (about 5 meals) per day.

Here is a simple way to decide how many calories you need at each meal:
If you want to GAIN muscle mass ADD 100 calories to each meal. If you want to LOSE weight (fat) reduce calories by 100. If you will be working out within the next three hours take 100 calories from other remaining meals and add them to your pre-workout meal. If you will be sitting quietly or napping over the next three hours reduce you meal to no more than 300-400 calories.

The average person is usually protein starved most of the day. It is the most important part of your diet. You must spread out your protein during your 5 meals per day. You will typically need about 1 gram of protein for every kilogram (2.2 lbs) of body weight. That would be about 15%. You will want to keep your fat intake low. Carbohydrates are your source of energy. You will want what they call complex carbs. They cause a gradual rise in your blood sugar. Simple carbs cause a rapid rise and then FALL of your blood sugar. You can easily purchase a book that tells you the caloric value of foods and it will be important to know the glycemic index of foods. You will want to keep your preworkout meal carbs on the lower glycemic end...ideally under 50%. Fruits (except bananas and raisins) and beans are very good choices. A good reference source is a diabetic cookbook with the glycemic indexes listed. Below is a very brief chart for reference. The higher the percentage the higher the sugar content.

80-90 %
carrots
parsnips
potatoes (instant)
honey
Corn flakes

70-79%
bread (whole wheat)
rice (white)
potato

60-69%
bread (white)
rice (brown)
Muesli
shredded wheat
bananas
raisins

50-59%
buckwheat
spaghetti (white)
sweet corn
All-Bran
peas (frozen)
yam
potato chips

40-49%
spaghetti (whole wheat)
oatmeal
potato (sweet)
beans (canned navy)
peas (dried)
oranges
orange juice

30-39%
butter beans
black eyed peas
chick peas
apples (golden delicious)
ice cream
milk (skim)
milk (whole)
yogurt
tomato soup

20-29%
lentils
Kidney beans

10-19%
soy beans
soy beans (canned)
peanuts

You will want your proteins to be lean meats such as chicken,turkey,and fish.
Egg whites are also an excellent source of protein. Remember, proteins are very important. The word itself is derived from Greek meaning "of prime importance".