Sports Nutrition - Training Advice (Menu Planning, Recovery Snacks, Fl Essay - 1

Sports Nutrition - Training Advice (Menu Planning, Recovery Snacks, Fluids, Supplements) - Essay Example Therefore, to ensure that the demands on the athlete's body are well met, it is essential to make a Menu Planning, not only based on what the athlete enjoys eating but also what the athlete is needing to accomplish the daily calorie intake (Coyle, 2004):36). In addition, the portion of each food component in the menu will change, based on the level of the training activity of the athlete, current weight, height and age of the athlete (Stouffer, 2002:7). Thus, for Pete, the following Balanced Menu Planning has been customized, based on bodily calorie intake needs and the training activity levels. The customized menu has been informed by the fact that under the Dietary Assessment and Hydration section in Part I, it was recommended that Pete should reduce both his protein and fat intakes, and increase his carbohydrates intake. The Recovery snacks are as important to the body of an athlete, just like the breakfast is considered to be the most important meal of the day (Burke & Deakin, 2010:17). During the marathon training activity, an athlete can break down both the muscle and the red blood cells, while also using all the stored up glycogen and also sweating up to two litres of water (Volpe, 2006:24). Therefore, what an athlete consumes after training is crucial both for the athlete’s performance and also recovery, while also supporting the immune system to handle anybody damages sustained during training (Manore & Thompson, 2010:33). The consumption of recovery snacks, therefore, is one way through which replenishing the muscles and restoring liver glycogen are attained, thus enabling the positive recovery and future performance. The consumption of recovery snacks also helps the athlete’s body to attain the necessary protein needed for tissue repair, as well as the restoration of fluids and electrolytes that are lost during sweating (Burke, 2007:12). Thus, the following is a Recovery Snack Menu customized for Pete.  Ã‚