You might be reading this and thinking, my athlete knows what they like and don’t like. They know what snacks agree with them. They understand the foods that give them the quickest energy.

However, even after including those foods in a regular training schedule, they are still having struggles. Maybe they still end up getting shaky and light-headed by the middle of a game. Or they get stomach cramps mid-way into their race.

To this I would say, “You’re not doing anything wrong. You just don’t have the complete puzzle put together quite yet.”

In my professional opinion, there are two big pieces to the sports nutrition puzzle:

The fundamental facts. Know which macros are needed for what. And which micros are needed for what function.

AND

The application of the fundamentals - the science behind digestion rates and how our body uses the food we give it to create energy for different types of sports. i.e - TIMING.

You can know all of the fundamental facts… what’s a carb? What’s a protein? What’s a fat? What is iron? Etc. etc. etc.

BUT, if you don’t understand TIMING, the way the body processes the foods, how long it takes to convert those foods to energy, then the athlete can still be left sluggish, with stomach aches, frustrated or confused.

In my experience, both as a teen athlete and as an adult sports dietitian coaching others, I have found that this timing piece is often what may take the most, well, time, to figure out. Because, while there are textbook recommendations of how many grams/kg of carbohydrate should be consumed before, during and after activity along with recommended timelines, it’s also true that bodies are all very different. So while one athlete may need a particular snack “x” minutes before warmup, their teammate may like that same snack but need it “y” minutes before or “z” minutes before warmup.

The timing of your meals and snacks are determined by the composition of the meal/snack - what is actually in it, as well as the portions in the meal/snack AND the athlete’s genetics.

General macronutrient timing guidelines…

We know that protein, fat and fiber should be consumed further away from exercise because they take longer to digest and longer to be used for energy. The further away from warmup the meal / snack is, usually the more leniency you have with the protein, fiber and fat content. And the closer you get to the event/warmup, the less of these nutrients that meal/snack needs to contain, leaning to eventually entirely easily digested carbs as you get right down to start time.

So, for today, if your athlete is struggling with stomach cramps or upset, or shakiness / dizziness / fatigue before the end of events and if you feel they really understand the fundamental of nutrition, then I wonder if they should start looking more at TIMING…

Maybe they need less time between snack and event, maybe they need more time. Maybe they need more time but also a bit more carb. Maybe they don’t have much time so they need their snack + a simple snack to have during a game / practice / event.

Take a little time and play with timing. It’s great if the athlete can get this right straight out of the gate, but it often takes a little bit of time, a little bit of trial and error.

And a general guide to remember:

~close to event time = simpler carbs (no protein, fat or fiber)

~ 1 to 2 hours out = carbs + a little protein

~3 to 4 hours out = carbs + protein + a little fat, as tolerated by the athlete

If you play around with nutrition this summer and your athlete figures out what really works for them, I would love to hear about it! You can always comment below, find me on Instagram (@taylormorrisonRD) or send me an email! I’de love to hear from you.

Much love and a well-fueled athlete,

Taylor

Oh - and if this post resonated with you.

If this is something your athlete has been working on or needs to work on.

Maybe they already feel confident in the fundamentals or maybe they need that education as well, you guys would be a perfect fit for my virtual live sports nutrition program running this summer!!!