Everything you do influences your performance, but your food choices have the most effect due to long term and short term benefits. Proper diet, including proper selection of food, will help your training and performance while also achieving a healthily lifestyle once you stop competing.

To help ensure a balance diet, remember that there are no magical nutrition remedies. So forgot the fads and eat a variety of wholesome foods from the four food groups--milk, meat, fruits and vegetables, and grains. Foods in these groups provide protein, fat, carbohydrate, fiber and all the necessary vitamins and minerals. Your ideal diet should include the following percentages of calories:

1. During Training- training represents the period athletes spend most of their time. Therefore, this category represents the most critical period. During this time, a diet high in carbohydrates is important. It is not uncommon to burn 2500 to 4000 calories a day. The best way to replenish theses calories is with a high carbohydrate diet. By being conscious of this and by taking high carbohydrate foods or drink in the first 30 minutes following a workout, you can minimize depletion of energy stores.

2. Pre-event Nutrition--the major purpose of the pre-event diet is to ensure sufficient energy and fluid for the athlete. Two or three days before competition, a high carbohydrate diet with plenty of fluids should be emphasized. The pre-event meal should include a light, high carbohydrate meal three or four hours before the event.

3. Nutrition during competition--provided that good nutrition practices were followed during training, middle distance and sprint events will not be limited by nutrition-related factors. During a three or four day competition, make sure you consume plenty of fluids and each meal should include high carbohydrates, low fat selections.

4. Nutrition after competition--high intensity work will deplete the muscle’s energy supplies. Therefore, carbohydrates play an important role after competition to make sure energy stories are maintained.

Next month: Look for more on Nutrition