8 Do’s & Don’ts of Exercise Nutrition

Updated December 29, 2020 to remove potentially triggering content

Sports nutrition is a specialized area of nutrition focused on performance—how the foods and nutrients we eat can help us build strength, power and endurance, sometimes in ways that seem to contradict healthy eating recommendations (think: Michael Phelps’s 12,000 calorie diet)

An important thing to keep in mind is that most sports nutrition studies have small sample sizes, and the subjects are usually university students, varsity athletes or professional athletes, so the benefits for the average active person or “weekend warrior” might be a little different. Still, making sure that you are fuelling properly can help you get the most out of your workouts.

Do Start with a Solid Foundation

Before you start diving into the fancy sports nutrition stuff, make sure your day-to-day nutrition is solid. “Basics” like eating regularly and including a variety of foods and nutrients will likely make a bigger difference in performance than adding a protein shake or performance supplement.

Don’t Waste Your Hard-Earned Cash on Protein Bars, Shakes & Supplements

Speaking of protein shakes, you don’t need them to get results! Sure, when you look around the gym there are so many blender bottles and protein bar wrappers lying around you’re beginning to think you might need a GNC or Popeye’s membership along with your gym membership, but honestly, you don’t. As long as you’re eating well-timed, balanced meals and snacks before and after your workouts, you should get the protein and nutrients that you need to get results, and in a way that’s probably cheaper and tastier to boot! The only time I recommend protein shakes and bars to my clients is if they are struggling to get enough protein through food, or if they’re time-crunched and really aren’t able to grab a real food meal or snack.

“Guess what? You *don’t* need protein shakes or bars to get #gainz in the gym.”

Do Eat Carbs

You don’t hear many people say they’re on the Atkins Diet anymore, but the low-carb trend and general fear of carbs is still going strong. Now, it’s called “Keto,” “Paleo” or “Gluten-Free”. I agree that as a society we probably eat too much refined carbohydrates, like white bread, white pasta, white rice and sugars, but it doesn’t mean you should throw the baby out with the bath water and cut out whole grains, starchy vegetables, fruits and legumes as well! Carbohydrates are our bodies and brains’ preferred source of energy, and when we don’t eat enough carbohydrates, the body’s next choice is actually protein. This could mean that the protein that you’re eating is being converted to energy instead of helping you build bigger muscles, or worse yet, the body’s taking the protein from your muscles for energy and you’re losing strength and lean body mass.

There is some interesting research that shows that exercising with limited carbohydrate availability can teach your body to start using fat as a source of fuel. However, a recent joint position paper from the Dietitians of Canada, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, and the American College of Sports Medicine concluded that so far, the literature has shown that low-carb diets do not improve performance, and in fact, may lead to decreased training intensity and duration.

“Fuel your workouts with carbs, save the protein for #gainz.”

Don’t Reduce Eating and Exercise to a Transactional Relationship

Food is more than fuel, and movement is more than burning calories. When it comes to considering sports nutrition needs, relying solely on calorie and nutrient calculations may not be enough. Timing, ease of digestion, and taste are just some of the factors that still need to be considered too.

Do Experiment with What Works for You

What sometimes feels like the most discouraging thing when it comes to sports nutrition is that there are no hard and fast rules. There are guidelines as to when, what and how much to eat, but the specifics for each person are anyone’s guess. One particular food, product, or habit that might work really well for one person might be an #epicfail for someone else. Take the time to experiment and pay attention to how your eating habits are affecting your training, especially for endurance events where you are eating during exercise.

Don’t Try Everything At Once

It’s really tempting when you’re starting a brand new exercise routine to want to completely makeover your eating routine as well. Don’t. While it’s all with good intentions, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by it all and have it all fall to the wayside. Also, when you’re changing everything at once, it makes it hard to pinpoint what’s really giving you the benefit, and what’s just along for the ride. Focus on just one or two small changes, and allow them to snowball into lasting, permanent habits over time.

Do Have a Competition Plan

If you’re training for something, like a race, event, skills test, or competition, experiment all you want during training, but use the results to formulate a specific plan leading up to the big date. You want to be confident that you’re putting your best foot forward at a time when results matter, not jumping on the next new thing.

“Train your stomach so that you can race with a plan. Don’t try something new on race day!”

Don’t Get Discouraged

Just like the training part of training, the nutrition part of training can be unpredictable. Sometimes you have good days, sometimes you have bad days. Sometimes something that’s worked really well for you doesn’t work one time, or vice versa. Don’t get discouraged and try, try again. Make note of other things that might have played a factor – did you eat just a little bit earlier or later than you normally do? Are you sick? Stressed? All these little things can have an impact on your performance. Be patient, and eventually you will start figuring out what works most of the time.