Example of a cross-country skier's diet - example diet for cross-country sports

Premise

The following indications are for information purposes EXCLUSIVELY and are not intended to replace the opinion of professional figures such as doctor, nutritionist or dietician, whose intervention is necessary for the prescription and composition of CUSTOMIZED food therapies.

Cross-country diet - cross-country diet

The cross-country skier needs a balanced diet aimed at supporting sports, which engages 5-10 times a week (even 2 training sessions a day).

First of all, it is necessary to clarify the real needs of those who practice the "basic" activity:

• Energy: the energy consumption of the cross-country skier is often overrated; there are tables and formulas to calculate the specific energy consumption but, in general, all suggest higher expenditures than the real ones. In particular, the cases most affected by the overestimation of energy consumption are those that interest amateur sportsmen; on the contrary, professionals, or even just the secondary circuit agonists, training on a daily basis enjoy a high and constant "oxygen debt" (which increases the basal metabolic rate), which effectively compensates for the caloric overestimation for training.
• Glucides, proteins and lipids: by doing basic sports, depending on the intensity, a more or less high calorie expenditure is generated, which affects the oxidation of a mixture predominantly of glucose or fatty acids. While lipids are never a limiting energy source (therefore, in the cross-countryist's diet, they do NOT play an essential role: recommended at doses equal to about 25-30% of the total daily energy), carbohydrates must be introduced constantly but without exceeding to avoid converting them into fat in the event of a surplus (recommended at doses of around 50-60% of the energy); in this way it is possible to guarantee a total recovery of the body's glycogen stores (muscles and liver). As far as proteins are concerned, they play a very important function, namely the ANTI-catabolic one. As we all know, among the various roles of peptides in the body, there is also the PLASTIC one; proteins STRUCTURE the muscles that, in movement, if not adequately supported by the carbohydrates present in the diet, slowly but inexorably catabolize the amino acids of which they are composed. To tell the truth (in a small percentage) this depletion also occurs with a correct diet, not to mention that the human organism uses food proteins in different metabolic environments (besides the plastic one); therefore, dietary peptides should be introduced consistently and to an extent appropriate to the needs of the athlete (1.5-1.7 g / kg of physiological weight, or real if the fat mass is <15% M and <24 F) without the risk of exceeding (removing space for carbohydrates) or deficere (running into the reduction of muscle mass and the immune system, already compromised by intense physical activity).
• Vitamins: in the diet of the basic sportsman, vitamins play an essential role even if (on average) their contribution is totally covered by the diet; it is true that the needs of the cross-country skier are greater than normal, but it is also true that together with energy, by increasing the portions of food, the athlete introduces many more vitamins than the sedentary one.
• Mineral salts: for most of the mineral salts the same approach is applied as for vitamins; the only exceptions concern potassium (K) and magnesium (Mg); the body concentration of these two salts depends essentially on the athlete's sweating and often, in order to avoid exceeding with fruit, vegetables, whole grains and legumes (which contain many fibers and anti-nutritional chelating molecules), it is necessary to add them to the cross-country skier's diet by means of food supplements.
• Water: the bottom sportsman's diet must be very rich in water (rich in mineral salts) which concentrates mainly in the hours preceding and following the performance (to be honest, even during the session); in addition to compensating for sweating and rehydration, it is an effective vehicle for restoring sugars and mineral salts thanks to the formulation of slightly hypotonic energy supplements.

Useful supplements in the cross-country skier's diet

As can be deduced from the above mentioned, the essential supplements in the diet of the cross-country skier who trains 5-10 times a week are the saline and energetic ones. To calculate the formulation, it is necessary to establish first of all which is the actual water loss (therefore saline with sweating) of the interested cross-country skier; it is also essential to go back to the salt loss and, through the energetic calculation of the performance, add a maltodextrin and / or vitargo (or mixture of both) to a share (to allow the absorption of the drink, support performance and promote energy recovery (for calculations see the article: Feeding the cross-country skier - cross-country skier's diet ).

Another supplement that is strongly "discussed" for the diet in cross-country sports is that based on branched amino acids (BCAA); these, representing an energetic substrate that does not require neoglucogenesis, become part of the energetic production of the sportsman. Unfortunately it is not possible to actually establish in what quantities are oxidized in the performance, but it is certain that their catabolism occurs mainly due to the lack of glucides in the muscles; if the cross-countryist's diet is well balanced, supplementation with branched amino acids is not necessary. It is clear that their use mainly performs an anti-catabolic function, therefore, for the most zealous, it is possible to take them in percentages of 1g / 10kg of physiological or real weight divided into ½ before and ½ after the performance.

Cross-country diet - cross-country diet: example

• Marathon runner, he trains 6 times a week; is in transition between general and special preparation. Sweats a lot and with every 90 'workout loses about 2700ml of water and 4.5g of mineral salts (Na, Cl, K and Mg) for an average energy expenditure of 750kcal.

First of all we compose the slightly hypotonic drink:

• Volume: 1.5l (10 ° C)
• Salts: 1 tablet or sachet containing at least 200-250mg of potassium and 200-250mg of magnesium
• Maltodextrin / vitargo: 60g (about 240kcal)
• BCAA: 6-7g divided 3-4 before and 3-4 later or diluted in the drink (about 25kcal)

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