They say, “you are what you eat.” If you’re an athlete, that means paying attention to your nutrition can contribute as much to your health and performance as the actual training you do for your sport.

Confused about what exactly to eat, and when? The Athlete's Plate® is a tool developed by sports dieticians at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. It provides an easy visual reference for general dietary guidelines for athletes.

During moderate training periods, your plate should look like this:

Note the emphasis on vegetables and whole grains.

During heavy training periods, your plate should look like this:

While still important, vegetables and lean proteins are now secondary to whole grains.

Notice the lack of processed foods on both plates. The more you can stick to foods you can buy on the periphery of the grocery store (the produce section, the bakery, the dairy section, etc.), the better off you are. More highly processed foods tend to be in the middle aisles – avoid these as much as you can.

On the nights before hard workout or race days, be sure to eat a balanced dinner containing 50% carbohydrates, 25% protein and 25% fruits and vegetables. Avoid high fat foods, or foods high in fiber – these can cause gastrointestinal upset as they pass through, which might inconveniently be mid-race or mid-workout. If you know you sweat heavily, consider adding extra salt to your food.

The day of your race or workout, eat your last full meal 2 to 4 hours beforehand and a carb-rich snack 30 to 60 minutes prior. Then, when you’re finished, eat another snack and/or a recovery drink within 30 minutes. A larger, balanced meal 2 to 3 hours post-race or workout will help with your recovery.

Don’t neglect hydration! Be sure to drink fluids regularly throughout the day. If you drink sports drinks, which can help replenish electrolytes, stick to ones with a low carbohydrate concentration (no more than 8%).

A good general practice is to drink 17 to 20 ounces of fluid 2 hours before your race or workout. You can calculate how much to drink afterwards by weighing yourself before and after a 60-minute run. Each pound you lose is equivalent to 16 ounces of lost sweat. Divide that number by the amount of time you ran to calculate your sweat rate. Most people require 16 to 24 ounces of fluid for every pound lost for optimal fluid replacement.

Basic Nutrition Tips