Sports nutrition

Whether you’re active, or a high-level competitive athlete, a healthy diet is essential. Nutrition is not only important to help you perform at your maximum potential but also to recover better between your workouts. The level of physical activity significantly impacts nutrient requirements, which is why it’s even more important to tailor your diet with the help of a professional. Regardless of your age or the type of sport you engage in, your dietitian is there to assist you in reaching your athletic goals, one bite at a time.

Performance Optimization

Physical activity greatly increases nutritional needs, making it sometimes challenging to meet them adequately. Nutritional deficiencies can lead to symptoms that affect your daily life and performance. To ensure good health and performance commensurate with your potential, working with a dietitian is the key. Through a nutritional assessment, you can evaluate your diet and identify any deficiencies. Together, you can develop a personalized action plan to address these deficiencies. This plan will, of course, be tailored to your daily life and training schedule.

Together, you can also work on the periodization of your diet, meaning what to eat based on the timing of your workouts (the famous pre/post-workout nutrition!). Whether it’s carbohydrate loading or increasing your protein intake, you’ll implement relevant nutritional strategies to optimize your performance.

Your dietitian is aware of the realities of being an athlete: between work, school, and training, it’s not uncommon to spend long days away from home without access to a kitchen. You’ll receive assistance in meal planning and discuss other tips to help you overcome daily challenges.

When it comes to sports nutrition, supplements are an inevitable topic. During your nutrition appointments, you’ll learn more about various supplements for athletes. Together, you’ll analyze each supplement to determine if they are necessary, safe, and effective. You can then establish a personalized supplementation plan.

Sports Events

Whether it’s a race, a tryout camp, an important game, or a competition, your nutritionist is there to assist you at every stage of your sports event. Before the event, she can help you modify your body composition to “make weight” or ensure you’re in peak physical condition. Together, you can examine the competition’s food environment and adjust your nutritional plan accordingly. You can also develop a hydration and nutrition plan during the event.

Body Composition Changes

Whether it’s to improve your performance or achieve a specific physique, your dietitian will help you modify your body composition in a healthy way, without jeopardizing your health or relationship with food. For example, increasing body mass requires changes in your diet. You’ll need more energy, and your protein requirements will also increase. With your dietitian, you can develop an action plan to help you reach these targets.

Concerns

It’s well known that physical activity contributes significantly to maintaining good health. However, even athletes are not immune to certain health concerns. In fact, sports practice can increase the risk of experiencing various health issues, such as RED-S (Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport), a syndrome characterized by an energy imbalance with diverse negative health effects. Eating disorders, from orthorexia to anorexia, can also affect the athletic population. Physical activity adds complexity to the management of type 1 diabetes. Of course, athletes are also at risk of musculoskeletal injuries. A comprehensive nutritional assessment, conducted by the right healthcare professional, as well as nutrition follow-up and involvement in appropriate interdisciplinary disciplines, are crucial to ensure you perform well and, more importantly, live in good health.