Here I go preaching again... Just as exercise is a lifestyle that gives back what you give to it, healthy eating is its own reward.
Like exercise, I try to include variety in what I eat/cook and I will always read labels when I shop, especially if it is something processed, or packaged...because I want to. If you want a treat, make a burger and fries (ingredients: ground meat, sesonings, etc, and potatoes) dont buy it from McDonalds. The day-to-day suppers I make take between 30min. to an hour to prepare, and I dont look at it as time lost. I usually have a beer, put on some music, and consider it down-time. I'm not a fanatic, but it is something I look forward to in my day, not squeeze it in to "free time".
Its true that training and nutrition are separate entities. eg. Fergus Highland Games, 2005: I ran the 10K race after a day of drinking what my mother described as "a powerful ammount of Scotch", eating haggis, mushy peas, and BBQ foods. I ran the race wearing a heavy wool kilt in a downpour. Still finished top 1/3, under 50min - because of the kilometers I ran before the race, not what I put into my body the day before.
The thing that worries me about "elite" athletes, is that we have this new directive about molding our best and brightest. It is now important that they become student athletes so that they have something to fall back on when their competitive performance wanes. Why dont we/they stress the same values for nutrition. Too many "pro" (2 meanings) athletes lend their name/likeness to fast foods and processed foods. What will we see first: Sydney Crosby doing a commercial for apples or carrots, or Burger King? - Whether he eats there or not.

Elite athletes are just that in spite of thier nutrition habits and training methods, not because of them. So beyond meeting energy requirements, it does not matter what they put in thier bodies for performance. Tiger will be the best no matter his diet. Period. Health, of course is another story altogether.

I would worry more about what we know about healthy nutrition for ourselves than what the genetically gifted are comsuming. In the end it's your own health that matters.

And IMHO cookies are NOT part of a healthy diet. Most things man-made are not.

Adam....you know it doesn't cost a lot to eat healthy. I have 3 kids, work full time, i run and train for events, my kids do all sorts of sports and I can still manage home made meals almost every day (I set one day aside a month and cook like 30 meals) and eating out is a rare social treat...not nutrition. We're all busy, we all have lives...if I can do it so can anyone else. I agree that our athletes need the financial support we can give but I disagree that eating healthy takes anymore time than eating unhealthy. I can prepare a nutritious meal in 15-30 minutes...I bet one can sit in a line up or drive through for that amount of time.

Has anyone asked these folks what their budget is for food? I'm betting they haven't GOT a lot of spare cash to spend, not to mention the time it takes to go grocery shopping and cook at home. Since many are working AND training (two full time jobs), the last thing they may want to hear is "Slow down and cook your own meals." How about we hold off on the preaching about healthy food choices and the time it takes to fulfill those needs, and start by financially supporting our athletes well enough to use their dreams without the stress of finding a job that fits their training schedule so they can earn enough just to eat?

Food (like sex, and everything else that makes life worth living) is about pleasure. Or, at least, it should be.

When food represents something other than pleasure then we are in trouble. Let's call it "sports eating" - eating as fuel, rather than eating as pleasure. Anybody knows anything about both knows that the two do not have to be distinct from one another - that there are good, even great, healthy and delicious things that stimulate the pleasure principle while providing the body with what it needs to sustain athletic endurance.

Think of yourself like a junkie. At first, the high of having that forbidden thing was pleasurable. Then you became addicted and getting that fix stopped being fun. It's like that with fast food and junk. A bag of chips should be experienced as a treat (unless, of course, you have other, better treats ...) not an unthinking fix. Engaging food like an addict isn't pleasurable.

I propose that those athletes who are secretly stuffing themselves with junk fixes buy a cookbook, devote one hour a week to buying food in small stores (rather than the Loblaws) and make even ONE really good meal a week. Taking the time to prepare a lovely meal for yourself or you and a choice companion (preferably accompanied by the right music and beverage) and you've got pleasure. Pleasure is what life is all about. When we forget about pleasure, we are not living but merely existing.

This is a reply to 'shouldn't girl guides of all people support healthy food choices...'
All foods can fit into a healthy diet....even cookies. When we start to categorize foods into good and bad, right and wrong it creates nothing but angst and guilt, which ironically can lead to over eating, or can lead to eating disorders. I use to train for marathons and many of the people there ate a variety of foods and remained healthy, as well as my non athletic friends.
I feel sorry for people who are now obsessed with reading lables, I would imagine that it really limits one of life's enjoyment, which is food and culture.

As an ex-wrestler and wrestling coach, the eating disorders associated with wrestling have been an albatross on the sport, and a big factor that has kept more than a few parents from letting their kids wrestle-I would be curious to know from people in the gymnastics and track/cross country communities if they run into those concerns from parents as well.

It's funny that athletes at every level put such little stock into nutrition. I remember a HNIC-between periods that showed a young man, who's training was very goal specific. He worked on technique, strength, endurance, flexibility, and strategy; he saw a physiotherapist, masseuse, psychologist, hypnotist and had a tutor. Then they showed him after training, eating like a goat: Fast, processed foods, refined sugars, bad fats, large portions, and supplements. Funny how something as important as the building blocks and the fuel his body would be left up to a 18 yr old amature, and yet the rest of his training to professionals.
As said in the article, I know a 20yr old cross-country runner on scholorship to a US university. She told me that it is common for anorexia and bulemia to be the technique of choice to shave seconds when training harder doesn't seem to effect much. There is a point when lost muscle mass starts to hurt performance, but for many borderline athletes, it is the only way.
I try to make a point of eating properly, training or not. I believe in the 80/20 rule of eating what I should 80% of the time, and what I want 20% of the time. My menu the night before any competitive run is Spelt-flour pasta, with a simple tomato sauce and skinless chicken - NO SALAD (your spastic colon will thank you for that!), and an apple or orange later with plenty of water. Two hours before the event, I fuel up with a honey wheat bagel with peanut butter, and a medium Tim's black coffee, followed by some peppermint gum 10 minutes before the starting line.
Everyone is different, but there are some basics that will optimize any performance - the secret is to research nutrition as a critical part of your training, and find what works best for you - even if that turns out to be a raw potato, 6-pack of Jos & Louis' and a diet coke.

I x-reference healthy eating principles based on:
- Ayurvedic type
- Blood-type
- IgG/IgE blood allergies
- Anti-inflammation
- Orthomolecular medicine
- Acid-Alkaline balance
- Adrenal Fatigue
- Optimum Nutrition for the Mind
- Athlete Food Pyramind
- Traditional, nutri-genomic foods
- Canadian Sports Nutrition Advisor course
- Avoiding processed foods

The CBC had a news article on how Canada's Food Guide changed from Marketing Board lobbying (Dairy, Meat, Grain) got the Government to increase these amounts. Population-based healthy eating does not take into account many individualized factors (as mentioned above).

Lance Armstrong has a Nutrition book on calculating your personal EXACT energy requirements without lugging around excess body fat -- I heard that he measures everything about his food.

My personal challenge is to eat enough, as my weight plummets with cardio -- liquid shakes with isolated whey protein, omega-3 fish oil, berries, & vitamin C are helpful... When I rowed back in university, I constantly lugged a backpack of food with me and ate to the point of fatiguing my jaw!

The most useful information I learned sports & health nutrition-wise include:
- calculating my individualized protein
requirements
- decreasing refined carbs (substituting whole
grains) & sugar (junk food)
- eating more veggies
- having shakes for breakfast (I don't feel
hungry before 10a.m.) and both pre- and
post-workout

My basic strategy for winning in athletics is to outlive my competition, and clean up in my age-group when I'm 80+ :)

Mike, M.Ed., CSNA Student
desousamike at yahoo dot ca

www.coryholly.com/articles/index.cfm
www.colganinstitute.com/html/CI_Articles.htm
www.colganinstitute.com/html/CI_Newsletters.htm
www.hdfoster.com

you know what, i would like to see the average person go out there and show those athletes up, right before the big race or whatever, scarf down a chili dog and a can of coke... in the end it all comes down to the training a person has recieved and the practice they have had. if we had these types of people competiting it would be alot more enjoyable to watch and talk about haha

As long as these athletes are performing, does it really matter what they CHOOSE to put into themselves nutritionally?

Being an endurance athlete provides a great amount of room for improper eating. By burning an extra 2-3 thousand calories a day, it is possible to have a great physique and still eat a typical, unhealthy North American diet. However a good looking physique does not define a healthy individual just as peak performance does not coincide with optimal health.

From a very basic sports perspective, a gram of carbohydrate, whether as pure glucose or a whole grain, is processed the same and used by the body in a similar way. So eating a cup of brown rice or a donut will have similar results on a race performance. This does not mean that athlete is healthy, or will reach thier full potential over the long term, which *in theory* requires a disciplined, healthy diet.

Having a beer, or a donut during the day will by no means destroy an athletic performance, especially if body composition is not a major issue relative to power, mental happiness and the drive to win.

It's tough to determine what should come first - calories or the actual nutritional value of the food an athlete consumes.

Speaking from experience (been a competitive long distance runner for the past 22 years, also currently playing on a soccer team, and I've done triathlons and mountain climbing)...one tends to want to 'fuel up' prior to a big endurance event. Pasta, potatoes, even bread, they're all fair game. Vitamins are something that every person needs on regular basis - but having a bit more vitamin C in the few days before the competition won't make any difference. Some of us like power bars, Cliff bars and the like. Some runners and soccer players can't stand this stuff.
(I once climbed Mt. Shasta on three Cliff bars and one liter of water...that was all. I was a little dehydrated but it was a beautiful day of moderate mountaineering a walking with a light pack. Eating the right thing at the right time is the key)

I also don't recommend necessarily every energy drink out there. People need water during high-performance activities. We need some, repeat 'some' level of electrolytes, but where you get it from is a question. Diluted Gatorade? Ordinary lemonade?
(and not even talking about caffeine...I like the previous post from the former Olympic rower - a coffee and a bagel can go a long way, indeed)

In my humble opinion, an athlete needs a balanced diet. Also, there is a diet and special foods industry out there, ready to capitalize on the latest craze or the newest 'discovery', so, buyer beware.

I've run some of my better 5km times after I'd had a pint or two the evening before. Not three or four, but one or two.

I was on the US Rowing Team from 1982-88, and my diet was focused on consuming as many calories as I could over the course of the day. Food was fuel and the workload required lots of it. Accordingly, I had 6 eggs, sausage and bacon almost every morning, as well as lots of whole milk, cheese, doughnuts, hot dogs, burgers, fries, etc., and I still needed to augment my calorie intake with a pint of Hagen Daz each night in the month running up to the 1984 Olympics. My pre-race meal at those Games, where we won a gold medal, consisted of 2 doughnuts and a cup of coffee. Breakfast of champions!

I agree that many athletes do disguise an eating disorder like anorexia or at the least bad eating habits. I was thin most of my life and athletic. The exercise did disguise my very poor eating habits although I don't believe I was anorexic I was probably boarderline however I know I was not bulemic. In my mid-thirties I was unable to keep the disguise with exercise and actually became over weight albeit some what in shape. The extra weight however became a health problem waiting to happen. Three years ago I lost 60 pounds from eating those foods that run the perimeter of the grocery store and keep the portions to a size that will maintain my weight where it should be according to my height. Now, I believe that I am healthier and enjoy life so much more at this healthy weight of 128 pounds on a 5'6" frame and eating simple good foods. I believe that what I have done by eating fruits, vegetables, meat, dairy and grains is extend my life. I'm grateful that my size woke me up to a bigger problem of poor eating habits.

After having read the ingredients listing on a box of Girl Guide Cookies, I was shocked! They're trans-fat packed!

Maybe it's my granola roots showing through, but shouldn't the Girl Guides of all groups support healthy food choices- even in cookies?