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Feed the Machine: Simple Nutrition for Athletes

By Phil Eich

Your body is a machine. A machine with either not enough fuel or the wrong kind of fuel
will either stop running, break down, or not perform to its highest ability.

Food is fuel. There’s a lot of information regarding sports nutrition out there, especially
on the internet, and it can be easy to get confused, chase too many different diets at the
same time, or become misguided by a supplement company trying to get you to buy their
products.

The best sports nutrition strategy is to start with real food and follow a few simple rules.

Simple Sports Nutrition

Since you are an athlete and need to train hard, you should consume:

.5 grams of fat per pound of bodyweight
1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight
2 grams of carbohydrates per pound of bodyweight.

Eat this way for two weeks. At the end of two weeks, if you generally feel tired during
training, increase the amount of carbohydrates you eat on training days. If you don’t
feel tired and believe you’re putting on unnecessary or unwanted weight, decrease the
amount of carbohydrates you consume.

During this time, you should measure and calculate exact numbers or as close as pos-
sible. Look at labels and add up fat/protein/carbs. Be sure to look at serving size. After
these first two weeks, you will start being able to “eyeball” the nutrition count of foods,
but if you don’t go through this initial phase of learning “food math” there will be no
way to tell if you’re actually receiving the nutrition you need.

Try to get as much of your nutrition as possible from whole foods. Meat, vegetables,
fruits, and nuts will give you the best results. Protein supplements like whey can be a
good option, especially post-workout, but be careful that they don’t end up comprising a
majority of your protein intake. For example, if you weigh 100 pounds, try to keep your
whey protein intake at 25 grams or under, making up the difference with meat and veg-
etables.

Conclusion
In nutrition, consistency wins. Eat well for a week and then lose the habit and you’ll
gain nothing. Eat well for months and who you are as an athlete completely changes.
Joe Stewart, MSW, CF-L2, USAW L2
Food is fuel. Feed the machine. Owner
Mission 1 Fitness LLC
1900A W. Caro Rd.
Caro, MI 48723
(989) 553-1044
www.missiononefitness.com

Mission 1 Apparel
www.mission1apparel.com
1 12 • Sports Finest Magazine JUly 2017 sportsfinestMagzine.com 989 672 0799 kelly@sportsfinestmagazine.com2 • Sports Finest Magazine July 2017 sportsfinestMagzine.com 989 672 0799 kelly@sportsfinestmagazine.com