CHAPTER 5

FUEL FOR
PERFORMANCE
 PROPER NUTRITION FOR EXERCISE
• Proper nutrition is important in an individual’s performance.
Walking or running-long or short-diet must give the right
amount of energy from the right sources.
• Nutrition is the health branch that stresses the importance of
the food for growth and developments, as well as in lowering
the chances of acquiring diseases and illness.
• Proper nutrition relies on the mix of food with varying
nutrients that we need to eat every day. Having too much or
too little of these nutrients can lead to illness. The key
 WHAT ARE NUTRIENTS? WHY ARE THEY
IMPORTANT?
• Nutrients are important food substances that help our body function
properly. It provides energy and facilities growth and repair of cells.
There are six types of nutrients: water, protein, carbohydrates, fats,
vitamins, and minerals. They can also further classified into
macronutrients and micronutrients.
• Macronutrients such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, and water are
required by the body in large amounts. Micronutrients such as
vitamins and minerals are only needed in very little amounts. They all
help our bodies produce enzymes, hormones, and other substances
critical to growth and development.
• There are different strategies that you can use to ensure that you are
The essential nutrients with its corresponding importance, signs, and symptoms of deficiency
in the body’s immune system is summarized in Table 5.1.
Essential Nutrients. Importance Signs and Symptoms of
Deficiency
A. MACRONUTRIENTS
Proteins • Needed for growth, building, • Ridges or white lines in both
and repair of body tissues. finger and toe nails; hair loss
• Enough protein is essential to and thinning or brittle hair;
maintain muscle mass and muscle deterioration.
strength, but eating more
protein does not yield bigger
muscle.
Carbohydrates • Main source of energy. • Irritability, nausea, bad breath,
• Maintains blood glucose level muscle cramps, excess
during exercise and replaces fatigue, increase in body fat,
glycogen stores after exercise. deficit in body sodium and
water, constipation, regular
headaches.
Fats • Needed for immune system • Dry skin, hair loss, body
function and helps the body weight deficiency, cold
store and use vitamins. intolerance, bruising, slow
• Stored fat provides enough growth, poor infection
energy for long endurance resistance and slow wound
B. MICRONUTRIENTS
Vitamins • Helps the body use
carbohydrates, proteins, and
Vitamin A fats • Anemia, painful joints, cracks
• Maintains healthy skin, bones, in teeth, depression, frequent
teeth, and hair; aids vision infections
Vitamin B (thiamin, riboflavin, • Important in the production of • Anemia, depression,
and niacin) energy from carbohydrates convulsions, skin rashes
and fats • Anemia, nervous system
Vitamin B6 • Needed to break down degeneration, progressing to
glycogen to release glucose paralysis and hypersensitivity
and make hemoglobin that
carries oxygen in the blood.
Vitamin B12 • Aids in maintenance of red • Red blood cell breakage,
blood cells anemia, muscle degeneration,
difficulty walking, leg cramps

Vitamin E and C • Aid in bone, teeth, and skin • Anemia, frequent infections,
formation and resistance to bleeding gums, loosened
infection teeth, muscle degeneration
• Help protect the body from and pain, joint pain, blotchy
oxidative damage bruises, failure of wounds to
heal.
Folate • Aids in the formation of red • Anemia, heartburn, frequent
Mineral • Help in regulating the chemical • Sports Anemia – a condition
reactions in the body where temporary decrease in
hemoglobin concentration
occurs during exercise training
Iron • Helps in energy metabolism; • Anemia, weakness, fatigue,
important in transporting pale appearance, reduced
oxygen through the attention span, developmental
bloodstream; prevents anemia delays in children.
• Important during exercise for
the formation of hemoglobin
and myoglobin, other iron-
containing proteins that are
essential for energy production
Calcium • Helps build and maintain • Stunted growth
bones and teeth; nerve and
muscle function and blood
clotting
• Needed to maintain blood
calcium levels and promote
bone density, consequently
reducing the risk of
osteoporosis
Zinc • Helps carry out body • Growth failure, delayed sexual
processes; plays a role in maturation, slow wound
Table 5.1. Essential Nutrients, Its Importance, And Deficiency
immune function, Signs And Symptoms
protein healing
BEFORE EXERCISE
• The food eaten before exercise serves as the energy source and will define one’s
performance. Eating a meal with plenty of carbohydrates three to four hours
before exercising is deal as it increases the blood glucose and glycogen levels for
energy.
• Glucose – a simple form of sugar that the body converts into energy.
• Glycogen – sugar stored in liver and muscle cells, which can be broken down to
glucose for energy.
• A small snack one to two hours before doing vigorous exercises is deal. It is
recommended to consume something lighter. Food products with high contents
of simple sugars (i.e.., glucose) consumed right before an exercise will rapidly
supply the body with energy but it will also drop significantly at the middle of the
session. Low levels of glucose during exercise will trigger early onset of fatigue.
Food products with high fructose content has also been reported to upset the
stomach during exercise.
DURING EXERCISE
• During exercise increases endurance and performance,
prevents an individual from getting tired easily, and
gives glucose to the working muscles.
• It is advisable to eat a 30-60g of carbohydrates every
hour for a heavy exercise of more than one hour. A
sports drink or cereal bar is also recommended for easy
digestion.
• Water is also required during exercise to avoid
dehydration. Consume water every 15-30 minutes and
AFTER EXERCISE
• It is very important to eat after exercise to reload the body’s glycogen supply. The amount of food
and time depends on the duration and intensity of the exercise and the schedule of the next
exercise session.
• After the exercise, it is deal to eat within the first 30 minutes with 1g of carbohydrate for every
1kg of an individual’s weight. If a person weights 50kg then he/she should take 50g of
carbohydrates. It is necessary to eat every hour within 4 hours.
• Expert recommend around 7-9 hours of sleep for grown-ups while an 8- hours sleep is enough
DIDsleep:
average sleep. Here are some suggestions for an improved solid YOU KNOW THAT…
Rest and Sleep are very important in
 Stress-free, no worrying and thinking before going to sleep the repair and regeneration of tissues.
While nutrition provides the body to
 Condition yourself to have a good sleep repair are rebuild tissues, these
processes takes place during rest and
 Proper breathing-slow, low, small gaps in between breathing sleep.
in andHaving a proper rest not just
maintain your body, it is also makes
out. you feel yourself best. And even a
small deficiency of sleep decrease
 Comfortable sleeping environment
performance, not just physical
 No TV or any distractions while in bed performance is affected by rest, it also
helps in mental, social and spiritual
 aspects.
Avoid caffeine, alcohol, and hefty eating before bed sleeping.
WHAT ARE THE EFFECTS OF BAD NUTRITION?
• The purpose of recovery nutrition is to replenish fluid, electrolytes, and glycogen. It also aids in making new
muscle protein and cellular components as well as promotes proper immune functions.
DAY-TO-DAY NUTRITION
• Although the before, during, and after exercise diet is essential to an individual’s performance, the day-to-day
diet is more important. Otherwise, training and performance will be adversely affected. Basically, the body
should meet the required daily energy to function well. The Department of Science and Technology (DOST)
through the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) came up with the Daily Nutrition Guide (DNG)
Pyramid and the “Pinggang Pinoy” that contains the recommended daily and per meal food intake for each
individual.
Did you know that…
According to FNRI, “Pinggang Pinoy”
• Is a new and easy to understand food guide that uses a familiar food plate model to show the right food group
proportions per-meal to meet the body’s energy and nutrient needs of Filipino adults,
• Can be use to complement the FNRI Daily Nutritional Guide (DNG) Pyramid for Filipinos, but will not replace it.
• Is a “quick and easy guide” on how much to eat per meal compared to the DNG Pyramid that shows whole day
food intake recommendation.
• “Both the Pinggang Pinoy and the DNG Pyramid for Filipinos are based on the latest science
about how our food, drink, and activity choices affect our health.”
Exercise and training drives the body to the limit. As the body continues to exercise , stress and
fatigue, and metabolic waste continue to accumulate in the body. If a person is uncertain of his/her
nutrition, he/she should see a doctor or a licensed dietitian to check and design the proper nutrition
for training and exercise. The following are consequences of poor nutrition:

1. Poor Performance. Carbohydrates, fats, and protein provide the body big
amounts of energy for exercise and competition. Insufficient intake will hinder it
from peaking at the desired performance level. Resistance exercise depends on
energy that carbohydrates give while endurance exercise needs fats and
carbohydrates. Muscles break down their protein to power themselves during
intense exercises.
2. Long Recovery. Exercise results in minor muscle damage. Consequently, the
muscles repair and rebuild itself which results in growth in muscle mass and
increased strength and endurance prevents muscle damage. According to
nutritionist Dr. John Berardi, the first two hours after exercise are the most critical
for exercise recovery. The high amount of required nutrition is high for the first 24
hour after exercise; failure to meet the demands delays the recovery for days or
even weeks.
3. Immune Suppression. Stress hormones are
produces in the body during exercise, triggering the
body to release stored energy like body fat. But when
the amount of stress hormones remain high, the immune
system functions are compromised. Nevertheless, too
much intake of carbohydrates, protein, and vitamins
suppress the immune system that is why a balanced diet
is important.
4. Weight Change. Exercise and diet modification is
used to alter weight. Crash diets and other fad diets do
not support proper weight loss principles because both
EATING HABITS AND WEIGHT CONTROL
• Eating habits characterizes the way an individual consumes food. It relates how, why,
what, and with whom an individual eat, as well as the way he/she gains, stores, uses, and
discards food. Eating habit is likewise influenced by culture, religion, economic status,
society, and environment.
• Weight control is the process of achieving and maintaining the desired weight of an
individual. The desired weight, or the best weight, is based on gender, height, and body
frame (small, medium, or large). Individuals maintaining their desired weight have
greater chances of being healthier than those who are overweight and underweight.

WHAT ARE WAYS TO IMPROVE EATING

HABITS?
Reflect, Replace, Reinforce: A process for improving you eating habits
• REFLECT on all specific eating habits, both bad and good; and, identify common triggers
for unhealthy eating.
According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), improvement of eating
habits need careful approach in which one Reflect, Replace, and Reinforces. There are
various tips available to further improve eating habits. Here are some helpful ways to
improve eating disorders:
1. Writing a food diary for a number of days consisting of a list of eating habits with the
specific food eaten and the time it was consumed. Thoughts and feelings when one
decides to eat should also be noted in the diary.
2. Making the habits in the list that might lead to overeating (e.g., eating too fast, eating
even if not hungry, always eating dessert, and skipping meals).
3. Identifying all triggers of these unhealthy eating habits and picking a few ones that
could be improved initially. The positive habits on the list should also be recognized and
serve as encouragement to do more positive changes.
4. Reviewing the diary and listing signs or cues that trigger eating other than the reason
for feeling hungry. The typical feeling at those times should also be noted. Some
examples of these are: watching, opening the refrigerator, seeing food, and stressed
after work.
6. Refraining from unhealthy habits while substituting them with healthy ones. An example
would be planning a healthy balanced meal a head of time rather than eating what is
readily available.
7. Sustaining the new healthy habits. Habits are formed through time and patient. It is
necessary to always review the learning from the food diary. Food
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WHAT ARE THE FACTORS TAT CAN AFFECT WEIGHT CONTROL?

• These Internal factors are mainly body related like genetics and hormonal
secretions. The External factors, however, directly influence weight
management such as diet, physical activities and social settings.
1. Genetic factors and Hormones. These are some rare conditions of extreme obesity
affecting about 1% of the population. These includes syndromes like Prader - Willi and Baret -
Biedl, which are genetic disorders present at birth.

2. Environmental Factors. Health care professionals focus on environmental factors

during the treatment of overweight and obesity. Proper diet and exercise are the main
measures to encounter obesity. Controlling triggers of eating habits is essential during weight
control.

3. The Concept of Energy Balance. Energy balance is achieved when the amount of
consumed calories equals the amount of calories used in order to maintain body weight.
Taking more calories (eating more food) than what the body can burn makes an individual
gain weight, while burning more calories than what is consumed will make him/her lose
These are three (3) factors that contribute to the total energy spent on a daily basis: basal
metabolic rate, physical activity, and thermic effect of food.
 Basal metabolic rate refers to the energy spent by the body to maintain homeostasis
(i.e., normal function). Aging decrease basal metabolic rate and this contributes to weight
gain as a people grow older.
 Energy is also spent every time the muscle contracts when we perform physical
activities. People who are sedentary would eventually gain weight because their
muscles are inactive most of the time.
 The thermic effect of food refers to the energy spent to digest the food. Eating
complex carbohydrates increase digestion time and may help in increasing energy
expenditure.

FAD DIETS AND SUPPLEMENTS

A diet that promises quick results with little effort easily earns and loses popularity
shortly after consumers realize it as just a false advertisement. These kinds of diet are
Here are guidelines for safe and nutritious diet:
 Eat food that are low in calories but provides all required essential body nutrients such as
vitamins and minerals.
 Fat should be less than 30% of total calories with high complex carbohydrates.
 Variety of food to suit tastes and avoid hunger between meals.
 Compatible with lifestyle and readily available.
 Diet should be lifelong and sustainable.

DIETARY SUPPLEMENT
Dietary supplements are substances that contribute to health maintenance and overall diet.
These include vitamins, minerals, amino acids, enzymes, and animal extracts. Dietary
supplements come in different forms, usually in tablts and capsules.

BENEFITS OF DIETARY SUPPLEMENT

These supplements complements the dietary intake of essential nutrients and help reduce the
risk diseases. But these are not medicinal drugs intended to “cure” particular diseases.
ARE THERE ANY RISKS IN TAKING
SUPPLEMENTS?
Taking supplements has its risks. The active ingredients in supplements have strong
biological effects on the body, which might harm or worsen an individual’s health. Below
are examples of improper intake of supplements, which may lead to dangerous or life-
threatening consequences:
 Combination of supplements;
 Supplements combined with medications;
 Taking supplements in replacement of prescription medicines;
 Over dosage of certain supplements like vitamins A, D, and iron; and
 Certain supplements can be dangerous before, during, and after surgery.

Hence, the best option is to “avoid” taking supplements unless prescribed by a licensed
physician.
 SUMMARY
Proper nutrition plays a big role in performing casual to heavy physical activities. Taking in
nutrients is necessary before, during, and after such activities. It is also essential in the
body’s recovery, immunity from sickness, and maintenance of proper body weight.
Nutrients ( both macro and micro ) are very important for the body to achieve proper
mental and physical performances. Macronutrients like water, protein, carbohydrates, and
fats are required by the body in the large amounts while micronutrients like vitamins and
minerals are only consumed in small amounts. These nutrients are consumed by the body
during the performance of day-to-day activities and should be replenished through proper
diet and nutrition.
It is therefore important for each individual to prepare a daily, weekly, and monthly diet
plan that enables the body to meet the required energy for mental and physical activities.
The DNG Pyramid and the Pinggang Pinoy designed by the FNRI can serve as guide
preparing this plan.
 THANK
YOU!!!