Fitness and conditioning doesn’t work without proper nutrition
Many athletes believe that being thinner will make them faster, and end up taking in less food than their body needs to perform at its best.
This CNN article profiles Jacqueline Mariash, a competitive triathlete, who discovered that her inadequate nutrition was holding her back, and who has made great improvements by making simple adjustments to her diet and eating habits.
The 25-year-old Mariash has been a runner for nearly as long as she can remember, and began competing in triathlons in 1998. Like many female athletes, she strictly limited her food — dipping as low as 800 calories a day — to improve her performance by losing weight.
But her results were just the opposite.
…
For Mariash, the solution was to eat a lot more calories in three balanced meals plus several healthy snacks.
For athletes that have been working out on an inadequate diet, making basic changes to balance their intake of protein, carbohydrates, and fat, along with matching calorie intake to support their level of physical activity can bring rapid results.
“Now I can train harder, farther. Things I was afraid of, like a four-hour bike ride, are easy now.”
Female athletes trade thin for results (CNN / AP, November 30, 2005)
