No matter your level of fitness or experience, proper fueling is critical to optimizing performance. 

Athletes should strive to consume whole foods like oatmeal, brown rice, and quinoa that contain plenty of nutrient-rich carbohydrates, lean proteins from lean sources, low-fat dairy products, and healthy fats such as nuts and seeds for maximum success in their sports or fitness activities.

Supplementation with essential amino acids (EAAs) has also been demonstrated to aid muscle performance and recovery.

Let’s see how nutrition affects athletic performance!

Therefore, their consumption should be carefully managed to fuel workouts without risking excessive glycogen depletion, which can lead to fatigue and decreased performance. Carbs come from many sources, including whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. 

Examples of carb-rich foods are granola bars, bananas, berries, peanut butter sandwiches with jam or cream cheese on English muffins with jam spread over the top, and oatmeal or water as fluid replacement drinks.

Consuming carbs before and during training is especially essential for endurance athletes and those engaging in longer, higher-intensity sessions. 

However, according to a 2019 study published in Nutrients, occasionally training with lower carb availability may enhance muscle adaptations by forcing the body to use fat for energy instead. 

This could allow athletes to experience performance gains while still managing a healthy body weight.

Protein is essential to athletes as it repairs and builds muscle tissue while providing energy.  Athletes should aim to consume 10-15% of their daily calorie intake from sources like eggs, milk, and lean meat. 

High-dose protein supplements may increase muscle mass, but this is unlikely to improve endurance performance. Most of the best supplements for athletic performance contain a specific amount of protein.

Carbohydrates are often the go-to fuel for athletes participating in activities lasting over an hour, as they raise blood glucose levels and delay fatigue. 

Athletes should aim to incorporate about 50-60 percent of their diet with carbohydrates, such as whole grains, unrefined fruits and vegetables, and starchy foods such as potatoes.

Suitably, pre-exercise meals or snacks could include cereal with low-fat milk, toast/muffins/crumpets, pasta with a tomato-based sauce, or muesli/yogurt bars.

Carbs often take center stage in fueling athletic performance, but athletes also require sufficient fat intake in their diets for peak athletic performance. 

Fat provides energy during exercise, maintains proper body temperature, and helps oxygen reach muscles during intensive training and competition.

Eating carb-rich foods before exercising can improve performance by maintaining adequate blood glucose levels while decreasing gastrointestinal distress risks.

Fats in diets come from animal sources (butter, margarine, and fried meats) and plant sources (nuts, seeds, and vegetable oils). Fat is stored in our bodies as triglycerides, consisting of three individual fatty acids connected by glycerol chains; athletes should opt for unsaturated fats from nuts, seeds, and olive oil over saturated and trans fats found in meat products or commercial products.

Iron deficiency is one of the primary deficiencies among endurance athletes. It is essential to transport oxygen to muscles during physical exertion and rest. 

Our bodies store iron as hemoglobin in our blood, so any decrease in hemoglobin level diminishes this transport ability and results in decreased performance during exertion. That’s why the ultimate performance supplements have a rich amount of Iron to enhance performance.

Foods high in iron should be consumed regularly to prevent deficiency. Iron-rich foods include red meat, poultry, and fish; they should be consumed with citrus fruits or juice for optimal absorption.