Sports nutrition for aesthetics and performance

Define diet as energy and nutrients intake per the World Health Organization, and distinguish nutrition as food intake aligned with the body's dietary needs, including amount and timing.

Define food as any substance ingested, per the Spanish food code. Classify foods as simple or compound, with subgroups as meat, dairy, legumes, vegetables, fruits, cereals, and fats.

Explore how nutrition comprises processes that extract carbs, fats, proteins, vitamins, and minerals from food and incorporate them into organs and tissues, fueling metabolism and debunking cellular nutrition as wordplay.

Explains the function and types of nutrients by distinguishing energetic macronutrients (carbs, proteins, fats) and non-energetic micronutrients (minerals and vitamins), along with storage and structural roles.

Learn how energy needs and calories power athletic performance, and how age, gender, muscle mass, climate, activity level, and emotional state shape athletes' energy balance.

Explore calorie tables showing how activity type and duration affect calories burned for a 70 kg person, and learn to estimate daily expenditure using MET-based compendiums.

Understand the relationship between calories and nutrients, and learn to allocate total calories among carbs, fats, and proteins, noting fats provide the most calories per gram.

Discover how the body uses multiple energy substrates—ATP, phosphocreatine, glycogen, glucose, fatty acids, and amino acids—for different activities, from sprints to marathons; tailor diets accordingly.

Explore how glycolysis converts glucose to energy without oxygen in the anaerobic system, and how the aerobic system uses oxygen to convert fats into energy for longer, medium-to-low-intensity activities.

Explore the energy continuum in sports nutrition, detailing ATP, creatine phosphate, glycogen, glucose, carbs, lipids, and proteins, with durations from seconds to hours and the anaerobic–aerobic shift.

Recognize that carbohydrates are the body's main energy source and that weight depends on total calories, not carbs alone; the body can create glucose via gluconeogenesis.

Classify carbohydrates by structure, from monosaccharides like glucose, galactose, and fructose to disaccharides and polysaccharides, and explain digestion, glycogen storage in liver and muscle, and fiber fermentation.

Carbohydrates power training by fueling glycogen in liver and muscle via aerobic and anaerobic glycolysis to ATP. Athletes should target 55–60% of calories from carbs, with sugars capped at 5%.

Carbohydrate loading blends augmented training with deliberate carb depletion, then a gradual reintroduction to max glycogen before competition, emphasizing high intake near race day and performance benefits.

Explain pre, during, and post-exercise carbohydrate strategies with gram-per-kilogram targets, high-glycemic options, and the nuanced role of protein in recovery.

learn how carbohydrate intake per kilogram aligns training goals from weight loss to endurance. apply gram-per-kilogram guidelines—3–5, 5–7, 7–12, or 10–12 g/kg—plus pre, during, and post-exercise targets.

Explore carbohydrate intolerance and lactose intolerance, including lactase use and lactose-free options, and examine diabetes types, insulin resistance, and diet and exercise strategies for performance and aesthetics.

Distinguish lipids from fats, and compare oils versus solid fats by temperature and origin. Explain why saturated fats and coconut oil impact health, calories, and dietary choices via triglycerides.

Explore saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fatty acids, with omega-3 supporting anti-inflammatory effects and omega-6/9 being pro-inflammatory; aim for 2,000 mg omega-3 daily.

Explore how cholesterol supports cell membranes and hormone synthesis, and how fats influence blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels for female athletic health through minimum fat intake.

Identify saturated fats in cold cuts and bacon; limit to 10 percent of calories. Unsaturated fats in nuts, avocados, and olive oil lower LDL and support HDL, under 200 mg.

Learn how unsaturated fats from fish, nuts, and seeds are digested by lipases, absorbed into the bloodstream, and routed to the liver or adipocytes based on calorie balance.

Learn how lipid metabolism uses carnitine to transport fatty acids from adipocytes to mitochondria for energy; supplements do not burn fat, exercise and a proper diet do.

Understand fats' main functions, including cell membranes with phospholipids and cholesterol, nine calories energy for long low-intensity exercise, and protection, insulation, and regulation via vitamins, hormones, and membrane receptors.

Proteins form from amino acids linked as peptides and oligopeptides; only chains over 50 amino acids become proteins. Protus notes cereals provide energy; alcohol and raw meat are not ideal.

Show how fatty acids fuel long-duration sports; for athletes, training on an empty stomach aims to increase intramuscular fat availability for performance, but not for weight loss.

Compare animal and vegetable protein sources, focusing on essential amino acids like lysine, and how cereals and legumes complement to raise biological value—e.g., rice and beans.

Set protein needs by sport using grams per kilogram to maintain positive nitrogen balance. Endurance athletes need 1.2–1.4 g/kg and strength athletes 1.5–1.8 g/kg, with foods meeting goals without supplements.

Learn how to time pre-competition feeding two to three hours before training, focusing on low fat, low protein, and low fiber meals with high carbohydrate content.

Consume a hypertonic, high-glycemic carbohydrate drink with water and mineral salts during competition and training. Tailor salt additions by sweat analysis to customize drinks, as Gatorade's sodium may be insufficient.

After training, prioritize high glycemic carbohydrates to replenish cardiac, hepatic, and muscle glycogen, rehydrate, and support muscle repair with protein, while keeping fat low. The anabolic window is not fixed.

Calculate sweat rate from weight change, fluids ingested, and exercise duration to estimate liquid loss. Apply the Mexican Federation of Sports Nutrition formula to guide post-exercise rehydration.

Learn how strength training uses intensity, reps, rest, and RPE or RIR to tailor programs, with 2–3 minute rests and 3–4 sets per muscle targeting strength, hypertrophy, and endurance.

leverage cardio and a caloric deficit to burn fat, targeting the fat max of 60–65 percent of max heart rate (220 minus age) via structured hiit or liss protocols.