How to eat like an Olympic gold medallist

Take inspiration from the high-octane foods athletes are eating to fuel up at the Winter Games

As we cheer on our athletes as they go for gold at the 2010 Winter Olympics and Paralympics, we can certainly take some lessons from them on achieving peak performance. Even if we're not elite athletes in medal contention, there's plenty we can learn about fuelling up for both fitness and life in the fast lane. And the rewards are, without a doubt, worth striving for: high energy living and a better sense of well-being.

Just on a very basic level, eating well can even make the difference between wanting to be active and being a couch potato. Exercising without taking heed of your nutrition can leave you spinning your wheels and feeling lethargic.

So what exactly are the athletes eating out there in Vancouver and Whistler? Just a few examples of what VANOC has purchased just at the start of the games: 36,540 eggs, 42,440 liters of 2% milk, 28,140 liters of skim milk, 77,800 lbs of bananas, 86,664 Granny Smith Apples, 70,104 Golden Delicious Apples and 11,000 lbs of pasta.

"The menus for the Olympics have been four years in the making," said Nanci Guest, RD, Director of Sport Nutrition for VANOC and supervising dietitian in the Athletes' Village. She also co-authored the latest Nutrition Guide for Athletes, which came in the athletes' welcome package at the games. Choosing the best options for high-octane fuel is an evolving science so that the athletes are provided the latest cutting edge advice.

According to Mélanie Olivier, PDt, MSc from Montreal, the official dietitian of the Canadian Olympic Committee, the Canadian athletes are very choosy and not wanting to waste their calories on empty calorie choices. They burn plenty of calories but aim to make all their fuel count.

And forget refined grains. They're not even on the athletes' radar. It's whole grain all the way. At breakfast, oatmeal with added wheat germ and flaxseed and muesli are among the top choices. Nanci Guest, who was in Torino four years ago with the Canadian team, made sure that they could get breakfast foods like muesli and yogurt to snack on all day long.

The athletes also go for the staying power and muscle building protein-rich options at breakfast. Dietitian Olivier says eggs are a popular choice but instead of fatty meats like bacon, lean turkey is preferred.

To get the most out of your fuel for working out:

Instead of high-sugar options, go for those that add a bounty of accompanying nutrients alongside. So instead of a berry-flavoured yogurt, a plain low fat variety with added fresh or frozen berries and some nuts adds an abundance of antioxidants to repair muscles while providing protein and carbs at the same time.

 
While both refined and whole grains supply carbs to fuel muscles, the whole grains are also top-notch sources of assorted nutrients, antioxidants and fibre. Higher fibre counts can slow the digestion of food and provide more staying power.

 
Don't waste important calories on fatty protein-rich choices. At meals, go for lean selections for muscle repair and building like cottage cheese, lower-fat hard cheeses, skinned poultry, eggs and lean well-trimmed meat.

 
To accommodate the athletes' nutritional needs, the cafeterias in the Olympic Village are open around the clock. Plus there are plenty of other ways to get nutritious eats. Lunch boxes, for example, are being delivered to the athletes at various venues.

Training diets usually differ from what's eaten during competition as the hours put in for getting in shape for the events tend to be significantly longer than the actual competition itself. The time-consuming intense training can make simply eating enough and meeting nutritional needs a tough task. Nutrients like iron and vitamin B12, important for healthy blood cells, can be in short supply. And if red blood cells aren't carrying enough oxygen to hard working muscles, performance can be compromised. Consequently, the athletes are monitored for their iron and vitamin B12 status four to five times a year.

For casual athletes, these nutrients can also make working out less than pleasurable. While meat offers plenty of iron in an easy to absorb form, plant options like wheat germ, blackstrap molasses, dried peas and beans and iron-fortified cereals can also supply iron. But for better absorption, eat them with a source of vitamin C. Choices including citrus fruits, berries, melons and tomatoes can fit the bill. Vitamin B12 is found in all foods of animal origin, like milk, fish, eggs and meat, or in B12 fortified options.

Olympic athletes would never go for hours on end without food. But how many people choose to workout at lunch time or in the late afternoon with no in between meal eats? A recent study from Michigan State University looked at pre-workout food and found that eating some protein before taking part in resistance exercise helped boost metabolic rates for 24 hours after the exercise session. That translates into more calorie burning and greater energy levels. The researchers suggested that eating protein prior to the workout session could help to reduce body fat.

What's on the menu after exercising also determines the pay off for all your hard work. Eating a combination of protein and carbohydrate within a half hour after a workout can offer a few perks: increased muscle mass and easy muscle refuelling. Hard working muscles, whether involved in Olympic events or power walks in the neighbourhood, require carbohydrates as fuel. With increased training, there is a greater ability by the muscles to store carbohydrates making them readily available for use. Depleting the stores, which are known as glycogen, can leave you running on empty. Feeling tired following exercise can be a result. Subsequent workouts can also seem to require more effort.

Here are some smart post exercise snacks for high energy workouts:

Fruit + low fat yogurt + nuts or seeds
Lower fat cheese cubes + crackers or fruit
Whole grain cereal + low fat milk or yogurt
Whole grain bread or crackers + peanut butter
Whole bread + lean protein like turkey, lean meat or lower-fat cheese 

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