What is Fuelling for your sport? or ‘for the work required’ is widely acknowledged as a priority for athletes to perform at high levels continuously through training sessions and matches/events.

The term “fuelling” refers to the required amount of carbohydrates which may vary depending on your daily activities. In other words, carbohydrate intake varies depending on the physical demands of the day. For example, a light training session will likely require less carbohydrate intake compared to heavy training sessions.

Simple..

Sounds simple right?.. indeed, and most sports have published the necessary carbohydrates to fuel for your sport/activity. Here is an example of a fuelling schedule. 

The amount will vary from High CHO Intake = ~8-12g Per KG BW and Medium CHO Intake = ~6-8 Per KG BW. International society of sports nutrition position stands (biomedcentral.com) 

The Issue
The issue? Well.. if we only fuel for the activity/sport then we are not considering other aspects of your day…

*Work – how active are you and how demanding is your job?
*Social – are you walking around a lot or highly active throughout the day
*Other training- you may be engaged with an S&C programme which will also require fuelling.

In some cases, the *other aspects* can be sustained with a balanced diet. However, this is highly dependable on the activity and should be investigated to ensure you’re not under-fuelling. Symptoms of under-fuelling can lead to…

*Low energy levels
*Increased risk of injury
*More time away from your sport/activity
*Decrease in physical and cognitive performances
*Reduced growth and maturation (in young athletes).

How do you eat such large amounts? 

Eating the required amount is often the most difficult part when fuelling and requires a well-planned week. This is due to fact that the number of carbohydrates required is indeed a lot more than athletes believe. 

Once you have a good idea about how much you should consume – you should then look at how to increase CHO intake within your days. 

Starting with small steps:

• Make your own electrolyte drink with more CHO. At the moment, a Lucozade comes in at around 25g of CHO. You could make your own which exceeds that for the fraction of the cost!
• Slowly increase your plate of CHO – Often people hear they are under-fuelling and immediately tank in loads of potatoes. Stop – add in 1 or 2 extra and allow your gut to get used to the regular increase. 
• On the topic of gut health – it may be worth trying to improve it which will allow you to consume more food without feeling bloated or fatigued after eating. 

The amount of fuel needed for your sport

The amount of carbohydrates depends on what have done and what you intend to – so, be realistic in dietary consumption of carbohydrates. It would also be useful to measure your body composition whilst investigating fuelling. This will give an inclination toward over-fuelling if body composition increases or indeed, under-fuelling if the demands are not met. 

Here are some general guidelines you can use:

Low Training Day: ~3-5g Per KG BW

Medium Training Day: ~6-8 Per KG BW

High Training Day: ~8-12 Per KG BW

However, this is highly dependent on the activity. First, you should determine your current CHO intake and then look to increase your dietary intake. Otherwise, you can potentially make yourself feel sluggish by eating too much or more fatigue by eating less. 

What next? 

Not sure how to fuel or calculate how much you’re already eating. Maybe, you just want to get a handle on your fuelling strategy for your sport. 

Get in touch with a free 1:1 consultation and I can discuss some options for you. 

Extra sources 

Here are some extra sources you can read which may be useful

Sports-Nutrition-Fundamentals-To-Improve-Performance-full-resource-v2.8.pdf (eis2win.co.uk)

Fuel for the work required: a practical approach to amalgamating train-low paradigms for endurance athletes – PubMed (nih.gov)

Strength and Nutrition | What is fuelling for your sport?