Best Diet for Outdoor Athletes: Calories, Nutrition, and Tips

On the streets of Agrigento and beyond, the number of people who practice outdoor sports is increasing significantly. Running, fast walking, athletics in green areas. All this must be helped by a proper diet, capable of providing all the nutrients, giving energy and not weighing you down.

Calories and nutrition

Compared to the diet of a person who doesn’t do any activity, the athlete’s diet is largely different in terms of the amount of calories to eat during the day. That is, between 2000 and 5000 calories, able to provide carbohydrates, which have the main function of energy because they support physical effort during sports activities; proteins necessary for building and repairing tissues, as well as muscle growth; fat that is able to provide energy but also to create cell membranes; the vitamins, minerals and fibers that help protect the body, but also, first of all, water that is essential in the case of athletes to regulate body temperature.

Proper nutrition must be balanced in relation to the physical efforts to support it: 55-60% of the calories consumed must be composed of carbohydrates, 25-30% of lipids, 12- 15% of proteins. Water must be added continuously according to the amount consumed, on average from 1 to 1.5 liters.

The suggestions

Here are some tips for athletes, even those who are just starting out and are dedicated to walking fast or faster.

• Eat at least three hours before physical activity.
• After physical activity it is necessary to drink.
• To lose weight, the difference between calories taken in and burned must be disproportionate to those consumed, but under the control of a nutritionist or dietitian. These are figures that are always useful to turn to when physical activity aims to change one’s physical form.