Needs and energy expenditure in endurance sports

Endurance athletes often want to know how many calories they need on a day-to-day basis to maintain their health or performance goals in their case. However, prescribing calorie goals is not easy, mainly because energy needs fluctuate daily depending on lifestyle, general activity level, and physical exercise. This is why nutrition should focus less on total caloric needs and do so on meeting micronutrient and macronutrient needs, in support of health and performance related goals.

Based on the fact that the physical objectives and training protocols of each mesocycle are unique, nutrition cannot, and should not, be identical on a daily basis for this type of athlete. Apart from taking into account differences in the planning of the athlete's training and lifestyle, the design of a periodized nutrition plan should include evaluations of medical history, current medical problems and body composition goals. 

Both quantitative and qualitative strategies can be used to implement a periodization plan for nutrition. In this post we will focus mainly on qualitative strategies, as they are often neglected, due to psychological, educational and behavioral aspects of the athlete. Doing an in-depth analysis of these areas can help us identify areas for improvement and locate strong points on which to develop a successful plan. Qualitative aspects include knowing the athlete, so much so that it allows us to identify biological signs of hunger and feeling of satiety, as well as the effect of meals. 

Consequently, it is important to make the athlete aware of the basic functions of macronutrients (proteins, fats and carbohydrates), as well as providing them with examples of these foods, in order to later deal with aspects such as reading food labels, meal planning, orientation shopping in supermarkets and culinary skills in preparing food.


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Finally, remember, go to professionals in Physical Activity and Sports Sciences or registered nutritionist to discuss physical training and nutrition plans adapted to your needs.