by Knowing what to eat, how much to eat, and when can be a challenge for most people.
But for athletes at all levels, it can be even more difficult, and many experience a common pitfall.
“Before I had a nutritionist, I was definitely under-fueled,” Australian 54kg boxing champion Tiana Echegaray told ABC Sport.
“I was trying to keep track of my weight. I was just training, very dehydrated, tired, lack of energy in my sessions.
“I was focused on work … and I thought if I’m feeling so terrible, it’s because I’m not working hard enough.”
Echegaray only started the sport in 2019, but after connecting with a sports nutritionist, she began to understand proper nutrition.
It has enabled her to reach her full potential, and she will make her Olympic debut in Paris.
Fill your bucket
“Under-fuelling or under-consuming total energy to meet demands is probably one of the main issues I see for all athletes,” Holly Edstein, New South Wales Institute of Sport sports dietitian, told ABC Sport.
“That’s where the education piece around what they need to eat to meet their overall health needs as well as their sport is extremely important.”
Ms Edstein says the easiest way to understand how much you need to eat is to visualize a bucket full of food, and as you use up energy throughout the day, you’re taking food away from the bucket.
“Whatever’s left in that bucket at the end of the day, after you’ve accounted for all your training and competition, what’s left is your normal physiological functioning,” she said.
“And when there’s not enough left in the bucket, something has to give.
“And that’s where athletes could experience things like an irregular menstrual cycle, compromised bone health and stress fractures, iron deficiency, gastrointestinal symptoms, poor immune function.”
These symptoms result from low energy availability, which can lead to a Sports Relative Energy Deficit.
Ms Edstein says it can affect all athletes, regardless of gender, although women are more likely to be iron deficient, and some of the red flags, such as an irregular menstrual cycle, are easier to spot.
Finding the right information
While elite athletes usually have access to sports dietitians, for sub-elite, recreational and younger athletes, getting the right information is much more difficult.
“When I was about 16 and say 21, I was very strict with the carbs that were being put into my body,” said Sydney Flames guard Vanessa Panousis.
“It really didn’t work for me.
“There are so many negative connotations to carbohydrates – they’ll make you fat, they’ll make you bloated, they’ll make you bloated.
“In fact, it really really helps in recovery.”
Cronulla Sharks player and NRLW Indigenous All Stars captain Quincy Dodd says she has learned how much she needs to eat, depending on her training or playing load.
“That probably doesn’t go across all age groups in rugby league,” she said.
“I know some of these young girls have no idea what they eat on game day or what they eat for breakfast but when they get an education their performance will be much better.”
Ms Edstein says it’s also essential to eat a variety of foods and key nutrients.
“Making sure they are getting enough carbohydrates to fuel their training sessions, enough protein to support muscle repair and recovery, adequate fiber for gut health, good amounts of healthy fats for hormone production and vitamin absorption, ” she said.
“And then we can break that down further into the micronutrients, ensuring adequate iron, vitamin D, calcium, zinc, folate.”
Doing weights
Athletes in weight-based sports face particular challenges.
Echegaray says sticking to his weight division is key, even outside of competition.
“When I’m trying to lose weight and reduce my calories, I’m just sticking to a food plan,” she said.
“I’m trying to be organized every week doing a lot of meal prep, sticking to specific amounts.
“You don’t want the fight to be about the scales, you want the fight to be about the fight itself and what you’re going to do in the ring.”
Ms Edstein says any athlete trying to lose weight should seek advice from an accredited sports dietitian.
“That way they can get a customized assessment, intervention and education to meet their specific needs and that athlete’s context,” she said.
“I strongly discourage athletes from seeking general advice from the internet.
“There can be great advice, and there can’t be quality advice on the internet.
“And often this not-so-great quality advice can do more harm than good and have very negative consequences for health and performance.”
Echegaray admits that in sports like boxing, there is a risk of developing an unhealthy relationship with food.
“Because if we’re constantly counting calories, and that’s at the forefront of our minds, we become so obsessive about everything we eat,” she said.
“It can certainly have a negative impact on the mental health of many people in boxing.
“I think I managed it well. The main thing is to express how you feel… because you will find that many people in the sport have experienced the same thing.”
