Know Your Macros: How Protein, Carbs, and Fat Improve Athletic Performance
People often ask me, “What is the recommended calorie intake of carbohydrates?” or “How much protein is in my diet?” and fat percentage, but people with exercise goals have many needs. It is important for athletes and professionals to calculate their macronutrient balance because it will affect their training and performance.
Calculating macros for sports, exercise and athletic performance
Carbohydrates, proteins and fats are known as macronutrients in the diet. “Macro” means large, and we need more nutrients than micronutrients (vitamins and minerals). Most of us get micronutrients as well as macronutrients. The amount of macros athletes need varies depending on the type and intensity of the activities they participate in. Percentages for macros for strength training differ from those of endurance runners.
How much protein do athletes need?
Protein supports exercise but is not a fuel source. It has many important functions in the body. Dietary protein is essential for muscle repair and growth, but it is also needed to make enzymes (proteins) that help with thousands of chemical reactions in the body, such as getting energy from food.
Hormones such as insulin and glucagon, which help control blood sugar, are made from amino acids in the proteins you eat. Your body uses the protein in your food to produce antibodies, which are proteins that help your body fight off diseases.
The recommended protein intake is usually expressed as a percentage of total calories, but nutritionists prefer to calculate an athlete’s protein needs based on body weight. Athletes need more protein than average people, which makes sense since they usually have more muscle mass.
The recommended protein intake for strength athletes is 0.5 to 0.6 grams per kilogram of body weight (or 1 to 1.3 grams per kilogram of body weight). Strength athletes need a bit more, with a recommendation of 0.7 to 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight (about 1.5 to 2 grams per kilogram of body weight). This means that an athlete weighing 180 pounds (82 kilograms) would need to consume at least 90 to 110 grams per day to support performance, or about 130 to 150 grams per day to support strength training.
Ideally, though, protein intake should be based on your body weight (LBM); weight alone doesn’t tell the whole story. Your LBM includes your entire body weight (muscle, bone, organs, tissue, and water), excluding fat, and can vary from person to person.
Body composition measurements can determine your LBM and it is recommended that athletes consume approximately 1 gram of protein per kilogram of body weight. Strength athletes may need more – up to 2 grams per kilogram of body weight. A high protein diet using this method can be beneficial to an athlete’s body weight.
Recommended carbohydrate intake for athletes
Carbohydrates are a source of energy during exercise, so it is important for athletes to consume enough carbohydrates. This ensures that they have carbohydrate stores in their muscles, liver and blood.
Carbohydrates requirements vary based on activity:
For most average patients, a balanced diet in which about half of the calories (45% to 55%) come from carbohydrates should be sufficient.
Endurance athletes will need more calories, typically 55% to 65% of total calories.
Ultra-endurance athletes competing in events lasting longer than 4 hours need even more: up to 75% of all calories come from carbohydrates.
Nutritionists prefer to calculate carbohydrate needs based on body weight rather than calorie percentage because it provides athletes with specific nutritional goals:
For general training, it is recommended that athletes consume 2.5 to 3 grams per kilogram of body weight (about 5.5 to 7 grams per kilogram).
Endurance athletes (running, cycling, swimming) need more;
Ultra-endurance athletes competing in races lasting 4 hours or longer may need 5 grams per kilogram of body weight or more (11 grams per kilogram or more).
The role of fats for athletes
Eating fatty foods provides the body with essential fatty acids. These are called essential substances because the body cannot produce them and therefore must obtain them through the diet. They are an important part of every cellular structure in your body and provide useful energy during exercise.
Sports nutritionists do not generally advise athletes to consume less fat, but rather consume about 25 to 30 percent of all calories: the recommended amount for the general public.
Since carbohydrate and protein intake is specific, fat intake will decrease by the recommended amount when these dietary goals are met. And athletes, like the general public, are encouraged to choose saturated fats from foods like nuts, seeds, avocados, and oily fish, as well as oils like seed oils (such as canola, safflower, or sunflower) and olive oil.
Carbohydrates are considered the body’s main fuel source, while the body uses both carbohydrates and fats as fuel depending on use and duration of exercise. When exercise is light to moderate, especially during climbing, fat can meet half of the body’s energy needs. For example, after running at a moderate pace for more than 20 minutes, fat becomes more important than carbohydrates in sports management.
Maintaining macro balance is essential for performance, and athletes need to be careful about eating habits that disrupt this balance.