ABSTRACT
This chapter provides dietary recommendations to a variety of athletic populations. Energy balance is an important determinant of exercise performance, body composition, training adaptation, and optimal physiological functioning in athletes. Athletes must find ways to consume more calories from food while maintaining an optimal body composition and body mass for their specific activity. Athletes could potentially benefit from a slight reduction in carbohydrate intake during rest periods and training periods of low volume/intensity, it is generally not recommended that strength-power athletes restrict carbohydrate to less than 10% of total energy intake. The chapter determines whether or not an athlete's diet appropriately corresponds to his or her training. Total energy intake combined with appropriate timing is the most important dietary factor governing the adaptive response of strength-power athletes to exercise training. The chapter explains the importance of timing the intake of nutrients and identifies the composition and quality of nutrients within different foods.
