Essentials of Nutrition for Sports

Part 2:

Calories

Calories Introduction

Calories provide the energy that

the body needs to operate.

The major nutrient divisions of carbohydrate, protein, and fat can

all be used by the body to provide energy. (Alcohol also provides calories.)

The traditional high-performance aerobic-endurance diet consists

of 60% to 70% of calories as carbohydrate, 10% to 15% as protein and 15% to 25% as fat. Read more about macronutrient mix starting on page

47

.

Protein and carbohydrate supply 4 calories of energy for each

gram. Fat supplies 9 calories for each gram. Alcohol supplies 7 calories per gram.

A pound of carbohydrate or a pound of protein provides less than

one-half the calories of a pound of fat. Carbohydrate and protein have less than one-half the caloric density of fat.

Caloric foods not promptly used for immediate energy are

converted to glycogen or stored as fats. Normally, up to 2,000 calories are stored as glycogen (about one pound’s worth). Normally, in excess of 50,000 calories are stored as fat (in excess of 14 pounds worth).

The major nutritional health problem in the US today is

overnutrition

. Excess calories in the diet

may lead to weight gain,

which is detrimental to health and

performance. Read about body fat,

obesity, and tips to lose weight in the free supplement to this book available at: http://roadbikerider.com/nutritionforsportssupplement.htm

.

Although obesity is a serious pr

oblem, so is undernutrition.

Nutrition for Sports, Essentials of 34