Liz Applegate - Encyclopedia of Sports & Fitness Nutrition

Also by Liz Applegate

101 Miracle Foods That Heal Your Heart
Bounce Your Body Beautiful
Eat Smart, Play Hard
Eat Your Way to a Healthy Heart
Power Foods

To Marlia Braun and Terry Zimmer
great cyclists and even better friends

Part I
The Fundamentals of Fitness Nutrition

1. Fitness 101
Understanding your exercising body will motivate you to get and stay in shape.

2. The Benefits of Fitness
Movement brings more rewards than you may realize.

3. Reasons to Eat Well
A healthful food plan combines with your fitness plan to create a better you.

Part II
That Extra Edge

4. Supplements
Find out what works, what doesnt, and what might even harm your health.

5. Vitamins
How to tell when youre getting enough and when youre getting too little.

6. Minerals
From the soil to your dinner plate, learn which of 15 minerals you most need to power your fitness.

7. Sports Products
The right performance fuel can help you go the distance. The wrong one can spell performance disaster.

8. Functional Foods
Some foods truly are as powerful as medicine. Some are not. Heres the information you need to sort through the hype.

Part III
Eating According to Your Life Stage

9. Eating for Fitness
Boost your performance, health, and motivation by following an individualized food plan based on your age and fitness level.

10. Fit Eating at Every Age
Use the customized daily food and activity pyramid designed with your fitness in mind.

Part IV
Performing at Your Peak

A s an orthopedic surgeon, I see frustrated fitness enthusiasts every day. They come in with chronic knee or hip or heel or ankle or elbow or shoulder pain. And they generally feel helpless, as if their bodies have let them down.

I know about aches and pains both as their doctor and as a patient. Because of cartilage damage in my own knees, I know the frustration of having to give up some of the sports I love, including speed skating.

I also knowboth as a doctor and as a patientjust how much of a role good nutrition can play both in exercise performance and in exercise recovery and injury prevention and treatment.

All of us must follow certain rules when it comes to reaching our optimal fitness potential. We must exercise wisely, pushing ourselves hard and taking enough rest. We must stretch and strengthen strategic muscles to avoid imbalances. And we must eat right.

I learned the importance of eating right early on. Ive been active most of my life, beginning my fitness career during childhood as an avid soccer and hockey player. You probably know me better for my speed skating. After winning five gold medals in the 1980 Olympic Games at Lake Placid, I moved on to cycling, eventually competing in the grueling Tour de France.

For all of those sports, I followed specific nutrition plans that provided enough fuel for 5-hour workouts, helped my muscles repair themselves afterward, and kept my immunity and energy high.

I was fortunate to meet Liz Applegate many years ago. She was a professional triathlete and I was a sports commentator for ABC when I interviewed her about her accomplishments during a big race.

Later, after I completed my residency and began treating patients at the U.C. Davis School of Medicine Sports Medicine Program, I began crossing paths with Liz more often. As one of the lead physicians of our newly developed Sports Performance Program, I see all types of athleteselite professionals as well as those interested in getting the most out of their workouts and staying fit no matter what their place in the pack may be. They all tell me that Liz has a knack for explaining complicated nutritional concepts in down-to-earth language.

Possibly more important, as an athlete herself, Liz walks the talk. Like me, Liz has been active most of her life, competing in a variety of sports, including Ironman-distance triathlons. You name a sport or fitness pursuit and shes probably tried it. She walks, runs, swims, hikes, and bikes. Her advice doesnt just come from research and basic nutrition; it also comes from personal trial and error.

You want to know the most nutritious, best tasting, and least-likely-to-melt-in-your-jersey foods to eat on a long bike ride? Just ask Liz. Want to know the foods least likely to upset your stomach before swimming or yoga? Shes your woman. Have trouble eating right after exercise because the hectic nature of life gets in your way? Cant get your kids to eat anything but Goldfish crackers? Shes been there. She has the answers.

The night before I won my fifth gold medal at the 1980 Olympic Games, I watched the U.S.-Soviet Union hockey game. The American victory was so uplifting that I had trouble falling asleep that night. I stayed up so late that I overslept the next morning. When I woke, I only had enough time to grab a few pieces of bread and eat them on my way to the rink.

Other nutritionists might balk at that paltry breakfast. Not Liz Applegate. As an athlete herself, she understands the mental as well as the physical aspects of competing. She knows about sleepless nights and stomach nerves. She knows about the importance of eating lightfor some people and not others.

I wish every athlete and fitness enthusiast could be as lucky as my patients and the students at U.C. Davis who are blessed with the opportunity to sit down with Liz for a personalized food plan. Thats why Im so happy Liz put pen to paper and came up with a manual that everyone can use to fine-tune their diet based on their individual fitness needs, health background, and age.

Liz Applegates Encyclopedia of Sports & Fitness Nutrition is the essential eating guide for people of all ages and all fitness backgrounds. I particularly like her seven customized food and activity pyramids, which target different age groups. The advice is specialized, yet simple. Best of all, it works.

Eric Heiden, M.D.
five-time Olympic gold medalist,
orthopedic surgeon, and professor,
University of California, Davis,
School of Medicine Sports Medicine Program

W riting and producing this book took the efforts of wonderful and supportive individuals who were willing to go above and beyond expectations. My deepest thanks go to Alisa Bauman, whose superb and creative writing skills along with her knack for keeping me on track made this book possible. Many thanks also go to Marlia Braun, nutrition expert supreme, who performed the nutrition analysis for the menus and recipes. My assistant, Jessica Callaghan, patiently handled every crisis, glitch, and get-it-out-yesterday requestshes the greatest and I thank her for all her fabulous help. Thanks also go to Denise Sternad and Marjorie Lery, my editors at Prima, who did a wonderful job pulling the book together. A tremendous thank-you goes to Dr. Eric Heiden, who graciously wrote the books foreword. Thank you Grant, Natalie, and Mark for your support. And finally, a thank-you to the many athletes I have had the privilege of working withI salute your dedication and enthusiasm.