​What foods provide muscle fuel?

The muscles need fuel to be able to produce energy and this is provided from the food we consume.  Muscles need energy for power and to be able to grow and repair.  All the food and drink we consume can provide us with muscle fuel from carbohydrates, fat, protein or alcohol.

Energy content of foods

1 g of the following macro-nutrients provides:

Carbohydrate = 3.75kcal
Protein = 4kcal
Fat = 9 kcal
Alcohol = 7kcal

Carbohydrate is needed to fuel almost every type of activity and it is stored in the muscles and liver as glycogen.  A good store of glycogen will allow you to train at your optimal intensity and help your achieve a greater training effect.The body however, can only stores a limited amount of carbohydrate so it is important to eat adequate amounts before, during and after training to meet the fuel demands. Carbohydrate rich foods include: Wholegrain breads, cereals, rice, noodles, crackers, fruit, fruit juice, fruit loaf, sports drinks, energy bars and gels and cereal bars.

Why a low carbohydrate diet is not recommended if training

Getting the most out of your training session is dependent on a good supply of muscle fuel from carbohydrate energy.  If carbohydrate stores are compromised (through a poor diet) training intensity and performance will be impaired.  A low dietary intake of carbohydrate can increase muscle protein breakdown and you will not get the most out of your training.  Low carbohydrate intakes increase the risk of catching colds, sore throats, flu or an infection.  It can be the first sign that you are either training too hard or not eating enough carbohydrates on a regular basis.

Top Muscle Fuel Tips

• Make sure you eat adequate carbohydrate foods around training sessions.
• Eat 2-3 hours before training to ensure you have adequate glycogen stores.
• If training for longer than 60 minutes make sure you have some more carbohydrate in the form of a sports drink or isotonic gel.
• Once you have finished training make sure that you refuel the muscle glycogen stores by eating as soon as is possible, especially if training again in the next 24 hours.
• Recovery snacks or drinks should be carbohydrate rich and contain about 10-15g protein.  You can use commercially available products such as bars or powders, or ready made drink.  Or just eat foods such as peanut butter on toast with glass of skimmed milk, or fruit yogurt and an oat baked cereal bar, or yogurt based fruit smoothie.
• Try to incorporate muscle fuel foods that have a low glycaemic index into your daily meals as they provide slow released energy that will fuel your training sessions and keep your energised. This include basmati rice, pasta, wholegrain breads and cereals, oat based dishes, porridge, baked beans, beans and pulses.
• Aim to get most of your carbohydrates from whole foods which have gone through little processing, or refining eaten in their natural state as they contain more nutrients.

​Daily Carbohydrate Requirements

​Activity levels	​Grams of carbohydrate per kilogram of body weight per day
​Light <1 hour per day	4-5
Light to moderate (1 hour per day) ​	​5-6
Moderate (1-2 hours per day) ​​	6-7
Moderate to heavy (2-4hours per day) ​​	7-8
​Heavy (>4 hours per day) endurance type exercise	8-10

An example: If a 60kg female was playing tennis for 1 hour every day she would need approximately: 60 x 6 = 360g carbohydrate per day

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Tags: carbohydrate, Muscle, muscle building, muscle fuel, protein