How to Combat Fatigue With Diet and Nutrition

By Teige West

The average hurdler burns a LOT of calories during training—somewhere between 600 and 800 calories. To be ready for competition, you have to give your body the energy it needs to perform at its peak; you want your hurdling performance to reflect the time, work and heart you’ve dedicated to your sport. All athletes battle fatigue to some degree and some tiredness is expected after a hard training session or new workout. A word of caution, though. Extreme exhaustion is not normal, and if you are eating well, staying hydrated and getting appropriate sleep, you should not be running on empty. If you are, please talk with your coach.

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The most important thing to keep in mind is that nutrition is personal, and the more time you put into training, the more you will be attuned to what your body needs at that particular moment or on that particular day. I know it seems tedious, but the best way to track your progress is to start a food diary. Use a clean notebook and record what and when you eat and drink, when you train and—most importantly—how you feel. When do you feel great? When do you feel tired? Tracking the relationship between food and water intake and your physical energy will teach you what helps you reach your top performance. Below you will find information on how to combat after-training or after-competition fatigue, along with examples of snacks and meal choices.

1. Dehydration can cause fatigue

Drink before your mouth feels like the Sahara. Every July when I was a kid, I went to a sports camp held in an un-air conditioned gym (and anyone who lives in North Carolina knows how humid the summers are). I remember the camp director giving us a 15 minute lecture on hydration, saying “If you’re thirsty, you’re already dehydrated.” Only as I got older and training became more difficult did I realize that hydration isn’t just about satiating an uncomfortable feeling—there is a direct relationship between getting enough water and performing at your best. More than half of your body and most of your brain is made of water.  Your body needs it. Without water your body is working harder to do basic functioning, rather than spending energy on your training goals of increasing strength and endurance.

Don’t wait until training to drink. If you work out after lunch or have an afternoon competition, you have a good portion of the day to load up. If you are in high school, often food and drink are not allowed in classrooms (or they weren’t in my day). Talk with your coach about ways to get enough water before your afterschool practice; your principal might be amenable to allowing water bottles. If you train in the mornings, try to consume at least 8 oz. right when you get up. Your body is already dehydrated from hours of sleeping.

How much water do you need? For years experts recommended eight 8 oz. glasses a day. Now it seems that is a baseline, but 8 glasses may be too much or too little for different people. As an athlete, your body is leaner and muscle contains more water. So on rest days, try to get at least 8 glasses. On training days you need more. Generally, for every 30 minutes of exercise, you need about 8 oz. of fluid, but take into account your environment; if you’re running hurdles outside in August, you probably will need more because you’re sweating a great deal more than you would be in March.

Replenish electrolytes. In addition to water, sports drinks are another option to help you stay hydrated. When you sweat, your body loses electrolytes, especially salt. Salt helps the body retain water, so if you are in a heavy training session, consider a sports drink. Sports drinks usually contain sugar. The sugar can provide a quick calorie and energy source during training; it’s probably better to avoid these on rest or low exercise days, especially if you are trying to lose or maintain your weight.

How do you know when you’re dehydrated? As I said above, thirst is an indication. You should also check the color of your urine. Darker urine means you need water. A lighter color indicates that you’re getting an appropriate amount. If at any point during training you begin to feel dizzy, lightheaded or nauseated, stop and tell your coach. Heat exhaustion or heat stroke can occur, especially in the summer, and those two situations are no joke.

Another note: avoid soda. Sugar free soda can cause gastrointestinal issues, and the caffeine acts a diuretic, which means it encourages urination and dehydration.

2. Get your daily nutritional needs—every day

Now that we’ve covered the importance of hydration, let’s feed your body—properly. There are three components to food for an athlete, and here they are in order of importance: carbohydrates, protein and fat.

Your main fuel is the carbohydrate. Carbohydrates are so important for an athlete. Your body processes simple and complex carbs and turns those into either glucose (simple) or glycogen (complex). Glucose is the immediately-available energy your body burns to perform; your body usually depends on glucose for the first 60 or so minutes of training. After that time period, your glucose stores are usually empty and your body taps into its reservoir of glycogen, which then gives you energy to complete your work out. You may have heard that marathon runners who carbo-load by eating a large quantity of complex carbs before competition so that they can finish the last part of their marathon; they are storing up glycogen. Runners who compete in shorter competitions, such as a 5K, don’t need to carbo-load. Their daily eating habits allow them to have enough stored energy. The danger is that your body can only store so much glycogen. If the body takes in too many carbs, the excess will turn to fat. It’s a balancing act that depends on your fitness level and training time.

What does this mean for your daily nutrition? The number of calories you eat per day depends on your age, gender and activity level. Generally:

Be honest about your lifestyle. If you are in school or work and thus sit at a desk most of the day, you may want to err on the lower side of the scale. If, in addition to hurdling, you run, hike, bike or engage in other sports, then you will need more calories.

When determining your diet, plan for your immediate goals. Another important factor in determining how many calories and carbs you need is your current physical fitness goal. Are you trying to shed pounds and tone up? Your intake should be lower in carbs and calories to lose weight. But remember: don’t starve yourself. Eat 4-5 small meals a day, otherwise you will be hungry, tired and more prone to injury. If you have achieved your desired weight and you now want to build muscle and increase speed (which means your training sessions are longer and/or more difficult), consider the upper level of your activity bracket above. As you train harder, you will need more fuel. As your training progresses, you may need to adjust your food intake, which is why a journal is important. Tracking your fatigue and fuel will help you know when to increase or decrease.

How many carbs should you consume? About 45-65% of your diet should be carbohydrates.[2] The more active you are, the more carbs you should consume.  How many grams is that? One gram of carbohydrates is 4 calories. So, if you should eat 2000 calories a day, are moderately active (so, let’s say you need 55% of carbs from calories), and 1100 comes from carbs, then you need about 275 grams of carbs a day.

What kind of carbs? Some carbs are better than others. There are three types: simple, complex and fiber. Simple carbs are sugars. There seems to be a lot of conflicting authority about how much sugar one should consume a day. My recommendation: limit processed, “empty” foods such as cookies, sweetened cereals, chocolates, sodas; those are mostly calories and carbs, with no vitamins or minerals. Fruit is sugar, but fruit has vitamins and minerals, so it is preferable when you need immediate energy (or have a craving). Complex carbs should make up the majority of your carb intake. These are slow-processing foods, often high in vitamins. Complex carbs turn into glycogen, and we’ve already gone over the importance of glycogen as energy. One last note on complex carbs: these are best consumed earlier in the day and before working out. For some people, weight gain can occur if these are consumed in large quantities later in the evening or before bed. The last type of carb is fiber. Fiber regulates your digestive system, eliminating waste. You need about 20-30 grams a day, but beware! Be careful consuming foods with high fiber content within 3 hours of training, because those foods can cause gastrointestinal upset. Keep fiber to 2 grams or less in your pre-workout snack.

Along with carbs, your body needs protein to maintain energy and muscle mass. When you work out, whether running, walking, or lifting, the cells of your muscles are damaged, and your body sees this as a threat, so it sends repairing cells, fluids and blood to do two things: to repair those damaged cells and to add more muscle cells. This is why your muscles grow larger as you train. However, your body must have the appropriate intake of proteins to repair and create new cells. Protein is made of amino acids, and amino acids build the cells of your muscles, tendons, ligaments and other body parts. Basically, proteins are a necessary building block for your body. The recommendations are that 10-35% of your daily intake is from protein. If you are trying to lose weight and tone up, choose more protein and fewer carbs.

The last element of your daily diet is fat. Fat has gotten a bad reputation over the years, but fat is necessary for your body. It provides essential fatty acids (necessary for brain function), it protects your organs and provides a source of energy for the body. Generally, fat should be about 20-35% of your caloric intake. Unsaturated is best, especially plant-based rather than meat-based (which generally contain saturated fats that can raise cholesterol). To get more of these good fats in your diet, replace butter with olive oil or canola oil. Other sources that you should consider: nuts, seeds, nut butters, fatty fish, cheeses, dairy products (watch the sugar content of these).  Avoid foods high in fat, especially saturated fat, 3 hours before training or competition.

3. Pre- and Post-Workout Snacks Fight fatigue

A balanced daily diet is ideal to keep your body performing at its best. On your training and workout days, you need to fuel your body more than on rest days, when your body burns fewer calories. Never exercise on an empty stomach. It is recommended for you to eat two snacks, one 90-60 minutes before your workout, and then another snack within 30 minutes after finishing your workout. If you have 45 minutes or less before a workout, try a carb with more sugar, such as a fruit. Both snacks should be a mixture of carbs and protein, and should be low in fat. (If you train in the afternoons, it’s fine to have your dinner as a post-workout meal, but you need to eat within 30 minutes) Your two snacks should consist of about 25-50 g of carbs and 10-20 g of protein. As you train, you may find you need more or less, so do what works for you. If you are consuming sports drinks, don’t forget to factor those into your total for the day.

Now that we’ve covered the basics of carbs, protein and fats, here are some recommended meals and snacks for a training day. Ideally, it’s best to eat every three or so hours, if possible:

A Few Last Words

Fatigue is a common issue that all athletes experience. But if you properly hydrate and fuel your body, you will be ready to train at your highest level and break your personal records. Eat properly, eat often and drink, drink, drink!

[1] 2005 DGAC report – Table D3-1. Estimated Energy Requirements for Each Age/Gender Group at Three Levels of Physical Activity. (These levels are based on Estimated Energy Requirements (EER) from the Institute of Medicine Dietary Reference Intakes macronutrients report, 2002. See the notes for additional information.)

[2] The percentage of carbohydrates, protein and fat was taken from the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2015–2020 8th Edition, https://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/2015/guidelines/

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