Nutrition Planning
The service includes daily nutrition planning over a continuous period, no shorter than one month. The nutrition plan may or may not complement an existing training plan. In that case, based on the existing training plan, alongside basic nutrition, the coach will propose a meal plan for the client before, during, and after training, aiming to optimize metabolic efficiency as well as overall training processes. The service also includes meal planning for races - before, during, and after.
Nutritional counseling begins with an analysis of the client's current dietary habits and nutrition-related goals. The client will fill out a questionnaire regarding dietary habits, goals, and activities, which will serve as the basis for further analysis.
When it comes to dietary interventions, both the coach and the client must proceed with caution. Although dietary interventions may seem simple and easy at first glance, nutrition is typically one of the most complex and sensitive areas, especially when combined with increased physical activity. Missteps can significantly impact health and athletic performance. Additionally, aggressive changes are never good or desirable from a health perspective, nor in terms of habit sustainability.
Meal planning does not entail prescribing diets, calorie counting, or aggressive dietary overhauls. You can read more about the reasons in the description of the nutritional counseling service.
When it comes to a general approach to nutrition, through education and useful, scientifically based advice, we aim to create healthy and sustainable habits that will gradually help you achieve and maintain your goals over an extended period. Regarding the fundamentals of nutrition, the focus is on intuitive, comprehensive, healthy, non-restrictive eating aimed at optimizing blood sugar levels in line with the client's lifestyle and activity level, as well as establishing a balance of macronutrients, micronutrients, and hydration in the body. Basic nutrition forms the basis of health and metabolic efficiency regardless of whether the client is engaged in sports or not.
For clients involved in sports, depending on their experience, level of involvement, and individual goals, we can further discuss:
achieving maximum metabolic efficiency to support the client's sport and discipline,
dietary periodization based on the current phase within the annual training plan,
nutrient timing, which involves specific strategies to improve hydration status, carbohydrate delivery, and other macronutrients and electrolytes before, during, and after training or competition,
adapting nutrition to the needs of female physiology,
the use of sports supplements.
Finally, it's worth mentioning the phenomenon of relative energy deficiency in sport, characteristic of endurance sports, particularly those of longer duration. This condition, like overtraining syndrome, poses significant health and performance issues for athletes. It can occur independently or in combination with overtraining syndrome, and in any case, it should be avoided. It represents a state where energy availability does not match energy expenditure over an extended period, significantly affecting health (primarily hormonal balance) and performance. The role of the coach is to advise the client on avoiding this condition, recognize it if it occurs, and promptly refer the client to a physician and initiate recovery, which can be lengthy.
If you've read the description of the nutritional counseling service, you'll notice there isn't much difference in the description of these two services. The difference lies in the fact that with one-time nutritional counseling, the client receives analysis and recommendations at a fixed point in time with a focus on a narrower scope or immediate issue, while with the planning service, the client receives ongoing nutrition planning and counseling over a longer period, with the possibility of focusing on various elements depending on the different variables surrounding them in their daily life and/or training.