In this post I’ll go into a little bit more detail about protein, carbohydrates and fat.

Protein

Protein is essential for the growth and repair of your cells. As regular climbers, we need more protein than sedentary people. Aim for between 1.2g and 1.8g for each kg of your body weight. I weigh 75 kg, so I need between 90 g and 135 g of protein per day.

Protein can be found in lots of foods, but there are 8 ‘essential’ amino acids that must be provided from your diet. Animal proteins contain large quantities of these, while nuts, pulses and cereals contain smaller amounts. It is wise to eat from both groups.

Steak, chicken and fish are all excellent choices and should feature extensively in your diet. If you are a vegetarian you can substitute with soya and quorn.

I usually eat red meat once or twice per week; fish at least 2 – 3 times; and chicken almost every day.

If you feel your diet is lacking in protein, you can use supplements. Personally I don’t rate them at all. I used to be a keen body builder when I was younger, and as such I experimented with all manner of supplements. I thought they were rubbish! However, everyone is different and what didn’t work for me might be perfect for you.

Carbohydrates

Many recent diets have tried to vilify carbohydrates, but they are a really important component of a healthy diet. Choosing the right carbohydrates in the right quantities is the key.

Traditionally carbohydrates were classified into simple or complex, based on their sugar unit count. Nowadays we usually try to focus on the glycaemic index (GI), which describes the how the body reacts to carbohydrate.

Foods with a high GI cause the body to experience a rapid rise in blood sugar levels. This rapid rise in blood sugar gives you a high, which is quickly followed by a crash. Raised insulin levels have also been linked to obesity and diabetes.

Low GI foods release energy more slowly, with a much smaller rise in blood sugar levels.

You can find a list of low GI foods here:

• http://www.the-gi-diet.org/lowgifoods/
• http://www.weightlossresources.co.uk/DIET/gi_diet/glycaemic_index_tables.htm

Personally, when it comes to carbs, I try to eat little or no bread (especially white bread). I eat basamati rice which has a much lower GI score than white rice, and wholemeal pasta as opposed to regular pasta. I keep portion sizes low and try to always include some protein in the meal too (this can lower the GI score of the meal).

Fat

Just like protein and carbohydrates, your body needs fat. The trick is to know what type and how much to eat.

Here are the main types of fats:

Saturated fats

These are usually solid fats as opposed to liquid. Primarily found in animal fats and palm or palm kernel oil derivatives, they can raise cholesterol levels and increase your risk of heart disease. Try to keep these to a minimum (no more than 10% of your daily calorific intake).

Trans fats

These are really harmful. They are formed artificially where liquid fats are converted into solid fats. This process is called hydrogenation. Trans fats have had a lot of bad press recently, so thankfully are slowly being replaced in the foods that we eat.

Steer clear of processed foods and read the labels to make sure you eat as little of these as possible. Ideally try to eat none.

Monounsaturated fats

These can actually lower harmful LDL cholesterol levels, lowering your chance of cancer and heart disease. They can be found in:

• Olive oil
• Rapeseed oil
• Avocados
• Soya oil
• Peanuts, almonds and cashews
• Peanut butter
• Sunflower and sesame seeds
• Mayonnaise

Mediterranean diets are usually rich in these foods, which probably explains why they have some of the lowest rates of heart disease in the world.

Polyunsaturated fats

These can also reduce your risk of heart disease, though not as effectively as monounsaturated fats. Aim to keep these to no more than 10% of your daily intake of calories.

You can find these oils in:

• Sunflower oil
• Corn oil
• Safflower oil
• Sunflower oil margarine
• Nuts and seeds

Omega 3 fatty acids

These have numerous health benefits, but as athletes they are great for speeding up recovery from workouts and reducing inflammation and joint stiffness. You can find Omega 3 fatty acids in:

• Sardines
• Mackerel
• Salmon
• Fresh (not tinned) tuna
• Trout
• Herring
• Walnuts and walnut oil
• Pumpkin seeds and pumpkin seed oil
• Flaxseeds and flaxseed oil
• Rapeseed oil
• Soya oil
• Sweet potatoes

You don’t need much of these foods to get the required level. One 140g portion of oily fish per week will do the trick.

On top of your protein, carbohydrate and fat requirements, you also need a good supply of vitamins and minerals. Sticking to the recommended 5-a-day of fruit and vegetables, and making sure you have a good mix rather than just sticking to the same one or two will ensure you meet your body’s requirements.

I have only really brushed the surface in this article. As with the last post, the source of my information is Anita Bean’s excellent “Food for Fitness”, which I can’t recommend enough.

UK visitors can click the ad to the left to buy from Amazon.

US visitors can buy at Amazon.com.

Your comments, as always, are most welcome.

Climbing techniques – a plan to raise your game: Week 2 – nutrition and weight management (part 2) is a post from: Rock Climbing UK, an online UK climbing magazine, written BY UK climbers FOR UK climbers.

If you liked this post, you might also like:

1. Climbing techniques – a plan to raise your game: Week 1 – nutrition and weight management
2. Climbing techniques – a plan to raise your game (and mine)

In the previous post I established some clear goals and gave myself a time scale in which to achieve them. I told you that I would start with nutrition and weight management, so here we are.

Nutrition

For optimum athletic performance, and in our case rock climbing performance, it is imperative to get the right nutrients from our food. In this post I’ll tell you how to calculate the number of calories you need to consume and how much protein, carbohydrate and fat you need.

Energy

The energy from food is measured in calories. A single calorie is a tiny amount of energy so we usually measure in kilo calories (kcal), which is 1000 calories. Another unit of measurement for food energy is joules or kilo joules (kJ). One Kcal is equivalent to 4.2 kJ. You will probably have seen both units of measurement on your food packaging.

To find out how many calories you need, you need to first calculate your basal metabolic rate (BMR). This is the number of calories you burn at rest over 24 hours (basically just by being alive).

To get an accurate estimation of your BMR, you need to use one of these equations:

Men
10 – 18 years old: (Weight in kg x 17.5) + 651
19 – 30 years old: (Weight in kg x 15.3) + 679
31 – 60 years old: : (Weight in kg x 11.6) + 879
60+ years old: : (Weight in kg x 13.5) + 487

Women
10 – 18 years old: (Weight in kg x 12.2) + 746
19 – 30 years old: (Weight in kg x 14.7) + 479
31 – 60 years old: : (Weight in kg x 8.7) + 829
60+ years old: : (Weight in kg x 10.5) + 596

I’m 37 years old and weigh 75 kg, so my BMR is:
(75 kg x 11.6) + 879 = 1,749 kcal

So, that’s how to calculate the number of calories required to stay alive without doing anything. We’re going to be performing a fair amount of activity so we need to factor in our physical activity level (PAL).

Regardless of your current level of activity, I’m going to recommend that you do at least 3 good workouts per week (more if you can):

Hard exercise more than 3 x weekly = 1.5
Hard exercise daily = 1.7

Next multiply your BMR by your PAL (BMR x PAL). I do 3 days at the gym, 2 climbing sessions and 1 other sport session (usually mountain biking or kite surfing). That’s not quite every day so I’ll multiply by 1.5: 1,749 x 1.5 = 2,623.5 kcal

At this level of calorific intake, and my current levels of activity, my weight will pretty much stay as it is now.

To lose weight: reduce calorie intake by 15%
So for me that’s – 2,230 kcal

To gain weight: increase calorie intake by 20%
So for me that’s 3,148

I would like to lose a little bit of weight (about 6kg). I’m not fat but I want to see how well I perform at rock climbing with a little less weight to carry.

The next thing we need to do is to calculate the levels of protein, fat and carbohydrate we need. To keep things simple, I’m going to base the figures on 5 – 7 hours of hard activity per week.

Protein: 1.2 – 1.8 g per kg of body weight (for me that’s 75 x 1.2 to 75 x 1.8: 90g – 135g)
Carbohydrate: 5 – 6 g per kg of body weight (for me that’s 75 x 5 to 75 x 6:  350g – 400g)
Fat: 30% of calories (for me that’s 666 kcal (30% of 2,230 kcal). 1g of fat = 9 kcal. 666 / 9 = 74g

In the next post I’ll go into a little bit more detail about what and when to eat for best athletic performance. I’m aware that we’re on a deadline, so I’ll aim to post that in the next couple of days.

I found the information for this post in the excellent “Food for Fitness” by Anita Bean. I have read it cover to cover several times.

UK visitors can click the ad to the left to buy from Amazon.

US visitors can buy at Amazon.com.

As always I would love to hear from you, just drop me a comment below.

Climbing techniques – a plan to raise your game: Week 1 – nutrition and weight management is a post from: Rock Climbing UK, an online UK climbing magazine, written BY UK climbers FOR UK climbers.

If you liked this post, you might also like:

1. Climbing techniques – a plan to raise your game (and mine)