Weight Training Nutrition
Weight training, also known as resistance training, boasts a growing body of scientific evidence supporting its health benefits. With its ability to reshape physiques, it's gaining popularity. As more weight training enthusiasts and coaches share nutrition tips and diet plans online, it's important to remember that an effective nutrition plan should be highly personalised.
Why is nutrition important in weight training
A poor nutrition plan can lead to:
Failing to achieve your goals, even if your genetics allow it.
Slowing down your progress.
Increasing the risk of overtraining and injury.
Experiencing fatigue, sleep disturbances, hair loss, flaky skin, soft nails, and low libido.
Elevated risk of Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S), affecting bone, immune, and hormonal health.
Overall suboptimal health or an increased risk of chronic diseases, often concealed by an attractive physique.
Developing an unhealthy relationship with food and rigid eating routines, which can lead to disordered eating.
A proper nutrition plan should be:
Ensure nutritional adequacy to prevent deficiencies and health risks.
Tailor fuel intake to the demands of daily life, accounting for day-to-day variations.
Focus on the method, timing, and distribution of nutrition to maximise training and exercise benefits.
Prioritise health, as sacrificing health for performance can lead to setbacks in the form of illness and injury.
Be enjoyable and flexible, allowing a balance between lifestyle, social life, and goal achievement.
Be savvy about supplements to mitigate health risks, prevent contamination, and avoid unnecessary expenses.
Why working with a dietitian?
Dietitians are medically-trained nutrition professionals, and the only professional that is qualified to provide individual dietary consultation at the moment (Click here to read about dietitian and nutritionist). Dietitians are trained to provide medical nutrition therapy and one-to-one personalised dietary advice. We take in consideration of one’s lifestyle, dietary habits, preference and goals to tailor our nutrition strategies.
Sports dietitians are further trained in sports nutrition to provide advice to people at any level of activeness to maintain health and wellbeing while achieving their potentials and goals.
The topics dietitians might talk to you about:
Fuelling for the work required
Energy/calorie balance
Nutrition strategies in different training phases/sessions/goals (strength, power, reset, muscle gain, fat loss, comp prep & recovery)
Develop a personalised nutrition periodisation plan
Nutrition, nutrient supplements and ergogenic aids that suits your health and goals
Practical tips to implement nutrition principles into everyday eating