What Fuels a Black Ferns Player: How to Eat Right to Impact Sports Performance
Getting enough fuel in the tank to get through the sport is vital, just ask Black Ferns Selica Winiata and Alana Bremner, who have just completed their first Aupiki Professional Super Rugby season.
Eighty minutes of big tackles, bursts of energy and uncontrollable tries can be exhausting, which is why nutrition plays a vital role in keeping them fit, healthy and ready for the game.
The night before, it’s all about active hydration, then a good breakfast, Bremner said. His go-to on game day is spaghetti on toast. For Winiata, it’s poached eggs, avocado and vegemite.
“And later in the day, make sure you get the balance between carbs and protein and stay hydrated throughout the day,” Winiata says.
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Winiata said players learned that the drink bottle should be like a drip – dripping liquid throughout the day instead of squirting the whole bottle before stepping onto the pitch. It’s not so nice to run with a lot of fluid bouncing around and ending up cramping, she said.
Then there are electrolytes and supplements that also aid performance and recovery.
Nutrition wasn’t something that came into play early in Winiata’s career, but now that she’s a top-flight athlete, there’s been more accessibility to help and education. on when and how to refuel.
“I think we sometimes underestimate what it takes to have a protein bar or protein shake right after. [exercise] can do. Sometimes you’re not hungry so you think ‘I won’t have anything’ but to understand why we have to do this for our bodies, we get huge gains,” she said.
Some of those gains can be seen in the recently concluded inaugural Super Rugby Aupiki competition. Winiata said Super Rugby was a great opportunity for the next generation of girls and boys to see women playing the sport.
“When it comes to nutrition, my advice would be not to dwell on it when you’re in primary school or very young. While you’re a kid, be a kid. Go ahead, try everything. Don’t put enormous pressure on yourself to become a top athlete before your time and burn yourself out,” she said.
“As you get older, you’ll start to know the path you want to take, and when you mature, that’s when you’ll start thinking about the gym and nutrition.”
Alana Bremner’s game day meal plan, kick-off before 7 p.m.:
● Breakfast – spaghetti on 2 toasts, with 2 scrambled eggs
● Snack – A smoothie (banana, berries, oats, milk, yogurt + peanut butter)
● Lunch – pasta made with tomato sauce, chicken, salad
● Pre-game meal – wrap or sandwich with chicken and vegetables, nuts
● Halftime – Healthspan Energy Gel
● Post-game – cherries, sushi, Healthspan Elite Performance chicken sandwiches
● Hydration tablets throughout the day
Black Ferns nutritionist Dr Kirsty Fairburn compiles a food menu for the team on match day, but it’s varied to ensure it caters to everyone’s tastes.
“Our priorities are to maximize carbohydrate and liquid intake, as well as reasonable amounts of fruits and vegetables and proteins to prepare them. The foods each player likes to eat to get those nutrients vary, and Alana is a great example of that,” she said.
Nutritionist Nikki Hart recommends a pre-game meal three to four hours before a game and a small snack one to two hours before the game, especially if games are later in the day. Then, refuel right after exercise, just like black ferns.
“A wonderful way to think about this is to imagine that your muscles are a dry sponge. If you take a dry sponge and put it on a damp bench, it’s going to suck up the nutrients very quickly. So it’s all about timing,” she said.
Right after a game, in the first few minutes, glucose is high and accessible via sports drinks, candies or jet planes. Then, within 15 to 30 minutes after the game, a carbohydrate to protein ratio helps muscle recovery. That’s when protein powders come in, she said.
For young athletes and kids, she recommends chocolate milk, creamy rice, or convenient foods kids can grab on the go. One to two hours after exercise, she recommends another meal.
Hart said you need about one gram of carbs per minute of exercise.
“No matter what sport you play, these components are valuable,” she said.
Supplements can help, but for those who are weekend warriors, Hart recommends seeking advice from licensed sports physicians first.
“What is your basic nutrition first?” she says.
“If you want to play in this [supplement] space, we have to make sure that there is nothing contraindicated. What if you take medication? And if you’re a mom and you take a statin for cholesterol, do you know what supplements might be contraindicated for that?
A lack of fuel can lead to a relative energy deficit in sport (RED-S). It is caused by a mismatch of incoming and outgoing energy during exercise and can lead to a reduction in bodily functions.
Leading expert Dr Sarah Beable said between 22 and 50% of elite athletes – both men and women – suffer from RED-S.
For recreational athletes, high-risk groups include those who, in their teens, participate in sports such as triathlons, running, dancing, and cycling. She also sees spikes in sports such as weightlifting, crossfit and some team sports.
“It’s becoming more mainstream in the fitness industry with the popularity of intermittent fasting and a growing obsession with ‘clean eating’… [that are] orthorexic tendencies,” she said.
“In my clinic, it’s very common to see an active woman exercising two to three hours a day, with intermittent fasting and grossly underestimating the calories needed to sustain her activity, let alone her life. This can lead to a series of health consequences.
Early signs may be fatigue, trouble sleeping, irritable bowel symptoms, recurring colds, low mood, anxiety, recurring or slow-resolving injuries, and lengthening or loss of menstrual cycle. she said.
“Quite worrying, and unfortunately increasingly common with a large spike in times of Covid, is the increase in disordered eating practices which can lead to clinical eating disorder,” she said.
For supplements, she said athletes should be able to get nutrients from a high-quality, balanced diet, but will recommend supplements if there is a clear deficiency. Recent research from the women’s health group at High Performance Sport NZ found that 47% of elite female athletes had been diagnosed with iron deficiency.
Dr. Beable recommends working with medical professionals and avoiding long periods without eating.
“Education is key…focus on high-quality fueling rather than restricting with fast post-workout nutrition,” she said.
“Avoid weight as a measure of ‘athletic success’ – your body composition will go where it needs to go when you eat appropriately for the demands of your sport. The number on the scale should not be a measure of weight. self-esteem, and unfortunately, I see it frequently.
“Getting help early is very common. It is fully reversible and can have a very positive impact on long-term health with the right help.