 Pizza and Endurance Training
By Donna Marlor
"I usually eat four pieces after practice ... is that too much?"
A female collegiate athlete
According to a recent poll of food service supervisors, pizza has passed up hamburgers as the No. 1 choice for school lunch. And kids aren't the only ones eating it. Market demand is so huge that Domino's is now offering on-line ordering for the busy adult. Even the Mayo Clinic has gotten into the act. Click on their website www.mayohealth.org/mayo/recipe/htm/entretoc.htm, and you can "bake" up a Virtual Pizza of your own creation - and get a customized nutrient analysis.
Does mouthwatering, delicious, cheesy pizza fit in a serious training diet? Or are silent sporters destined to eat Gardenburgers to maintain the competitive edge? Considering the popularity ratings, it is a question worth examining. After all, one of the rewards for training hard is enjoying a few tasty calories.
Before the next pizza craving hits you, scan this nutrition review. What does the research tell us about getting stronger? It might change your order.
Getting Stronger With Carbs
Until recently, no one really questioned the benefits of a high carbohydrate diet. Carbos ruled. But the popular media has been emphasizing high protein diets for weight loss, and generally giving carbs thumbs down. Should cross country skiers be listening? I'll let you be the judge. Here's an interesting study to think about:
Trained collegiate rowers were divided into two groups, one on a moderate carbohydrate diet (5 g/kg/day) and the other group on a high carb diet (10 g/kg/day) Each group was trained twice daily, at an intense level for a four-week period. Throughout the study, the moderate carbohydrate group maintained their muscle glycogen level. The high carb group, however, experienced a 65% increase in muscle glycogen. While both groups successfully completed all of the training
sessions, only those consuming the high carb diet showed an 11% increase in mean power output during weekly time trials. This was more than five times the increase for the moderate carb group, which demonstrated a 2% increase in power output. To put it in simple terms: If you want that kick at the finish line, better be thinking "high carb diet." So where does pizza fit in?
Well, before I answer that question, let's take a look at one more study. This one involved 20 untrained males, who underwent an eight-week aerobic training program – true couch-potato-turns-athlete type of study. One study group followed a standard endurance diet of 65% carb, 20% fat, 15% protein. Think of them as the Hi-Carb team. The other group followed a high fat/low carb diet (62% fat, 22% carb, 16% protein). They are the other team, or Hi-Fat guys. During
the eighth week of the study, both teams maintained same high carb diet regimen, to allow for some glycogen repletion in the Hi-Fat guys. How did the groups compare after training for two months? Well, the training worked. Both "teams" improved their maximal oxygen uptake by 11 percent. But when tested at 81percent of max oxygen uptake (a race pace, folks), the Hi-Carb team increased their time to exhaustion by 37 minutes over the High-Fat team. This remarkable
difference in performance occurred despite a similar rate of glycogen use from the muscles. What happened to the Hi-Fat team? The researchers were a little puzzled themselves. Both teams used muscle glycogen stores at the same rate, and the levels had been essentially equal between the two teams at the start.
So why did the Hi-Fatters fade out? It appeared to be a case of impaired glucose transport. The researchers theorized
that the high-fat diets led to insulin-resistant cells, not a good situation for an endurance athlete.
When cells become less sensitive to insulin's call to send up glucose transporters, less glucose can be moved from outside of the cell to the inside for energy. A less than optimal glucose delivery system is not really noticeable until muscle glycogen is depleted, and the Gatorade you just drank – now plasma glucose – is the last fuel available.
So lets get back to pizza. You know that a high-fat diet is bad, a moderate-carb diet is OK, and a high-carb diet is best if you're trying to gain muscular endurance and power. What does that goal look like on the table? Here are a few menu ideas.
Pizza Picks for Top Performance
There are as many types and varieties of pizza as there are ski equipment. Without a nutrient label, the exact percent of calories, carb and fat must be estimated. Here are some general pizza facts to help guide your choices.
First, the pizza industry considers a "serving" to be two slices of a medium (12") pizza. For a 65 percent carb diet, the thick crust pizza is always a better choice than the thin crust. Another general guide is to limit toppings to vegetables, except on homemade pizza which can be made with Canadian bacon, lean ham, or smoked turkey if meat topping is desired. Double cheese is an absolute no-no. Let's look at a few combinations.
Keep in mind the typical active female needs about 2,200 calories per day, and should limit fat to 50 grams per day. For an active male, up the calories to 3,100, and fat to about 70 grams per day. Now let's eat some pizza: Two pieces of a 12" Tombstone Supreme self-rising pizza adds up to 700 calories, 32 grams of fat, and 64 grams of carb. A do-able meal, if you limit it to two pieces, and supplement with some extra high-carb juice or pop. But look at the numbers when you add
a third piece: 1,050 calories, 48 grams of fat, and 114 grams of carb. What happens if you order "double cheese"? Add an additional 59 calories and 4 grams of fat per slice. Ditto for ordering sausage or pepperoni.
For the pizza lover who can't bear the thought of eating anything less than one-half of a 12" medium pizza at a time, try to stick to the vegetable toppings. They are considerably lower in fat, averaging about 7 grams per slice – mostly from
the cheese. That makes it a whole lot easier to maintain a 65% carb/20% fat ratio in the total meal. It also helps to control sodium levels, which often are in the range of 900 mg per slice when meat toppings are added. That's when six pieces of pizza and a couple of mugs of beer can leave you pretty dehydrated for the next day's training session. Something to consider when the competition is eating grilled salmon and a baked potato, downed with glass of skim milk.
Make A Commitment
"I don't like pizza without pepperoni and sausage." I hear that lament often. So what if pizza is high in fat – once in a while doesn't hurt, does it? Probably not. But ordering healthy pizza should be second nature – a habit, once developed, that can benefit your training program.
For most of us, it is a matter of getting committed. To help you make the change, consider the alternative to buying prepared pizza. Yeah, cooking. It's pretty simple with refrigerated, ready-prepared pizza dough, and a little imagination. Maybe you'll find out that your own pizza creation is the best-tasting bite you've ever had.
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