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Athletes Have a Low Percentage of Fat in Their Bodies

While the average lean man and woman have 15% and 25% of body weight in fat, respectively, endurance athletes have only 7% to 10% of fat in their bodies. Expert sports nutritionists recommend that athletes conducting high-intensity training must include 20% to 35% of fats in their daily calorie intake. And as the researchers at the Colorado State University Extension Service report, the fat content of your meal should never fall below 15%.

Why is that? For the simple reason that the body can store fats and provide energy when you need it.

Athletes Need Fats for Training and Endurance

Athletes’ bodies use both carbohydrates and fats for energy for training and working out. But, the body has only a limited reserve of carbohydrates. For this reason, athletes must consume carbohydrates before high-intensity exercise sessions and competitions to fuel their bodies. To continue to perform during prolonged games, athletes need fat reserves to use as an energy source. And, if you’re an endurance athlete, 70% of the energy you need is met by the fat reserves you build with optimum nutrition that healthy meal delivery services provide.

Remember, your body first uses up fat macromolecules for energy and each gram of fat provides the body with 9 calories. On the other hand, proteins and carbohydrates provide just 4 calories of energy per gram.

Given that the body can store fat, you must build up this reserve by sourcing ideal meal plans from a food delivery to your location service. By training regularly, you raise the capacity of your skeletal muscles to use up fat for metabolizing energy. In this way, you’ll raise endurance levels because the body stores fat molecules in the muscles in the form of Intramuscular Triacylglycerols.

Athletes Need Fats for the Regulation of Hormones

Produced by the endocrine system, hormones are a cocktail of chemicals that keep the biochemical systems of your body running efficiently. For an athlete, hormones perform a range of essential functions such as:

• Boosting muscle growth (testosterone hormones)
• Assisting in the recovery and repair of micro tears after a workout session
• Regulating the body’s responses to high energy requirements like during a performance (steroid hormones)
• Maintaining the balance of minerals
  At the time of choosing dishes to order food to your location, ensure that the meals contain essential fatty acids such as omega-3 and omega-6 fats. These fats act as the source for many of the vital hormones you need.

Athletes Need Fats to Lower Inflammation Levels

When you exercise and develop micro tears in your muscles, the damage causes them to get inflamed and sore. As a result, you’ll notice lowered strength and decreased range of motion. By consuming omega-3 fatty acids, you provide the body the essential nutrients it needs to regulate the level of inflammation in the muscles. Without the nutrition provided by the omega-3 acids, your body takes longer to recover from the inflammation and microtears.

Before you order food delivery to your location, look for the special foods that contain the omega-3 acids you need. Make sure to include them in your order.

Include the Right Kind of Fats in Your Diet

Now that you understand the importance of fats in your meals, let’s talk about the good fats and bad fats. As an athlete taking part in moderate to intense training and sports, you need a carefully balanced diet that includes proteins, carbohydrates, and healthy fats. Omega-3 and Omega-6 help with the recovery of tissues and keep the joints functioning smoothly.

However, make sure to avoid unhealthy fats like trans fats and saturated fats that are often found in processed foods. If you spot hydrogenated oils in the list of ingredients, know that they are a form of trans fats. These fats can cause coronary heart disease by raising the bad LDL cholesterol and lowering the good HDL cholesterol.

Choose these Items When You Order Food Delivery to Your Location

Before you order food delivery to your location, study the list of ingredients and expected number of calories in the different dishes. Most such services give you a detailed breakup of the calories particularly prepared meals delivery services that cater specifically to athletes. Look for healthy sources of fats such as:

• Omega-6 Fat sources: Vegetable oils, nut oils, nuts and nut products, meats, dairy products
• Omega-3 Fat sources: Cold water fish like salmon or krill, and soy products including soya beans, soya bean oil, and, tofu. Choose healthy cooking oils like canola oil, hemp oil, olive oil, and flax oil, seeds like flax, chia, hemp, and pumpkin, and nuts like walnuts.
• Other sources of healthy oils: Avocados, olives, coconut and its related products
  As an athlete looking to maximize your performance on or off the field, you absolutely need healthy fats to maintain endurance levels and recover well from your training sessions. To ensure that you get the balanced nutrition you need, order food delivery to your location.

Would you like more information about the right kind of fat sources and other essential food groups? Contact us and our consultants will get back to you with all the details you need.

Have you ordered food at a meal delivery service before? How were your experiences? Were you happy with the freshness of the food and efficiency of the service? We would love to hear your thoughts. Please use the comment box below.

References:
Importance of fat as a support nutrient for energy: metabolism of athletes.

Importance of Healthy Fats for Athletes

Dietary Fat and Performance