Leen Eats

25/05/2023

Get the low down on carb-loading 📈🥯

With the on the horizon, there’s no doubt many of you can benefit from this.

Whether it’s your first time doing the marathon, you haven’t come across the concept before or you’re saving this for future use; Carb loading is one of a myriad of strategies that will enable you to reach peak performance on race day ⛰

Carb loading aims to increase muscle glycogen stores, maintaining carbohydrate availability and preventing glycogen depletion.

Commonly referred to as “bonking” or “hitting the wall”, glycogen depletion refers to an exhaustion of your muscle’s carbohydrate stores, which act as the primary source of energy in sustained exercise 😵🪫
This can be prevented fuelling before and during an event.

A carb loading strategy may be beneficial to athletes competing in events greater than 90 minutes in duration.

Athletes that may benefit include :
🏃‍♀️Marathon Runners
⚽️ Soccer Pluers
🚴‍♂️🏃‍♀️🏊‍♂️ Triathletes
🚵‍♀️ Cyclists

Whilst this post provides an overview of carb loading, individual responses will vary and ideally should be conducted with an adequate fuelling strategy for race day under the supervision of a trained dietitian or nutritionist.

18/04/2023

Researchers from the School of Food and Nutritional Sciences in UCC are investigating the feeding behaviours, barriers to healthy eating, and dietary patterns of toddlers in Ireland.

Parents/Guardians with a toddler aged 18-36 months are invited to participate in our 15-minute online survey to help us to identify the main facilitators and constraints in the provision of a healthy diet to young toddlers.

The survey can be accessed at the link QR code above or in the link below and all responses are completely anonymous :

https://bit.ly/3mPuOb7

Participation in this survey is completely voluntary and you retain the option to leave any question(s) unanswered should you wish to do so. You maintain the right to withdraw from the survey at any point prior to completing the survey.
All information collected will be confidential and cannot be traced back to you.

The UCC Social Research Ethics Committee has approved this survey

https://bit.ly/3mPuOb7

The most powerful, simple and trusted way to gather experience data. Start your journey to experience management and try a free account today.

16/03/2023

A new Leen Eats post ?
Something seems a bit fishy

29/07/2022

Race against the ghost of myself at the AAI games last Sunday ,unfortunately took the L in that one ⏰
——————————————————————

Climbing one mountain exposes another peak. With every goal you accomplish (whether that’s a new PB, hitting a PR in the gym or finally getting to a desired physique), it doesn’t take long for your mind to wonder “what’s next”?

There’s no doubt that never being satisfied is a useful motivator in its own respect but I’m slowly beginning to see the beauty in appreciating the processes that got you to that desired goal in the first place. Without falling in love with the processes that get you to your goal, not only will you never be satisfied but you’ll be eternally frustrated too. Falling in love with the process will bring more long term satisfaction than accomplishing a goal will do.

Moral of the story:

Set goals but don’t get hung up on them either, just focus on what you can do that can get you there , that’s what will are the journey that bit easier.

PS. Do enjoy the big wins when they come, it’s not something that comes around every day

19/07/2022

From looking out the window this morning, I feel that this post could well be a day overdue 🤣

With the relentless heatwave over the last week (not complaining) , many have struggled to adapt in order to maximise their performance in the heat.

Hopefully this post will help anyone training or competing in the heat over the next few weeks to make the most of their performance

13/06/2022

I am excited to announce that I am currently taking on clients for 1-1 Performance Nutrition Coaching 🍎🍏

Having recently completed my final year exams, I am delighted to announce that as of last week I have qualified as a Nutritional Scientist having completed my BSc in Nutritional Sciences in UCC

As an athlete myself having competed at a national and international level in middle distance athletics over the past 6 years, I have gained an understanding the multitude of factors that influence our performance and well being as well as the multi factorial influences on an athlete’s dietary choices.

From my time as a student athlete in university, I learned that strain in striking the right work /life/ athletic balance between focusing on athletic performance, work life/studies as well as your personal well-being. Optimising your approach to nutrition is one of multiple ways that can help you to achieve high performance on and off the field.

I have extensive experience working with athletes in endurance , field and power based sports ⚽️ 🏃‍♂️ 🏋️

What’s included in the 1-1 performance programme ?
▪️ 1-1 Consultation with a qualified Nutritional Scientist
▪️ Comprehensive Dietary Assessment
▪️ Personalized & Sport Specific Dietary Advice
▪️ Sport Specific Fuelling Strategies for Endurance Athletes
▪️ Sample Meal Planning
▪️ Sport specific/ personalised guidance on the use of dietary supplements /ergogenic aids

For all enquiries drop me a DM or an email:
benleensmith@gmail.com

13/06/2022

As Baku showed yesterday, even Ferrari have engine failures 💥💥💥

A poor attempt at racing followed by an enjoyable days pacing @ the Leevale Sports

Learn, adapt, move on & trust the process….

National Seniors 🔜

04/06/2022

Before you hop into your recovery boots like Lebron, make sure that you’ve nailed the basics and replace any lost fuel and fluids after exercise.

What we eat (or don’t eat) after we exercise haha a major impact on our performance and arguably can be more impactful than what you consume immediately before exercise (Think of the long term impact on performance rather than an acute effect).

Ensuring that you consume protein and carbohydrates in sufficient quantity after exercise is essential to maximising any adaptions from training and in ensuring that you are recovered sufficiently to maximise the benefits from your next training session or event.

Many will find that their appetite may be slightly suppressed after exercising and that after exercise, eating any food will be the last thing on your mind. Unfortunately waiting too long to refuel after exercise or consuming insufficient carbohydrates / protein can have a detrimental effect by delaying the recovery & adaptation processes.

With the goal of optimising training adaptions and promoting muscle repair and recovery, the focus of the post workout meal is on protein and carbohydrates

Carbohydrates provide the most effective source of fuel to muscles in the form of glycogen, consuming carbohydrates after exercise has been shown to enhance muscle recovery.
Consuming carbohydrates soon after exercise is more effective at restoring muscle glycogen due to the hormones secreted during and after exercise (I.e Insulin)

The aforementioned hormonal secretions combined with increased gut permeability after exercise will result in increased absorption of carbohydrates and proteins in the post exercise window (Think up to 1 hour). Consuming approximately 25-30 g of protein immediately after exercise has been shown to be most effective in maximising muscle protein synthesis; the driving process for muscle repair and recovery. Consuming protein alongside carbohydrates has also been shown to be more effective at replenishing muscle glycogen than consuming a higher amount of carbohydrates alone!!

Moral of the story:
When recovery is the goal, protein and carbohydrates are the key and don’t forget to REHYDRATE !

27/05/2022

Saw a great quote posted by yesterday ; “We don’t eat nutrients, we eat food that contains nutrients” 🍎 🥦 🍝

Within the realm of nutritional science there’s often a major focus on the numbers which is great in its own respect but without translation into relevant food or dietary based solutions, we will never truly see the results these numbers promise.

With that quote in mind, I thought it would be a great time to post some sample meals based on yesterday’s post, that you could trial before your next training session 🏃‍♂️ 🏊‍♀️ 🚲

26/05/2022

Showing some Liverpool love with today’s colour way ahead of the big game in Paris this weekend

One thing that athletes always seem to have a lot of confusion about is what to eat before exercise. The most important thing to remember is not to overcomplicate it. The effects from food that you eat on the day of a competition pales in comparison to the effect of your dietary composition as a whole.

With regards to the pre-event new, the take home message is :
Don’t overcomplicate it

Whether it’s race day or game day, is not the time to start experimenting with new foods, sports drinks , gels or functional food products. That’s what training is for.

The main objectives of the pre-event meal are to :
1. Ensure there is an optimal amount of available carbohydrate for use during exercise
2. Prevent Stomach Upset

Contrary to much of the pseudoscience available on the internet, when maximising energy and optimising sports performance are the goals, carbs are king 🤴

Carbohydrates are the most efficient source of fuel for skeletal muscle based off its efficacy during aerobic respiration. As a result, improved carbohydrate availability and improved carbohydrate utilisation have consistently been shown to result in increased exercise performance . This highlights why carbohydrates are a key component of the pre-event meal.

Inadequate carbohydrate intakes in athletes have been shown to have detrimental effects on performance in competition and training as well as impairing recovery and leading to increased irritability and susceptibility to infection.

High GI / low fibre foods are often a major component of the optimal pre-event meal. This is primarily as a precaution to prevent any unnecessary stomach upset during exercise. High GI carbohydrates (simple carbohydrates) are digested a lot quicker than high fibre, low GI foods. Whilst slow releasing carbohydrates are targeted in everyday meals, the goal of the pre-event meal may initially appear counter intuitive however it’s important to remember the goal of optimising available carbohydrates for exercise. As a result , High GI carbs/ simple carbohydrates may prove effective in ensuring this goal is met.