GLOSSARY

Performance Nutrition Strategy is the organized rationale for selecting food, fluid and relevant nutritional practices to support an athlete's goals. It links choices to evidence, schedule and practical constraints.

Sports nutrition connects food and fluid provision with training, competition, adaptation and health. The appropriate plan depends on the sport, event duration, athlete, environment and available eating opportunities. Adequate energy and nutrient intake form the foundation, while timing and specialized products solve particular problems. A strategy supported in one exercise model is not automatically optimal for every sport. The useful outcome is the athlete's ability to train, recover and perform under the actual conditions.

Periodization adjusts nutrition across sessions, days or training phases to support the work and its goals. Carbohydrate can be concentrated around demanding or important sessions while the broader diet still meets energy and nutrient needs. A lower-demand day can also be a recovery or preparation day, so rest does not imply that food or carbohydrate should be removed. Describe what changes, when and why, and evaluate the quality of subsequent training rather than treating variation itself as beneficial.

For example, rehearse the competition plan in a training session with similar pace and eating opportunities. Record what was actually consumed and tolerated, then prepare an alternative if a bottle is lost or an aid station does not have the expected food. This turns a nutritional calculation into a plan the athlete can carry out.

Food timing is organized around the next session, the time since the previous meal and the recovery interval. Carbohydrate supports fuel availability, protein contributes to tissue repair, and meal size, fat and fiber influence comfort. The same schedule does not suit every athlete. A narrow, universal anabolic deadline is an oversimplification, whereas prompt recovery eating becomes more useful when sessions are close together or prior intake has been limited. Total intake remains a central part of the plan.