Loafing Around: Bread & Athletes

author : Nancy Clark

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Confusion still abounds regarding the role of bread in a sports diet. Some weight conscious athletes still fear bread as a fattening enemy.

The Athlete’s Kitchen
Copyright Nancy Clark, MS, RD 10/05

With the fall of the Atkins Diet, athletes are (thankfully) returning to eating bread and other starchy foods. They’ve realized carbs are not fattening; rather, excess calories are fattening. Bread and other grain foods are rightfully re-establishing themselves as the foundation of each meal.

The government’s dietary guidelines encourage us to eat 6 to 11 servings of breads and grain-foods each day—of which at least half should be made from whole grains (i.e., whole wheat, rye, oats, corn). Enjoying this many servings of grain-foods is an easy task for hungry athletes who commonly devour 6 servings at breakfast alone, such as a hefty bowl of cereal (4 servings) with an english muffin (2 servings).

Yet, confusion still abounds regarding the role of bread in a sports diet. Some weight conscious athletes still fear bread as a fattening enemy. They ask "Can I really eat toast at breakfast and a sandwich at lunch—and not get fat?" Other athletes wonder if bread made from refined white flour is “evil. [.....]

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date: October 30, 2005