It's a common question: How much - and how often - should athletes eat in order to sustain a consistent blood glucose level for training throughout the day? What is an appropriate meal frequency and meal size--and what should go into those meals?

It is well known that fat makes its greatest contribution as an energy source during low to moderate intensity exercise. During exercise at 40 to 60% of VO2Max, fat breakdown supplies about half of the energy needs (1). This has led to recommendations that individuals who want to burn more fat to lose weight should exercise at a lower intensity.

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Athletes are routinely advised to consume adequate dietary carbohydrate to fuel their active life-styles.

It's a common situation for runners... they train and they get injured. Injuries fall into two camps - either overuse or accidental. Things like tree roots, potholes or runner vs car etc are generally called accidental injuries.

The longer the training/racing event, the more critical proper hydration and fueling becomes. An event like an Ironman is essentially an eating contest on the bike and run. The "race" doesn't start until about mile 16 of the run. The smart guys pay very close attention to getting this stuff dialed in before the race.

It's that time of year for us folks on the left coast: the final big push before Wildflower in early May. The weather gets even better, the sun comes up earlier and earlier, the training gets longer and more intense. So I'm going to ask you a question: Does training make you faster?

Proper meal timing, meal size, and meal composition is critical to provide even blood glucose levels throughout the day to train and work.

Athletes can stock the kitchen with high-carbohydrate, low-fat foods to eat healthier and save time and money. However, these grocery staples must be individualized to the athlete's preferences and lifestyle or the food will go to waste. The following sample grocery shopping lists provide ideas on how to stock "the athlete's kitchen." For the Refrigerator:

Reviewed and Updated by ERB member Shawn Dolan PhD