It does not matter whether you are an athlete or a stay at home mom: good nutrition is good nutrition. That being said, there are a few extra considerations for the athlete in training to think about when making his plans for diet and nutrition. What it boils down to is supplying a high performance body with the right amounts of high quality fuels and nutrients.

Protein

Many athletes expect to build their muscles and enhance their performance with massive amounts of protein. Protein is definitely a valuable nutrient. It does add to muscle development, repairs muscles, and gives athletes a boost in immunity. It maintains their circulatory system and speeds hormones to their destinations. Yet, there is such a thing as too much of a good thing.

Protein for different athletes varies on the type and intensity of their workouts and performances. The amount is usually based on the body weight in kilograms, which can be arrived at by multiplying weight in pounds by 2.2. Some sports nutritionists suggest athletes should have 1.6 grams of protein for every kilogram of body weight. Three small chicken breasts would fulfill this requirement but a varied diet is better, so the athlete can change it up with equivalent amounts of fish, eggs, yogurt, peanut butter or tofu. In general, protein should account for about 15% of the athlete's daily calories.

Fats

Fats are higher in calories, so it is natural that they would take up more calories even if they are eaten in small amounts. It would not be unhealthy for an athlete to eat 25% of his daily calories from fat. The key to diet and nutrition when it comes to fats is to only use high quality fats such as extra virgin olive oil or fish oil.

Carbohydrates

Athletes often have a love-hate relationship with carbohydrates. They want to do carb-loading at particular times when they feel that the extra fuel will help them to perform better. Then, when they want to concentrate on muscle building, they may shun carbohydrates altogether. For most athletes and in most circumstances, the best choice lies somewhere in the middle.

For normal training days, the athlete needs much more energy than someone who is more sedentary. The athlete should routinely get about 60% of his daily calories from carbohydrates. The advantage of arranging athletic diet and nutrition with a reasonable amount of carbohydrates is that any form of exercise requires fuel, and athletes do more exercise than most other people. It stands to reason that they need more carbohydrates proportionate to their increased exercise.

That is not to say that just any carbohydrates will do. Simple carbohydrates such as fruits and honey are fine in moderation. Complex carbohydrates are crucial to long-lasting energy needed for rigorous workouts. By the way, carb loading, another name for eating a larger amount of carbs before an athletic event, may be helpful in endurance sports but not in other sports. Marathon runners may do well to follow this diet and nutrition regimen, but bodybuilders will likely have trouble getting the type of results they seek on a high carbohydrate diet.

In the end, an athlete's diet should be a well-rounded diet, supplying a variety of nutrients. Portion sizes are important, and the needs of the particular sport should be kept in mind. After all, no two sports have exactly the same requirements and no two athletes have the same dietary needs.