How much does nutrition affect athletic performance?

[Yoyoyo]

First of all, while I do lift doing spare time, my main sports are cross country and track. However, experts on both lifting and running claim that it is important to eat cleanly and so forth.

For most of the summer I have been eating a load of junk food like cookies and ice cream while still maintaining a lean build with around 8 percent body fat. However, would swtiching to a better diet consisting of lean protein and complex carbs with less fat drastically affect my sport performance or make little difference? If so, then how much protein and carbs as well as calories should I consume daily? I am five feet seven inches and weight 130 pounds. My main intent is to continue lifting to help out my running so bulking up too much is not a option.

Thanks for any reply

[proteinpump]

Nutrition can impact on performance in a variety of ways. There are over 50 nutrients that your body needs on a daily basis. Omission of any one of these over a period of time can harm your health and hinder performance. Nutrition will not work overnight miracles such as shaving half a second off your time, but proper nutrition throughout the year can make a difference. By staying healthy and decreasing "down time," you will feel better, train harder, and be in better condition. This could mean the difference between getting faster and going slower.

[Flex Appeal]

Originally Posted by proteinpump

Nutrition can impact on performance in a variety of ways.

Agreed

It depends on sport specific nutrition also in terms of performance.

[TDetroit]

For instance, I was sleepy a while ago, went to Carribou, ordered a medium Espresso, I'll be awake for week.

It affects performance a lot......

[DD66]

I think its a hard question your asking. This weekend, sunday, im running a marathon in quebec city. I did a 6 month training. I experimented with differenet approach to nutrition. i wanted to see what would make me run better.

From my personnal experience. Nutrition is not key. Nothing really affects your perfomance, except one thing. Your state of mind.

If your state of mind is where it needs to be during training. That is what makes the difference.

I noticed the best thing was to listen to my body.
I wake up, run 6-20 miles depending on what day it is. This naturally makes me eat breakfast. Then the rest of the day, I eat when hungry, just the right amounts. Some days, its 2 small meals, other 5-6 . Your body knows way better then you could count your ratios of what its needs to be efficient.

[Hard Nutrition]

For performance your priorities should be
#1 Diet/Nutrition
#2 Working out
#3 Supplements

proper nutrition is the most important facet in performance.
If you don't have the right nutrition/diet then everything else you do will be effected.

[wake_me]

I like to look at food as fuel for my body, and I want the highest quality

I also very much agree with DD66, discussing the importance of state of mind. I think it's not given enough consideration.

Listen to your inner thoughts when training, are they saying you can't do this last rep, or are you in a zone, like an animal. Also using visualization, or focusing mentally on the muscle you are attacking can help.

I think sometimes people take these expensive unproven supplements and want to rationalize their purchase so they push themselves harder at the gym, when they could've done it with their own will