Words Underline: Discussed further in Terminology section

Calories, Carbs and Controversy

The nutritional needs of modern strength athletes prioritize protein, often eaten in a caloric surplus to maintain high energy levels, muscle building, and ensuring a quick recovery between training sessions. Modern research concerning powerlifting dietary restrictions and needs indicates that higher caloric intake can benefit intense training and supplement out of season muscle building (King, 2024). They recommended up to 2.2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight, higher than the requirements of the average person. This guideline is meant to optimize strength gain, whilst maintaining a healthy body weight, and composition. This modern emphasis on protein sources for strength ensures that nutrition supports the needs of the strength athlete. One common complaint discussed in the strength sports community is issues concerning digestion when there are higher amounts of protein in their diet. Protein is the hardest fuel source for your body to digest and takes the most time to break down in the stomach, and without an extra supplement or focus on fiber, this can be hard on one's digestive track. However, modern nutritional practices can be very easy to overcome, having access to many additives' pharmaceutical vitamins, supplements and minerals to help aid in anything your body is lacking from the food itself.   

In modern sports science, it is understood that athletes should eat more than a non-athletic person of the same stature and weight. Since athletes have a higher metabolic rate from  performing exercise, this results in the increase of calories being burned. Modern studies have revealed the median caloric consumption for female athletes was 2200 a day, and for men it was 3,000 a day. This is roughly 500-1000 more calories than the average man or women. It seems that a higher caloric intake was discovered in the ancient world, even if they did not entirely understand the dynamics of athletic diets. The so-called exaggerated consumption of athletes in antiquity reinforces the idea that athletes did indeed understand they needed to eat more to perform successfully to gain Arete/excellence.

 Ancient athletic trainers and athletes often had to use a tool referred to in modern sports science as ‘intuitive eating’. This is the act of assessing their body and how it felt before, during and after exercise and from this, understanding the pattern of training and fatigue. From this information given through analyzing their fatigue, the athlete would adapt their diet to perform at their best. This often led to a higher carbohydrate diet which could fuel the body quickly, allowing for energy and calories to perform when it matters. This cycle of carb-loading and crashing may have been what they thought was the best strategy to perform, especially if it was a high intensity activity that did not last long, such as performing a throw or lift during athletic contests. Without having access to modern knowledge on muscle building, Ancients used mind-muscle connection, something which is still very important in athletics, to determine what they needed in the short term, rather than trying to ensure long term muscle optimization, like modern strength athletes.   

Whey of the Ancients: Reconstructing Strength Diets from Antiquity  

Using my research on typical athletic diets, and perceived eating habits, I created a 5-day meal plan aiming around 2,400 calories per day, centered on carbohydrates as the main food source. This includes ancient grains such as barley and bread being the most consistent across ancient commentaries. I will also be adding rice to the list of gains to help round out my meals. This, along with figs, other fruits and vegetables, olive oil, cheese and fish became the focal points of my meals.  

Day One:

For breakfast I had 2 servings of Greek yogurt (vanilla not plain) and 4 figs and piece of toast with fig jam, equaling out to my first meal to some 600 calories, and 37g of protein, 79g of carbohydrates and 14g of fat. This, surprisingly, was a pleasant start to my morning. 

For lunch, I had a copious amount of rice (2 servings) with feta cheese and veggies equaling 810 calories for a total of 23g of protein, 150g of carbohydrates and 13g of fat. This meal was very filling, with the rice being dense. I ate this about an hour prior to my first training session on the diet. This training went well, and I noticed that I maintained high energy levels without the modern reliance of caffeine to maintain my focus. After my training, I still felt good, not experiencing the crash I was expecting.  

For my final large meal, I prepped barley, fish and veggies, topped with olive oil and feta cheese for my main course for the day. Barley was an adjustment, but overall, not too dissimilar to a meal I would have in my daily routine. This final meal ended up being a total of 905 calories with 51g of protein, 102g carbohydrates, and 34g of fat. This means I ended my day extremely full, with a combine total of 2,315 calories, 111g of protein, 331g of carbohydrates, and 61g of fat. My overall levels of fatigue were low, with my only worry being the density of the carbohydrates, leaving my stomach constantly feeling heavy.  

Day Three:

This is the second day in a row I have woken up starving. I believe it is due to the rate of digestion being quicker than what my body would be used to, with the carbohydrate heavy diet being easier and quicker to digest than my protein heavy nutrition plan. These meals offer the body a quick fuel source but were short lasting. I have had to adjust by eating more of the carbohydrate dense foods in the morning, and some of the more refreshing fruit filled meals prior to training, to feel less sluggish.

 Training has been quite strong, with very little change to my overall performance in the gym. However, I am, beginning to feel the effects of less protein, with my muscles feeling more sore, and a sudden fatigue shortly after training. My meals over the next few days remained similar to the first day, with very little change between rice/barley/ mixed veggies, fish and cheese.  

Day Five:

 I am thankful that this is the last day, as I do not know how much more barley I can consume. Although I enjoy the simplicity of the meals, not having to spend much time cooking, the meals are dry, and aggressively mundane. My favorite meal of the day is my fruit and Greek yogurt, which had become a monstrous bowl by the end of my diet. The grains are daunting, taking up the majority of my plate, challenging my appetite. To counter act this, I created a lentil stew, helping my stomach to be able to digest the large portions of food. 

Despite the dietary challenges, I have found my training has been going well. My energy levels have been consistently high during my training sessions, allowing me to push reasonably harder than I would have otherwise expected. However, immediately after the gym, my body is hit with extreme fatigue and exhaustion.