THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 31, 1995 TAG: 9508300048
SECTION: FLAVOR PAGE: F1 EDITION: FINAL
SERIES: FITNESS QUEST
SOURCE: BY MICHELE SNIPE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 89 lines
COLLEEN DOBBS feverishly pedals 100 miles on her bicycle, pounds 50 miles of pavement in her running shoes, and slices through 4 miles of water in her swimsuit.
And she does all this in one week. Every week.
The 35-year-old Virginia Beach triathlete is passionate about exercise and fitness.
But she admits to having Power Bars for dinner. ``I'm not the most educated person when it comes to diet,'' she says.
Dobbs is not the only woman whose diet needs a little shaping up. Like a lot of women, she is not getting enough bang for her calories.
Many athletes don't equate food to fuel, says Nancy Clark, author of ``The New York City Marathon Cookbook''(Rutledge Hill, 1994). Clark says many women athletes mistakenly think that ``thinner is better.''
``Food is health - not the fattening enemy,'' says Clark, the director of Nutrition Services for SportsMedicine Brookline, outside of Boston. Athletes should fuel and refuel when engaged in exercise.
``You have to have gas in the tank,'' Clark says, suggesting that active women eat something before and after a workout.
Veteran athlete Pam Whitley of Virginia Beach has learned the importance of a good diet. Unlike Dobbs, Whitley sticks to carrots, melons and bananas.
``I'm probably one of the few (athletes) who likes fruits and vegetables,'' she says, laughing. ``But I find that I feel better when I eat lighter food and have more carbohydrates.''
She also feels a lot healthier since gaining some extra pounds.
``Women need to make an effort to get fat in their diets,'' says Whit ley, who has a master's degree in exercise science. ``My weight is a little higher now, and I feel a lot better.''
Fruits, vegetables and carbohydrates are all parts of a balanced diet. But fruits and carbs alone won't help athletes run that extra mile. The protein provided by lean red meat, eggs and beans also is important, says Kristine Rand, a registered dietitian with the Group for Women in Norfolk.
``Female athletes are obsessed with percent body fat,'' Rand says. ``So they restrict their calorie consumption by leaving out whole food groups. This is inadequate, even for nonathletes.''
Women are supposed to have more body fat than are men. Women's bodies are designed to store more to protect their ability to create and nourish babies. On average, women have about twice the body fat of men.
Walt Green, Maury High School track and cross-country coach, says sneaking snacks and pinching inches won't work. He says the energy bars many athletes munch on are good snacks, but they are no substitute for a solid meal.
``You can't eat a bunch of Power Bars and expect to break records,'' Green says.
But something else may get broken if women athletes aren't careful.
Intensive workouts and low meat consumption create vitamin and mineral deficiencies, Rand says. And deficiencies may cause health problems.
Whitley says her menstrual cycle became irregular when she was training for and running in marathons. She blames the low level of fat in her diet.
Loss of menses is not uncommon with women who do strenuous workouts and don't maintain a consistently well-balanced diet.
Neither are stress fractures, which occur when the pressure put on a bone exceeds its capabilities, causing it to wear and pull.
``Last season, I saw 22 to 23 stress fractures, and all but two of them were in females,'' says Marty Bradley, Old Dominion University's head athletic trainer.
Poor nutrition is a hurdle for many college athletes, Bradley says.
To make it over such hurdles, Rand suggests that women weigh themselves, then drink 16 ounces of water before working out. After the workout, they should drink more water to replenish the weight loss, she says.
``Don't eat until your fluids are replenished,'' she says. Then have a balanced meal with fruits such as bananas and oranges, which replace nutrients.
Setting goals also is a good idea.
``It helps you focus and make a commitment,'' Rand says.
``Setting goals keeps you on track,'' Dobbs says. Her current goal is to run 5 kilometers in 20-minutes or less by the end of the year.
Now, her time is 20:05. With the right amount of bananas and fettuccine, Dobbs may be able to pound out that goal in no time. ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]
TAMARA VONINSKI/Staff
Colleen Dobbs, left, and Pam Whitley are local triathletes who
compete and work out on a regular basis.
Nutitionist Nancy Clark says women need to think of food as fuel.
by CNB