Every nutritional expert agrees that we need diet absolutes. So why are there so many different programs and so much conflicting information? The confusion comes into play over the right balance of these nutrients. In the past few decades we have seen the emergence of many new revolutionary diets and diet theories guaranteed to produce outstanding results. The area of sports nutrition is no exception.

We have seen the proverbial pendulum swing from telling athletes to eat very high protein to encouraging athletes to eat very high carbohydrate. If we were to examine each theory behind the various diets we would find that all of them give us certain insights and may contain some substantial merit. However they are missing a key ingredient: balance. Any time you take balance out of the picture, you are interfering with your body’s ability to function at it’s optimal level.

It is beyond the scope of this chapter to delve into the research behind the conflicting information or to address the needs of athletes in different sports. Let’s stick to our goal: outlining an optimal nutritional program for the baseball player.

I called Dr. John Ivy, exercise physiologist and nutritional expert at the University of Texas for some advice in this area. According to the latest research on sports nutrition Dr. Ivy recommends the following guidelines for The Resistance trained adolescent athlete:

•    15-20% Protein
•    50-60% Carbohydrate
•    25-35% Fat

Let’s give an example that you can easily follow to calculate your nutritional needs on a daily basis. In order to calculate the daily percentages of your protein, carbohydrate and fats, you need to first determine your total caloric intake. This has to be determined on an individual basis.

To determine your daily caloric requirement:
1. Determine your resting metabolic rate (RMR)
•    Body weight X 10

2. Determine how many calories you need for your exercise level (appr. 450 for a resistance trained athlete)

3. Determine your activity level
•    Low activity (20-40% RMR)
•    Moderate activity (40-60% RMR)
•    Very active (60-80% RMR)

4. Add steps 1, 2, and 3 to determine your calorie requirement Here’s hypothetical example for you to follow: Babe Ruth is a resistance trained adolescent who weighs 150 lbs.

1.    At 150 lbs, Babe’s RMR is 1500 (150X10)

2.    Babe weight trains so his exercise level is 450

3.    He is very active (80% X 1500)= 1200

4.    Adding steps 1, 2, and 3 is 1500+450+1200= 3150 calories

Therefore Babe needs 3150 calories for the day. To determine your protein needs:

1.    Multiply your total calories by your required percentage. (20%)
•    In Babe’s case 20% times 3150=630 calories from protein
•    630 divided by 4= 158 grams of protein

To determine your carbohydrate needs:

1.    Multiply your total calories by your required percentage. (60%)
•    In Babe’s case 60% times 3150=1890 calories from carbohydrates
•    1890 divided by 4= 473 grams of carbohydrates

To determine your fat needs:

1.    Multiply your total calories by your required percentage. (30%)
•    In Babe’s case 30% times 3150=945 calories from fat
•    945 divided by 9= 105 grams of fat

This may at first appear confusing but stick with it. In actuality it is pretty easy to follow. Once you figure out your unknown (the caloric requirement) the rest is simply following a simple mathematical formula.
It is important to remember that in our example we are dealing with an adolescent who has a high activity level and a high exercise level. You must adjust your calculations accordingly.