When it comes to maximizing her performance, one of the things Chandra Crawford relies on is “premium fuel” – and she’s not talking petroleum.

“Premium fuel – like really high-quality food choices,” says the 2006 Olympic gold medallist in the women’s cross-country 1.1 km sprint event. “I need a lot of energy to do a lot of training, so I concentrate on getting the most [I can] with every bite.”

Just like training, nutrition is an important part of any athlete’s road to success. A proper diet can improve body composition and help them recover from grueling workouts.

With the help of the Toronto-based Precision Nutrition, Crawford follows guidelines for healthy eating that includes whole grain bread, brown rice, lots of produce and, one of her favourites, quinoa. “It’s just an amazing, delicious and healthy grain to add to any meal,” says the skier, who loves to cook at home. For Crawford, who has battled knee and foot injuries, arginine-rich foods such as pumpkin seeds and garbanzo beans are also important for assisting in tissue repair.

Snowboarder Matthew Morison says he doesn't follow a specific dietary regimen, but he tries to be conscious of what he eats. “It’s staying balanced and making sure you’ve eaten enough for the race, and not overdoing it or underdoing it,” says the 2009 world championship bronze medallist in parallel giant slalom.

But with an athlete’s jet-setting schedule, it’s not always easy “Any day that’s going to be a travel day, you're more or less going to be eating airplane food,” says Morison. “As far as eating healthy, it can definitely be really tough.”

Luckily, Morison and his teammates don't have to go it alone. The Canadian snowboarding team works with an integrated support team that includes sport dietician Jennifer Gibson, from the Victoria, B.C.-based Canadian Sport Centre Pacific. A few times a year the snowboarders go through fitness and health screenings. If the team identifies any issue with an athlete’s nutrition, Gibson asks the athlete to draw up a food history, which she examines using diet analysis software before making a plan for him or her (see sidebar).

Even elite athletes have dietary vices. Both Morison and Crawford confess to chocolate cravings. But it doesn't mean they can't indulge every once in awhile. “Timing is important,” Crawford says. “For me, a no-no would be having a big piece of dessert before bed. But to have a treat, like if I’m really craving chocolate, I could have that after the workout [with] a healthy meal.” •

A Professional’s Perspective
SPORT DIETICIAN JENNIFER GIBSON TALKS ABOUT THE ART OF MAKING A MEAL PLAN.

• One by one: “Every meal plan that you work with an athlete on is quite individual. It’s individual to that person, what phase of training they're in, and obviously their body weight, their height, their intake, their goals, the type of sport they're doing.”

• A close look: “Athletes, they're trying to make small, small changes. Like if they're trying to lose weight… in some cases, it’s just per-cent body fat changes. (So) often it comes down to a very small and rigorous analysis of their diet.”

• Meal-on-the-go: “If you're looking at a winter sport athlete and they're training on the snow, lunch might be on the snow. So it could be an Elevate Me (meal replacement) bar with some trail mix and some hot soup.”

• What time is it? “If lunch is a recovery meal or even a pre-activity meal, it’s going to be high-complex carb, moderate protein, low fat. And generally we wouldn't ask the athlete to have too much fibre specifically if it’s a pre-event or pre-training meal.”