Which food is best when exercising for long periods of time? (and in keeping a balanced body weight)

When exercising for long periods of time, people tend to wonder what is best for them to eat to stay healthy and keep their body replenished with the nutrients it needs. I will be comparing the three foods Angel Hair (by Ronzoni), boneless skinless chicken breasts with rib meat (by member’s Mark), and Light and Fit vanilla yogurt (by Dannon). These seem very commonly associated with the title “good” food to eat when exercising. I think eating pasta is the best food to eat while exercising for long periods of time, i.e. sports seasons, training for a marathon. I believe this to be true because i know pasta is high in carbohydrates, which is said to replenish your body and keep you energized. How to successfully exercise by keeping your body replenished with the nutrients it is losing while working out is a very commonly asked question. I will address this question and answer it by comparing the three foods mentioned earlier.

To start, the serving sizes labeled on the packages are key to look at. For the pasta, the serving size is 2oz, for the chicken it is 4oz, and for the yogurt it is 1c. The pasta has 210 calories, the chicken has 130, and the yogurt has 110 per <5mg. Your body needs enough calories to stay energized, so something higher in calories, like the pasta, isn't necessarily bad to eat if you exercise regularly.The pasta has 2g of fiber, whereas the chicken and yogurt have 0g. Having fiber in your diet is an essential element needed. The pasta is additionally high in nutrition values of iron. Iron is lost through respiration when working out. So, you need to replenish your body of this loss, because iron can help improve the oxygen flow in blood. Also, the calories from fat are very low in the pasta. The percentage of carbohydrates is slightly higher for the pasta being at 80% , ~3.1% for the chicken, and ~72.7% for the yogurt. Carbohydrates have a bad rep. because of too much consumption and not enough exercise. They are essential for producing energy in the body when working out though. You should consume a good amount but in moderation and with regular exercise, so you have the energy to work out. This means for someone exercising for long periods of time they would want to raise the amount of carbohydrates they consume. The calories from protein is at 80% for the pasta, ~3.1% for the chicken, and ~72.7% for the yogurt. Protein is obviously another source of nutrient your body needs, since it is good for your muscles.

My hypothesis was supported, because overall from my findings, the pasta is better for  you when exercising for long periods of time. There is only a small amount of fat, it’s higher in calories, but if working out and kept in moderation that is good for you. It has no cholesterol, is a good source of carbohydrates needed when working out to stay energized, and is a good source of fiber and protein. Out of the three foods, pasta, chicken, and yogurt, pasta is the best for you when working out frequently.

Additionally, the serving size for the pasta and chicken was generally realistic for an averaged sized person, but not of the yogurt. An average person would most likely consume almost double the serving size of the yogurt then was shown on the package label. If the serving size of the yogurt was more accurately put, then the calories would be higher, about equal to that of the pasta. Also, the amount of protein would be higher, being beneficial to the consumer. It would not effect the percentages of calories from fat, carbohydrates, and protein. I did take this difference in numbers into consideration that the serving size would change, and still my results show the pasta as being better for you when exercising for long periods of time and trying to keep your body weight balanced where its at.