Perder peso de forma inteligente é o atalho do sucesso. Foto: Divulgação

Em todas as esferas, perder peso é uma parte complicadíssima na vida de um atleta de alto rendimento do Jiu-Jitsu. Se você não conta com um acompanhamento profissional, pode cometer erros de “faixa-branca”, como a nutricionista Nathalia Chantre gosta de dizer.

“Quando digo erros de faixa-branca, quero dizer que os atletas cometem erros simples e básicos por não saberem como realizar uma boa alimentação”, ensina Nathalia, que também luta Jiu-Jitsu e é esposa do campeão Samir Chantre. “O princípio para ter uma boa atuação nos treinos e na competição é ter um corpo saudável, o que só é conquistado por meio de boas escolhas na alimentação”.

Nutricionista certificada pela International Sports Sciences Association, nos Estados Unidos, Chantre conta que é comum o atleta de Jiu-Jitsu fazer escolhas ruins ao comer, principalmente na semana do campeonato.

“É comum o atleta de Jiu-Jitsu que não tem acompanhamento nutricional cometer diversos erros, dos mais simples aos mais graves à saúde. Acontece que, até o erro aparentemente banal também vai gerar um impacto negativo no rendimento esportivo, e pode tirá-lo do pódio”, comenta Nathalia. Mas quais seriam os erros que o lutador comete antes mesmo de lutar? Bem, deixemos que ela mesmo explique, a seguir.

Nathalia Chantre com o marido campeão Samir. Foto: Acervo Pessoal

1. Desidratação

“De modo geral, os atletas não se atentam para a ingestão hídrica adequada. Bebem pouquíssima água ao longo do dia e só se preocupam em beber água após o treino, quando estão extremamente desidratados”, lembra a nutricionista. “Muitas vezes apenas água não será suficiente em treinos intensos, acima de 60 minutos. É importante repor eletrólitos também, uma combinação de sódio e potássio, entre outros nutrientes, e não apenas água. Com isso, o esportista evita a hiponatremia, que é uma alteração metabólica caracterizada pela baixa concentração de sódio no sangue em relação ao volume de água no organismo. Neste caso, água de côco e bebidas isotônicas podem ser boa opção.”

“Estudos mostram que a desidratação de 1% do total de peso já dificulta a termorregulação e causa a diminuição do desempenho esportivo, já que a água está presente em todas as reações químicas que ocorrem no organismo, além de regular a temperatura corporal e auxiliar no transporte de oxigênio e nutrientes. Um modo simples de checar a hidratação é observar a coloração da urina: quanto mais amarelo, mais desidratado você está. Além de pesar antes do treino e logo após o treino, anote o quanto consumiu de líquidos durante o treino. Isso é essencial para observar se foi suficiente para repor o que perdeu no treino. Faça um pequeno cálculo para saber o mínimo de água que você deve consumir: (seu peso) x 35ml. Já vi casos em que, apenas ajustando a ingestão hídrica, o atleta já sentiu um impacto positivo na performance no treino”.

2. Carboidratos

“É um erro comum no processo de perda de peso ver atletas eliminando ou diminuindo de forma severa o consumo de carboidrato, o qual exerce papel importante na otimização do desempenho físico, produção de energia e recuperação dos tecidos”, explica a nutricionista.

“Os carboidratos são extremamente importantes no pré-treino e no pós-treino, para repor os estoques de glicogênio muscular e hepático. Gosto de utilizar frutas como fonte de carboidrato no pré-treino com meus atletas, sólida ou em suco. Elas são ricas em antioxidantes, compostos bioativos e substâncias imunoprotetoras como vitaminas e fibras. As frutas vão, inclusive, auxiliar na recuperação sem inibir a resposta adaptativa.Além disso, o carboidrato é indispensável para o funcionamento adequado do sistema imunológico. É o principal substrato energético e sua ingestão inadequada pode levar a diminuição da massa muscular, queda do sistema imune, dificuldade de recuperação pós-treino, episódios recorrentes de lesão, deficiência na construção e reparação dos tecidos.”

“Mesmo que o atleta tenha o objetivo de emagrecer, pode e deve consumir alimentos ricos em carboidratos, desde que priorize a individualidade do atleta. Alguns alimentos ricos em carboidratos que indico: banana, melancia, uva, frutas vermelhas, açaí, kiwi, laranja e suco de uva concentrado, além de mandioca, batata, tapioca, aveia, geleia e mel, opções de alimentos com fontes de carboidratos. Esses são bem-vindos na rotina do atleta”.

3. A hora de perder peso

“O último e terceiro erro comum engloba os dois erros que citei acima”, ensina ela. “Muitos atletas começam a perder peso faltando apenas três semanas para a competição, sem respeitar a periodização do treinamento. Nesse desespero em reduzir o peso, que geralmente não é pouco, o atleta erra na desidratação e no corte de carboidrato. A partir daí, começa a jogar contra si, prejudicando todo treinamento que foi realizado. Por conta disso, o intestino começa a dar sinais de ajuda (constipação), que gera no atleta irritabilidade e consequentemente aumento do cortisol. Isso tudo vai acarretar insônia e falta de sono reparador, dificultando a perda de peso e potencializando os riscos de contrair infecções, uma vez que haverá queda na imunidade do atleta.”

“Entendam, tudo está interligado. Seu corpo precisa funcionar em sinergia. Eu entendo você, campeão: é inviável ter conhecimento de todas essas questões e planejar um plano pré-competição sem amplo estudo e domínio do assunto. Procure especialistas. E não permita que esses erros de faixa-branca roubem o seu sonho de estar no topo do pódio dos faixas-pretas.”

Tainan Dalpra com a especialista Nathalia Chantre: o astro levou a sério a nutrição e a hidratação para brilhar no Mundial 2021. Foto: Arquivo Pessoal

Para chegar na ponta dos cascos no Campeonato Mundial da IBJJF, encerrado na segunda semana de dezembro, Tainan Dalpra, Mayssa Bastos e Matheus Gabriel elevaram o patamar de profissionalismo durante a preparação, ao contar com Nathalia Chantre, especialista em nutrição esportiva para atletas de Jiu-Jitsu.

Tainan foi ouro no peso médio em seu primeiro ano como faixa-preta, após superar Isaque Bahiense. Mayssa, por exemplo, foi campeã pela segunda vez no peso galo. Já Matheus, que havia vencido o Mundial no peso pena, foi destaque no peso leve ao fechar com um companheiro de equipe.

O que será que fez diferença na performance dos três atletas de elite da nova geração do esporte? Bom, Nathalia vai explicar, abaixo.

“O maior diferencial do Tainan que eu vejo é a busca incansável pelo aperfeiçoamento e profissionalismo. Visando isto, o único quesito que faltava era justamente a nutrição. O primeiro ajuste simples e eficiente que fizemos foi a hidratação. Tainan, por exemplo, treinava praticamente todos os dias desidratado, uma vez que sua ingesta hídrica era de aproximadamente 1.5L. Outro ajuste importantíssimo foi a quantidade e qualidade das refeições. O atual campeão mundial peso médio fazia apenas duas refeições ao dia. Era apenas almoço e jantar com uma fonte de carboidrato e uma de proteína. A quantidade da ingesta calórica era muito aquém da sua demanda energética, dificultando a sua recuperação. Logo na primeira semana, Tainan evoluiu muito e nós conseguimos aumentar a ingestão hídrica de 1.5L para 4L. Nós também incluímos repositor eletrolítico após os treinos de competição pela manhã. De duas refeições, passamos para cinco refeições, mesmo cortando peso. Isso contribuiu e muito na sua recuperação depois das sessões de treinamento. Ele melhorou a imunidade, passou a ter um sono reparador e minimizou as chances de lesão! Consequentemente, ele teve um ganho de performance! Simplesmente, aquele 1% que faltava para finalizar o ano no topo”, ressalta Nathalia.

Nutricionista certificada pela International Sports Sciences Association, nos Estados Unidos, Chantre também revela a estratégia que fez para Mayssa ter o melhor “corte de peso da carreira”. A campeã dos galos fez três lutas, todas terminaram com um estrangulamento pelas costas.

“Embora eu já esteja trabalhando com a Mayssa Bastos há quase dois anos, foi a primeira vez que fizemos o corte de peso para categoria galo na IBJJF. Como ela mesma falou, esse foi o melhor corte de peso que ela fez. Ficou, realmente, nítido no tatame que ela tava com muita energia na primeira luta após a pesagem até a final, no dia seguinte. O maior diferencial para esse corte foi o tempo de início da periodização nutricional, a dedicação da Mayssa em seguir 100% o que era proposto e entender que uma atleta não deve cortar carboidrato do seu plano alimentar. Ela utilizou alguns suplementos com efeito ergogênico como a cretina, por exemplo. Nós cuidamos muito da imunidade, que era uma queixa frequente da Mayssa, e tive uma atenção na fase pré-competitiva. É nessa fase que o atleta pode ter uma queda de performance por conta da intensidade de treinos. Quando Mayssa entrou nessa fase pré-competitiva ela já estava praticamente no peso, ou seja, não precisei diminuir o aporte calórico, o que não é comum quando atletas fazem por conta própria. Além disso, entrei com alimentos e suplementos que potencializam a recuperação como curcumina, suco de uva concentrado e tart cherry”, revela a nutricionista.

A imparável Mayssa com mais uma medalha de ouro.

Com Matheus Gabriel, atleta com quem Nathalia trabalha há dois anos, ela conta quais foram as principais estratégias e mudanças no plano alimentar do campeão.

“No Mundial Matheus estava muito bem no peso. Ele treinou com estoque alto de glicogênico muscular o que não só potencializou sua performance nos treinos, como também ajudou na sua recuperação. Um dos carboidratos que utilizamos nas refeições pré-treino era tapioca, que ele gosta muito, e frutas. Ele teve uma alimentação planejada para seu cronograma de treinos e também utilizamos repositor eletrolítico, após as sessões de treinos intensos, suplementos com efeito ergogênico como creatina e beta alanina, ambos melhoram a performance esportiva. Para ajudar o Matheus a ter um sono reparador, utilizamos alimentos ricos em triptofano no jantar, chá de camomila antes de dormir com gotas de própolis e também de CBD da marca ATH, que não tem THC e magnésio”, diz Nathalia.

Campeão em 2019, o amazonense Matheus Gabriel este ano fechou o peso leve com Renato Canuto. Foto: Arquivo Pessoal

To arrived in great shape at the IBJJF World Championships, which ended in the second week of December, Tainan Dalpra, Mayssa Bastos and Matheus Gabriel were even more professional during their preparations by hiring Nathalia Chantre, a specialist in sports nutrition for Jiu-Jitsu athletes.

Tainan won gold at middleweight in his first year as a black belt, after beating Isaque Bahiense. Mayssa, for example, was champion for the second time at rooster. Matheus, who had won the Worlds at featherweight, closed ranks with with a teammate at lightweight.

What made the difference in the performance of these three elite athletes of the new generation of the sport? Well, Nathalia will explain below.

“The biggest differentiator about Tainan that I see is the tireless search for improvement and professionalism. With this in mind, the only missing piece was precisely nutrition. The first simple and efficient adjustment we made was hydration. Tainan, for example, used to train practically every day dehydrated, since his water intake was approximately 1.5L. Another very important adjustment was the quantity and quality of meals. The current middleweight world champion ate just two meals a day. It was just lunch and dinner with a carbohydrate source and a protein source. The amount of caloric intake was far below his energy demands, making it difficult to recover. In the first week, Tainan evolved a lot and we managed to increase the water intake from 1.5L to 4L. We also included an electrolyte replenisher after morning competition drills. From two meals, we went to five meals, even when cutting weight. This contributed a lot to his recovery after the training sessions. He improved immunity, started getting truly restful sleep and minimized the chances of injury! Consequently, he had a performance boost! Simply, that 1% that was needed to finish the year at the top”, emphasizes Nathalia.

A certified nutritionist by the International Sports Sciences Association, in the United States, Chantre also reveals the strategy she concocted for Mayssa to have the best “career weight cut”. The rooster champion had three matches, all of which ended with a choke from behind.

“Although I’ve been working with Mayssa Bastos for almost two years now, this was the first time we did the weight cut for rooster in the IBJJF. As she said, this was the best weight cut she made for this event. It was really clear on the mat that she had a lot of energy in the first fight after weigh-in through the final, the next day. The biggest difference for this cut was the beginning time of nutritional periodization, Mayssa’s dedication to follow 100% of what was proposed and understand that an athlete should not cut carbohydrates from their diet! She used some supplements with an ergogenic effect such as creatine, for example. We took care of immunity, which was a frequent complaint from Mayssa, and I paid some attention in the pre-competition phase. It is at this stage that the athlete can have a drop in performance due to the intensity of training. When Mayssa entered this pre-competitive phase, she was practically at weight—that is, I didn’t need to reduce the caloric intake, which is not common when athletes do it on their own. In addition, I added foods and supplements that enhance recovery, such as curcumin, concentrated grape juice and tart cherry”, reveals the nutritionist.

With Matheus Gabriel, an athlete with whom Nathalia has worked for two years, she tells what were the main strategies and changes in the champion’s eating plan.

“At the Worlds Matheus was very good at his weight. He trained with high muscle glycogen stores, which not only boosted his training performance, but also helped his recovery. One of the carbs we used in pre-workout meals was tapioca, which he likes a lot, and fruit. He had a diet planned for his training schedule and we also used an electrolyte replenisher, after intense training sessions, supplements with ergogenic effect such as creatine and beta alanine, both of which improve sports performance. To help Matheus have restful sleep, we use foods rich in tryptophan for dinner, chamomile tea before bed with drops of propolis and also CBD of the ATH brand, which does not have THC and magnesium”, says Nathalia.

Matheus Gabriel with Nathalia Chantre.

Nathalia and Livio Ribeiro. Photo: Personal Archive

The type of work done by Nathalia Chantre, 31, is a key part of the process of professionalization of BJJ as a sport. Playing a fundamental role in the performance of a number of elite athletes, this nutritionist is responsible for building a nutrition plan and enabling fighters to go into their matches healthy, living up to their full potential.

If in previous eras of the sport, it was possible to see athletes cutting weight in wrong ways and consuming fatty foods and sodas, nowadays this sort of behavior has to be kept to a minimum. The professionalization of BJJ has arrived in all spheres, from prize money to the care athletes have for their performance.

A nutritionist certified by the International Sports Sciences Association, Nathalia has monitored more than 300 athletes across more than five years in the field. In her opinion, a high-performance athlete who takes meticulous care of the details of their nutrition tends to come out on top.

“A time comes when the athlete’s key has to turn, so to speak, and they understand that in order to stay at a high level these days, it’s necessary to have more than good training; they need to be more than just talented,” said Nathalia, who’s also a BJJ student, in a recent interview. “It’s important to surround yourself with a multidisciplinary team that’s going to put you at your 100% to perform with excellence.”

She added: “One of the great differentials of my work with athletes consists of investing time with each of them. I treat athletes individually to understand their goals in a thorough way, their training, possible flaws, difficulties, and to not spare any efforts to develop a nutrition plan. I want the athlete to have adherence, for the plan to be compatible with their reality, making it easier to conquer the desired goal. That’s why I say that I don’t do consultations; I do nutritional monitoring with athletes and practitioners of BJJ. Our contact is very close; I make adjustments daily, if necessary, in the pre-competition phase.”

At this year’s IBJJF Pan, one of the biggest events of the calendar, Nathalia had multiple of her athletes come out victorious, not the least of which was Lívio Ribeiro, the roosterweight champion. The nutritionist went into some detail on her work with him.

“Lívio speaks openly of the crazy stuff he used to do to hit the weight before he had nutritional monitoring,” she said. “He, for example, used to cut water in the week that precedes a fight. Additionally, he would cut foods rich in carbs and use laxative drugs. It’s unbelievable how someone can train and fight in those conditions, completely dehydrated and without glycogen reserves. Certainly, he would sleep poorly, and his immunity was extremely low. When I became aware of this situation in March, the first thing was to get the house in order and adjust the basic: improve intestinal health, increase water intake and improve sleep quality.”

“He understood that he’s not supposed to starve to hit the weight, he doesn’t need to dehydrate, and he has no reason to cut foods with sources of carbs,” Nathalia continued. “So I included in his diet: rice, cuscuz, pasta, potatoes, various fruits, oatmeal, tapioca, beans and many other foods rich in micro- and macronutrients. I also used some supplements such as: beta alanine, probiotic, vitamin D3, magnesium, omega 3 and creatine. By the way, creatine does no harm when it comes to cutting weight. Quite the opposite: it’s an extremely safe supplement; it improves tolerance to straining, muscle recovery, on top of improving adaptive response to the training.”

In previous tournaments, Lívio had chosen not to eat before the first round, because his main opponent was the scale. This time, in 2021, everything has changed, and Lívio had the best performance to date in his early days as a black-belt.

“I followed Lívio’s training up-close, and his evolution was visible — especially in the final stage of the training, close to the competition, where usually he already felt extremely saturated, stressed and fatigued,” said the nutritionist. “I was very excited to see him in the competitions. It was going to be the first time he would eat on fight day! I was sure his performance was going to be special, and it was! He knew he was able to be explosive from the start until the end of the match; he knew he had energy reserves and was well trained, because he had the physical preparation provided by Itallo Vilardo and the training at Ares academy in Modesto, led by Prof. Samir Chantre.” She subjoined: “Those who think nutritional monitoring makes no difference certainly have never had the opportunity to be followed by a good nutritionist.”

Nathalia is a Health Coach with Integrative Nutrition (IIN) and is currently getting a postgraduate degree in nutrition, metabolism and physiology in sports.

Nathalia Chantre. Clau Steinert

In order to have more expressive results and good performance in your Jiu-Jitsu training, it is essential to have a good diet. This is exactly what Nathiely de Jesus, the current absolute world champion of the IBJJF, has been doing for 3 years. The champion has had a change in eating habits since she began being monitored by Nathalia Chantre, a nutritionist certified by the International Sports Sciences Association who specializes in Jiu-Jitsu athletes.

Nathalia, also a Jiu-Jitsu practitioner, spoke of how nutrition can be an essential ally for the high-performance athlete.

“Some athletes have no idea what is behind nutrition,” she said. “They think that looking for a nutrition professional is related to weight loss or muscle mass gain, but it goes far beyond that. When an athlete has nutritional monitoring, in addition to improving eating habits, it also improves the functioning of the immune system, minimizes the risks of joint and muscle injuries, favors the adaptive response of training as well as the gain in sports performance. It also improves sleep and intestinal transit, improves muscle recovery between training sessions. All of these are factors that can take the athlete to the top of the podium or bring them the much desired victory.”

Nathiely, on February 26, 2021, made history by being the first woman to beat Gabi Garcia with and without the gi, a fact that seemed impossible for years. Nathiely’s victory began before she entered the arena at the Who’s Number One event in Austin, Texas, as Nathalia revealed.

“We knew that the F2W fight, for the title match against Gabi Garcia, was going to happen. And even before the contract was finalized, we started to improve body composition with nutritional adjustments. When the fight was scheduled for February 26, her body composition was already much better, which directly impacts the athlete’s performance. I always follow the training periodization, of both Jiu-Jitsu and physical training. In the second fight against Gabi, already in WNO, I counted on the help of the physical trainer Itallo Vilardo during Nathiely’s preparation.”

Nathalia added: “I knew that she would have volume and load of intense training, especially at the beginning of the training periodization. In the nutritional periodization, I prioritized foods that would help in the adaptive response of the training, as well as in the recovery between training sessions. Nathiely consumed a lot of cherry tart juice, grape juice, watermelon, green tea and berries. Creatine supplementation was also super important throughout training, as it improves exercise tolerance, muscle recovery and adaptive training response.”

Nathalia’s method includes making dietary plans in accordance with each athlete’s preferences. “A curious fact is that Nathi prefers to train fasting; she only consumes coffee,” said the doctor. “Thus the attention to the 24 hours before the morning training session doubles, because she needs to have energetic substrates to perform with excellence during the training. Therefore, the morning pre-workout meal will actually be her dinner from the night before, which will always be accompanied by good sources of carbohydrates. For Nathi’s dinner, I opted for rice, beans, potatoes and cassava, as they are foods with good carbohydrate sources. She also enjoys eating vegetables, feels very good eating these foods. She made a change in her eating habits. Before, for example, the champion was accustomed to consuming only foods rich in carbohydrate and protein in her main meals. This is a mistake made by many athletes. It was all possible because of her discipline, which made my job easier.”

The nutritionist went on to talk about the things to which she pays the most attention in the final stretch of the preparation of a BJJ athlete:

“I always keep an eye on hydration, which is one of the points that can compromise the athlete’s performance. So I always remind them that the minimum you should consume is: your weight x 35ml. We have to add all the water that was lost in the training, in addition to the mineral salts, and the isotonics come in post-workout as well. As my contact with the athlete is very close — we speak daily — the margin of error is almost nil. I’m always looking at the details and adjusting according to the athlete’s needs. I always say that supplementation is the icing on the cake; the basis has to be a well-structured eating plan. However, we are talking about a high-performance athlete, and sometimes supplementation is necessary. In the case of Nathiely, for the last fight, in addition to creatine and caffeine, we used beta alanine, krill oil, vitamin D3, COq10 and magnesium. She arrived in the pre-competitive phase without injuries, feeling strong and ready for the match. Everything went well, and the result you already know: a fight of the highest level, performing with excellence, and not only did she win the fight, but became the first athlete to beat Gabi Garcia with and without the gi.”

Nathalia, who has a postgraduate degree in nutrition, metabolism and physiology in sports, monitors renowned athletes such as Manuel Ribamar, Matheus Gabriel, Gabriel Sousa, Diego Ramalho, Thalison Soares, Paulo Miyao and João Miyao.