PERHAPS a breather for Hidilyn Diaz-Naranjo now that she’s competing at 59 kgs is that she could eat more than when she was at 55 kgs—the weight class where she won Olympic and world championships gold medals.
“Yes, absolutely there are adjustment in her diet,” said Diaz-Naranjo’s long-time and tried and tested nutritionist Jeaneth Aro Friday. “Definitely there’s a difference compared to when she was still at 55 kgs.”
“At 59 kgs, her servings now are more generous because she has to gain weight,” Aro added.
Diaz-Naranjo is competing in the Asian Weightlifting Championships set May 3 to 13 in Jinju, South Korea. She’s in training camp in Tokyo with husband and coach-trainer Julius Naranjo and they will fly to Korea on Tuesday.
The Jinju world championships are the second of four or five Olympic qualifying tournaments that Diaz-Naranjo needs to complete to earn a fifth consecutive trip to the Olympics in Paris next year.
Her first was in Bogota where she won her first world championships gold medals last December.
The 55 kgs class in women’s weightlifting was scrapped from the Paris program.
Aro said that more servings don’t mean she could ingest almost anything.
“Every meal should remain to be nutritious to give her sufficient energy for training and maximize muscle gain with minimal body fat gain,” she said.
“This is a new endeavor not only for HD but also for the whole team,” Aro said. “We’re making adjustments on how we have to approach preparations. We cannot perfect the system because we’re new with this.”
Aro added: “But I’ve always believed in her ability as an athlete. I know she can do it as long as she wants it.”
Diaz-Naranjo’s food intake, Aro said, compliment the training regimen designed by Julius Naranjo.
“Gaining weight is easy but to optimize the body’s composition is a different story,” she said. “Just like in other aspects of training, nutrition always contributes to her preparation and composition.”
Diaz-Naranjo said it’s not easy transitioning from 55 to 59 kgs.
“As of now, I’m recovering. It’s very difficult when you are the queen at 55 kgs, according to my sports psychologist,” she said. “It really takes a lot of preparation, a lot of sacrifices, a lot of pain and challenges.”
“But now, I’m already in the [middle],” Diaz-Naranjo said. “It’s one step at a time.”
Aro flies to Tokyo on Saturday to join Team HD also composed of assistant trainer Rowell Garcia and weightlifter Rosegie Ramos.