What Should Your Athletes Be Eating?

The amount of calories an athlete needs to be able to sustain high energy levels during practice and competition is much higher than their inactive counterparts. Here are a few basic guidelines to follow to help you and your athletes this upcoming school year:

NEVER skip breakfast.

For breakfast, ditch the processed pastries, sugar filled cereals, or even worse not having anything at all. Good options include:

• Fresh fruit

• Greek yogurt

• Quality eggs and meats

• Natural peanut or nut butters

• Natural/organic granola or oats (even better with added fruits or nuts!)

Keeping the fridge and pantry stocked with healthy foods can help your athlete make better decisions if they are in the kitchen without you. If your athlete has a practice before school in sports such as swimming or hockey, it is that much more important to eat in order to help prevent fatigue and fuel their muscles for a tough workout.

School Lunches:

The hardest one to control. Although you may pack a lunch, your child may easily toss it and pay for the greasy school lunches. Don’t pack a lunch full of nutritious food your kid doesn’t like, so find what they do and start small with the changes. Skip the sugary sports drinks and pop, water is the most important fluid to replenish and fuel the body for practice!

A good school lunch can include:

• Fresh fruit and vegetables—pack the ones they like! Or turn it into a energy packed smoothie.

• Quality lean lunch meats and cheeses

• Whole grain breads

• Nuts/seeds (almonds, peanuts, walnuts), granola

Home for dinner:

Again, an easier meal to control what is being served. Not all of us can consume the amount of calories your athlete needs to maintain their performance in sport so be sure to have enough food of the good stuff, so they don’t go running to the pantry to potato chips or candy bars after dinner and practice. Here are some good options of meals for your athletes:

• Potatoes, fruits, vegetables

• Lean red meat (choose the meat with a lower percentage of fat)

• Whole grain pastas, rice, and quinoa

• Less fast food, while it is convenient for time, try some crock pot dinners so it is ready when you get home from work!

• Eat until satisfied, not overstuffed. It is easy to get carried away eating after a long practice.

The most important thing at the end of the day: SLEEP. In order to repair the muscles and reenergize your athlete for the next long day of practice and school, make sure they get to bed at a reasonable time. Anything less than 8 hours can start to affect sport performance as well as performance in the classroom.

By Ashley Gordon

#breakfast #barbell #conditioning #diet #ashleygordon #exercise #healthy #onthego #obesity #weightloss #muscle