Healthy Eating Tips for Athletes

Below are the basic principles of nutrition we teach our kids in Westminster Christian Academy's Strength & Conditioning program. This information came directly from a handout we give our student athletes.

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Healthy Eating Tips for Athletes

 What

Drink 80 oz of water every day

 Why

Helps regulate digestion and metabolism, removes toxins from the body, provides full feeling to help prevent overeating, helps sustain energy levels, prevents dehydration that can lead to decreased performance

 How 

 Drink at refrigerator temperature, keep a 20 oz bottle in your car or locker, have it with meals, increase your intake the more you sweat

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 What

Eat breakfast everyday

 Why

Provides energy to perform daily tasks including studying, exercise, and sport, jumpstarts metabolism so you can burn more calories throughout the day, prevents the desire to overeat later in the day.

 How

Fruits, whole grains, breads, muffins, and bagels, yogurt, turkey sausage/bacon, oatmeal, eggs are great choices

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 What

Eat 6 meals everyday (This includes the traditional breakfast, lunch, dinner)

 Why

Keeps a constant flow calories, vitamins, and minerals the body needs to excel during training and competition, helps burn more fat, prevents feeling “run down”, helps sustain muscle development

 How

Eat every 3-4 hours, grab a handful of “trail mix” at your locker for a snack (it’s gone by the time you get to class), include carbs, protein, and moderate levels of fat with every meal, snacks count as a meal

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What

Eat 6 servings of fruits and veggies everyday

 Why

Provides the necessary vitamins and minerals for healthy organs, skin, hair, and eyes.

 How

Make a smoothie for breakfast, snack on baby carrots or celery with a little ranch dressing, dip an apple slice into a little caramel, try to eat the colors of the rainbow everyday

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 What

Consume 4 servings of dairy everyday

 Why

Helps build strong bones and teeth, replenishes electrolytes lost in sweat, provides protein for muscle building. Chocolate milk provides the carbs, fat, and protein needed to replenish those used stores after a workout.

 How

Have 1% or 2% milk with cereal in the morning, yogurt with lunch, or 1 scoop of low fat ice cream as a nighttime snack

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 What

Get at least 8 hours of sleep every night. (While this isn’t food, its benefits are closely tied to the big picture)

 Why

Helps a growing teenage body rest and repair for the next days’ activities, allows muscles to grow stronger, helps brain function for the next day, decreases chances of certain diseases later in life

 How

Go to sleep at the same time each night in a dark relaxing room, avoid exercise and large meals a few hours before bedtime, avoid working on the computer right before bedtime, establish a bedtime routine

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 Think of your body as a car: without good gas and proper maintenance, it won’t run well; without any gas or maintenance, it won’t run at all; without oil, the engine will burn up……..food is to your body as gas is to the car and oil is to the engine as water is to your body.  It doesn’t matter how good you COULD be, without the proper fuel and upkeep, you’ll just sit in the garage and collect dust.