sports and exercise | Living Well in the Panhandle

Youth Athletes – Fueling Your Superstar

by Amy Mullins | Aug 27, 2021

Healthy snacks fuel the athlete! Photo credit: Amy Mullins

When it comes to your kids, you’d do anything to help them succeed… in the classroom, in their relationships, in life. So, why not on the basketball court, soccer field, swimming pool, or whichever sport they’ve fallen in love with? They may have the best equipment, participate in extra training lessons, and put in 110% during every practice and event. But, is this enough? Is there something missing?

It’s no secret that your child is growing. In order to function in their sport, improve performance, and promote recovery, kids need food to help support the increased energy requirements. This ultimately means more planning and more groceries!

Follow these guidelines to fuel your superstar during the week, before the game/event, and after the game/event.

Pre-Game Meal/Snack

Eat a good-sized meal at least three hours before the event. This gives the tummy time to process all the food to prepare it as fuel. Have a light balanced meal with some carbs and fats. These will sustain you throughout your exercise! Carbs and fats are both great fuel sources, and the fats digest slower to help keep you feeling full. Pick foods that digest well to avoid any nausea or upset stomach. Don’t forget to drink some water to start off hydrated!

Breakfast Ideas: fruit, lightly sautéed potatoes, scrambled eggs, or toast with nut butter or smashed avocado
Lunch Ideas: turkey or ham sandwich (avoid fatty cheeses and condiments), peanut butter and jelly, fruit, pretzels, or cereal
Snack 30 minutes before the event: peanut butter crackers, granola bars, fruit snacks, or goldfish crackers

During Practice and Games

For exercise lasting less than an hour, sip on some water to stay hydrated. For exercise lasting longer than an hour, a sports drink like Gatorade or Powerade will help replenish lost carbohydrates and electrolytes. For longer lasting activities or day trips, bring along some easy to eat snacks with lots of carbs, and some fats and proteins. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and granola bars are great options!

Post-Game Snack

After exercise, it’s important to recover, refuel, and re-hydrate. Protein will help our muscles recover while carbohydrates will help refuel for the next activity. Drink plenty of fluids to rehydrate! Good choices for quick, easy snacks include chocolate milk, peanut butter crackers, cheese sticks, bananas, apple slices with peanut butter, or smoothies with or without protein.

Dinner Plate After Practice and Games

Grains/Carbs: Should take up roughly 35% of the plate
Lean Protein: Should take up roughly 25% of the plate
Fruits and Veggies: Should take up roughly 40% of the plate
Hydration: Focus on replenishing lost electrolytes and fluid loss

Components of a well-balanced meal include:

Meat & poultry – great protein sources for recovery. Pair it with a carb!
Whole grains, fruit, pasta, rice, potatoes – great carb sources to complement your protein. These will help replace the energy you burned during exercise.
Water, milk, and fruits will help replenish fluids lost during exercise.

Eating right not only on game day but throughout the week will do wonders for your child’s athletic performance. Not only that, it will set them up to be successful and healthy adults in the future!

Guest contributors: Patrick Burns and E. Jane Watts, Dietetic Interns from Florida State University’s Department of Food, Nutrition, and Exercise Sciences

The use of trade names in this post is solely for the purpose of providing specific information. It is not a guarantee, warranty, or endorsement of the product.

References:

Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics. Ellis, E. (2020). Hydrate Right. https://www.eatright.org/fitness/sports-and-performance/hydrate-right/hydrate-right

American Dietetic Association, Dietitians of Canada, American College of Sports Medicine,

Rodriguez, N. R., Di Marco, N. M., & Langley, S. (2009). American College of Sports Medicine position stand. Nutrition and athletic performance. Medicine and science in sports and exercise, 41(3), 709–731.

https://performancepartner.gatorade.com

https://www.eatright.org/fitness/sports-and-performance/tips-for-athletes/gameday-nutrition-tips-for-young-athletes

Families Should Play Together for Exercise

by Shelley Swenson | May 19, 2016

You may not need coats and your yard may not have these leaves but finding fun and creative ways to engage children in exercise is important. You can consider yourself successful if they have fun doing so without knowing they are meeting physical activity recommendations by participating in at least 60 minutes of moderate or vigorous physical activity on all or most days of the week.

This is the time to start planning for your children’s summer while they enjoy time at home or at alternative settings from school. Insure they are active to optimize their health.

Being physically active has both mental and physical health benefits. The majority of the benefits becomes apparent in adults because this is the time in which health problems surface. However, risk factors and symptoms for chronic disease may begin as early as childhood, especially in obese children. In addition, physical activity can reduce stress, anxiety, and feelings of depression. Being active improves self-esteem, self-efficacy, and mood and promotes the feeling of overall wellness.

Everybody is short on time, even in the summer. Many people don’t believe they can meet the recommendations for physical activity every day. The good news is that it doesn’t all have to be done at once. Physical activity can be accumulated throughout the day for the same health benefits.

Inactive children are much more likely to be inactive adults. Children who have active family members and who regularly do activities with them are more likely to be active compared to children who do not come from active families.

As you plan your summer, consider how many of these physical activities could become family activities: walking briskly, biking, weight training, yard work, gardening, dancing, golfing, or playing hop-scotch, four square, or active games with running and chasing.

Making physical activity fun with the family can make the time pass by quickly. Finding time to be active together is important for families who want to live a healthy lifestyle.

For more ideas for staying active as a family, check out Raising Healthy Children: Family Fitness and Raising Healthy Children: Active Families.