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Superior athletic ability comes from genetics and training. However, without good food choices and the correct timing of meals, your training and performance will suffer. You need a fueling plan that includes the right balance of carbohydrates, protein, and fat, enough vitamins and minerals, and the correct amount of fluids.
- Carbohydrates are the best fuel for working muscles.
- Plan to include carbohydrates in all your meals and snacks.
- You need protein for muscle growth and to repair muscle damage after exercise.
- You also need protein to make red blood cells, which move oxygen to muscles, and white blood cells, which help fight infection.
- Your body uses protein to make hormones and enzymes, which help regulate metabolism.
- You need fat for energy.
- Fat also helps your body to use some vitamins as well as plant chemicals known as “phytochemicals.”
- Fat helps move substances in and out of cells, and it helps keep your brain and nervous system healthy.
- Vitamins and minerals do not give you more energy, but they help to unlock the energy stored in food so your body can use it as fuel.
- Your body needs calcium, magnesium, fluoride, and vitamin D to keep bones strong.
- Water is the most important nutrient. If your body weight drops just 1% from losing fluids, your performance will suffer.
- Be sure to replace the fluids you lose through sweat when you are active.
Here are some food and fluid strategies to help you put a fueling plan together.
- Eat breakfast every morning. The level of glycogen in your liver can be substantially lower in the morning, so you need to refuel your body to replace the energy it used while you slept.
- Eating breakfast will also help you to think. Student athletes who eat breakfast perform better in the classroom than those who skip breakfast.
- It’s okay to choose non-breakfast foods, like last night’s pizza, leftover Chinese food with rice, or cheese and crackers.
- Here are some other, more traditional choices you can enjoy:
- Fruit or yogurt smoothie
- Breakfast sandwich with egg and cheese
- Frozen waffles with fruit
- Banana dipped in peanut butter
- Hard-boiled eggs
- Instant grits or a cereal bowl
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