Simple Nutritional Strategies for Better Athletic Performance

Student-athletes endure various challenges and responsibilities that the average student does not. They need to make time to complete homework assignments and study to earn good grades to stay eligible for competition, attend practices as many as 5-6 days a week, and still get a good night's sleep. On top of those basic responsibilities, many work a part time job and want to spend time socializing with family and friends. With all these things necessary to be done in a 24-hour day, it's no wonder good nutrition and dietary habits are an afterthought. For athletes that want to succeed both in the classroom and on the court or field, diet plays a big role. Good nutritional habits can help you to improve your athletic performance, strengthen your immune system, help to prevent or recover from injuries, and improve your focus in school. Below are some strategies to consider as a basic starting point towards better nutrition for a student-athlete.

The specific calorie requirements for athletes vary considerably based on factors which include age, gender, size, and activity level. In general, the average female athlete will need 2,000-2,200 calories per day, and the average male athlete will need 3,400-4,000 calories per day.

Have you ever heard the phrase, "eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper?" It implies that breakfast should be the biggest meal of the day, lunch should be a little smaller, and dinner should be the smallest. While you don't need to follow this suggestion exactly, it does emphasize the importance of breakfast. Many student-athletes tend to skip breakfast, eat lunch around noon, play in a game at 7 p.m., and have the majority of their calories after the game. By the same token, an athlete with an early morning competition may skip breakfast and compete without having anything to eat beforehand. Ideally, athletes should be eating several small meals throughout the day. Skipping breakfast has a direct and negative impact on athletic performance both in the morning and later in the day. Going seven hours from lunchtime to game time without food will also have you running out of energy mid-game.

The two most common reasons I hear from athletes about why they skip breakfast are lack of hunger and lack of time. There are a couple of strategies to start including a healthy breakfast every morning. First, if you simply aren't hungry in the morning, do you think you could drink instead of eating? Smoothies are a fantastic way to get the morning nutrition in without feeling like you're eating first thing in the morning. Is the reason for skipping breakfast because you rush to get ready and don't have time to make breakfast or sit down and eat it? Before you go to bed, pack a breakfast bar and a bottle of water in your bag, so you can have breakfast on your way to school.

As for what to eat in between lunch and evening sports, pack yourself a few snacks and eat something within 2-3 hours of practice or games. Ideally this snack will be high in carbohydrates. A good example could include a bagel with jelly, or if practice starts within an hour, than a piece of fruit like a banana. What you eat specifically and how close to physical activity will depend on your personal preference. Eating carbohydrates before physical activity will increase your glycogen stores, which means you have energy stashed away and ready to use during your workout.

After physical activity, post-workout nutrition is also important to replenish your glycogen stores. To do this, eat a meal with a 4:1 carbohydrate:protein ratio. This meal is even more important right after a workout if you have multiple practices or competitions in a day. Refer to our Post-workout Nutrition blog for more information and examples.

One other factor to take into consideration is medications. There are some medications such as Ritalin and Adderall affect your hunger level. If you are on these or other medications that suppress your hunger, you will have to consciously think about and plan out your meals and snacks the day to make sure you're eating regularly.

Don't expect to be able to change your entire diet overnight. Yes, the goal is better overall nutrition, but it's more realistic to make changes a little at a time; doing this will make it easier to stick to these changes in the long term. Try setting one small goal at a time.

If you're not sure how well you're doing with your current nutrition habits, consider using an app to track your food intake during the day. Your athletic trainer or a sport nutritionist can use this data to help you to analyze your diet to identify areas of improvement to optimize your athletic performance in a way that is individualized.