Can you believe we have arrived at Tip #10??

I hope these tips have motivated you, educated you and inspired you to make some changes as an athlete. My hope is to give you specific action steps to boost your performance and up your game! 

If you missed any of the "TOP TEN SPORTS NUTRITION TIPS TO LEVEL UP YOUR GAME"  Series....Don't worry! They are all permanently a part of this BLOG. So scroll back and catch up on all of them!  

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Without Further Ado…. Here is Tip #10

 

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 HYDRATE SOME MORE!

 

It's true - HYDRATION gets TWO spots on the Eat4Sport Top Ten List ...because it's THAT important! 

 

I want you to think of hydration as THE most important aspect of training. A few important tips to know:

 

You need to find a way to hydrate well each and every day. Don't just hydrate on long training days or super hot and humid days. Your body functions best when it’s consistently in a hydrated state.

Learn how to...

RESPECT RECOVERY!

You work so hard day in and day out to hone your skills, improve your fitness and build strength, power and endurance. IN order for your body to handle all of that training load you need to allow ample time to recover. Recovery consists of re-hydrating, re-fueling, resting, massage, stretching, and can also include mental tactics such as medication and journaling.

How you feel each day is dependent on how well you recovered the day before. As an athlete you are always either preparing for a training session or recovering for one. So consistency is the key here.

What does it look like to  recover well? Here is a breakdown:

• Within 15-30 minutes after training is complete it is best  to consume a nutrient rich, high protein and high carbohydrate snack. Some recovery snack ideas are:
  
  • Low fat chocolate milk
  • Trail mix
  • Banana and peanut butter
  • Apple and almonds
  • Protein bar
  • Fruit smoothie
  ...

Fiber is literally your BFF as and athlete. ‍

This is one of the most important tips I can give you: **include a high fiber food at each meal and snack.

High fiber foods include:

ALL FRUITS AND ALL VEGGIES! Fruits and veggies contain a combination of solute and insoluble fiber. Both have substantial health benefits when it comes to overall health and sports performance.

ALL GRAIN. Every grain you can think of has fiber. Most have a combination of soluble and insoluble fiber such as oats, brown rice, wild rice, farro, barley, quinoa, buckwheat, whole wheat pasta, chick pea pasts, popcorn, bulgar, millet, rye, corn, wheat and many more...

NUTS and SEEDS such as sesame seeds, flax seeds, chia seeds, peanuts, cashews, pistachios, walnuts, pumpkin seeds and many more...

BEANS and LENTILS including black beans, pinto beans, green lentils, white lentils, split peas, chick peas, lima beans and many more...

‍Fiber is crucial in order to...

EAT FAT!!! 

Fat is an essential component of an athlete's diet. Consuming the right kind of fat,  in the right quantities, at the right times, is crucial for optimal health and success as an athlete. Healthy fats that support athlete's training include avocados, fatty fish (such as salmon), fish oil supplements, olive oil, avocado oil, macadamia nut oil and other monounsaturated oils, nuts and nut butters, flax seeds, chia seeds and other seeds.

The fear around fat is unsubstantiated. Good fat is GOOD! There are some sources of fat that cause inflammation and are not positive to performance gains. The focus is always on unsaturated sources of fat (primarily monounsaturated fast). Here are some ways to incorporate these foods in your diet as an athlete:

Whole grain bagel with smoked salmon

Berry Smoothie with flax and hemp seed mixture

Almond Butter and honey Sandwich 

Spring greens salad with olive oil based dressing 

Yogurt parfait with fruit and...

 EAT BREAKFAST!!

Is breakfast the most important meal fo the day?

No.

All meals all equally important. BUT...breakfast is the one meal that sets us up for success throughout the day by fueling our bodies and regulating our blood sugar. If you have practice in the afternoon or evening  it's crucial to begin the fueling process right away. If you have practice in the morning it's also crucial to fuel for that practice. Fueling for a morning practice, however, may look a little different in terms of how much you can eat or the types of foods you can eat.  

Don't like eating in the morning? It's likely that is due to the fact that you trained your body not to like it. Guess what? You can train it back! Start with something small or even just a few bites and start the process of training your GI system to take in food. Doing this will re-set your hunger cues!

Below are some examples of healthy balanced fueling breakfasts for athletes! Try the ones that sound good to...

Did you  know that as soon as your body is slightly dehydrated overall pace and endurance are drastically diminished. As an athlete I'm sure you bring a water bottle to practice and to a game... but do you stay hydrated throughout the day? Do you think about your hydration? Do yo think of it everyday?  Even on non-training days?

Staying hydrated on a daily basis (not just during training sessions, workouts and competitions) is crucial to your success as an athlete. Doing so will ensure that you have a strong practice, have ample energy during competitions and will increase your energy throughout the day-no matter what you are doing. Hydration is also paramount to optimal recovery. Your body needs adequate fluid to perform AND recover! This will ensure that you can hit each session just as hard day after day after day. 

How do you monitor and measure hydration? There are a few ways to do this:

1- Ask yourself if you're thirsty. This is a method used by many, although...

Power Up With Protein

The research is strong. Athletes need protein. In fact we need more protein than non-athletes. The consistent impact and oxygen consumption that occurs because of daily training creates damage. Protein is responsible for much of the prevention of and recovery from that damage. It can be difficult to consume ample protein based on our busy schedules so below you will find some simple tips to help you figure out the best ways to increase your protein consumption.   

Aside from the obvious protein sources like meat, chicken, Turkey and fish...try these simple ways to increase your protein intake every day!

Start your day with protein. Getting it in early will give you a head start on meeting your protein requirement! Good examples of simple protein sources for breakfast are eggs, milk, chia seeds, flax milk, soy milk, greek yogurt and oatmeal.

Try snacking on jerky! Beef jerky, turkey jerky, and salmon jerky are convenient snacks to...

Tip#3

Nutrient-Rich Eating 

Eating a nutrient rich diet is all about optimizing the quality of the foods you eat. You can make a choice between eating a meal packed with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, anti-inflammatory properties, fiber, water, protein, fats and carbohydrates....or a food with very little of any of those. Athletes who choose to eat a diet filled with powerful and health enhancing nutrients will have the energy available to them to perform at their best.  

Making  the most of the foods you choose to eat will ensure that you will perform at your best and recover the most efficiently!  Whenever possible, choose foods, combinations of foods and meals that contain nutrients that will help fuel your body and/or help you recover from the high level of training that you are doing on a day to day basis.

For example, instead of grabbing a rice cake in the morning for breakfast, choose whole grain toast with avocado, arugula and flax seeds....

Tip#2 (of 10...)

Boost your training with Antioxidants! Every time you head to practice, to the gym to lift or compete in a game or meet...you consume A LOT of oxygen! That oxygen that you consume during these activities destroys cells. Crazy right? This is called oxidative damage. Thankfully you can combat this damage by  consuming foods that are rich in antioxidants. This literally means that there are components in foods that will "undo" the damage thats done by oxygen.  These components protect your cells from further destruction and help to rebuild and strengthen them.

Foods that are high in antioxidants include strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, spinach, kale, collards, apples, oranges, broccoli, kale, beans, potatoes, pecans, artichokes and plums ...to name a few. To be honest, most of your fruits and vegetables will contain anti-inflammatory properties. There are many grains (oatmeal, brown rice, quinoa), nuts (almonds, cashews) and fish (salmon) that also...

TIP#1

Food is Energy! 

As an athlete, you are asking a lot of your body. You ask it to produce a lot of energy every single day!

Food is literally converted into energy when we eat it through digestion and absorption. In fact food is measured in calories....which is a measurement of energy.

Eating food provides your body with energy to use. Eating a varied and balanced diet of food at regular intervals throughout each day ensures you have ample energy for your sport!  If you limit or restrict food, you are limiting the amount of energy that is produced and you simply will not be able to perform to your full potential. You may not be able to perform well at all.

Thinking of food as fuel is a mindset shift that will amplify your sports performance goals. Choosing food wisely will ensure that your body gets what it needs and therefore can perform exactly how you want it to! Setting your mindset straight when it comes to the first sports nutrition tip will change...