Young Athlete…Better Nutrition…Yes, It’s Possible!
We are constantly trying to get our athletes to better fuel their bodies, not only for the demands of their sport, but also for good health.
This can be an uphill battle for multiple reasons:
1) They don’t do the grocery shopping.
2) They don’t really know how to cook.
3) Nutrition is the last thing on their minds!
Today we have 2 tips each for parents and athletes to help gain an edge.
For Parents:
Tip 1# Give your athlete an option.
The hardest habit for compliance is getting athletes to eat 5-6 servings of veggies/fruits. Here’s the thing. If I tell an athlete to eat broccoli, the chances are close to 0% that they will do so. Although, we do have one athlete who loves it, so you might get lucky. So instead I ask, “What’s in your house right now that you could have?” They respond with some food choices. “Ok, pick 2 options and try to add one to your lunch tomorrow”. What happens? We usually get a higher compliance rate. Why? Simply because they get to choose and have some autonomy.
Tip 2# Shape the environment.
This is one of the best takeaways from the book Switch. If you only have fruits and veggies in the house, then the likelihood that your athlete will eat them is really high. They don’t have a car. They don’t have their own income and they don’t really know how to cook. Make it so when they are hungry, fruits and veggies are the options. If you keep fruit around, but also chips, cookies, ice cream and pop tarts, it’s going to be too hard to make the choice every time to go with the better option. Whether it is the parent, the athlete or both who are working towards better nutrition habits, we have seen great success when everyone is on the same page. Kids who eat junk food make it hard for parents to stick to their nutrition goals, just as parents who constantly provide fast food to their athletes hinder their ability to reach higher levels of performance.
For Athletes
Tip 3# Don’t worry about being perfect.
Stick to just making sure you land the big rocks. Is there some type of lean protein in my meal? Do I have a fruit or veggie with it? Am I eating at pretty consistent times of day? You nail that and most other things will fall into place. Then it won’t matter if you want to have a snack at night that might not be completely in line with your goals.
Tip 4# Take ownership of your nutrition habits.
Ask for what you want. Take part in meal prep. Help clean up. I can’t tell you how many athletes we have that have no idea how to even cook eggs! You don’t have to become a gourmet chef. But maybe spend some time in the kitchen and see what goes into making a meal. If every meal you have only requires you to open a box and add milk, the likelihood of you reaching your goals will drop significantly over time.
If you want to see our nutrition packet that we use with our athletes, email me and I can send it over. We use 6 habits to build a solid platform that will shape eating habits for the rest of your life.
Nutrition doesn’t have to be complicated.
With everyone on your team working towards the same goal, it can really add the advantage to your performance and life.
TS Training Systems 