It’s no secret that athletes work hard for their goals: did you know that fueling your body well can make a huge difference in your athletic performance? Considering food as fuel is a great strategy because it can help you integrate nutrition into your fitness goals overall.
How Should Athletes Eat?
Some athletes think of “nutrition” pretty restrictively. Sometimes, they will understand “nutrition” in the same way that some people understand “dieting”—lots of rules about “good” foods and “bad” foods without much flexibility. Great nutrition for athletes doesn’t have to be restrictive like that at all—great nutrition can be a lot of fun!
All food is made of three key building blocks: carbohydrates, protein, and fat. These building blocks are called macronutrients, and the CDC explains that these are the primary sources of energy in food. Rather than breaking food into good foods and bad foods, therefore, athletes should chat with their parents, coaches and mentors to decide on a balance of macronutrients that’s right for them.
Macronutrients: Carbohydrates, Protein, and Fat
Your body breaks down carbohydrates to use as its main source of fuel. Mayo Clinic says that carbohydrates fuel every single one of your cells. During digestion, carbohydrates are broken down into glucose, which is the main power source for everything from breathing to sprinting. Your body stores extra glucose—what it doesn’t burn during your body’s activity—in the liver and muscles; some extra glucose is also turned into fat.
While carbohydrates fuel your cells, protein is responsible for cell structure and function, according to Mayo Clinic. In other words, protein is a raw material for your body to use to build new things! One well-known example of protein as a raw material is how muscles are built: building more muscle means (in part) consuming more protein, since muscles are built of proteins. Another thing protein does is to work as a kind of messenger: not only are protein molecules building things, in other words, but they’re also helping to carry information (in forms including enzymes and hormones) around the body.
Fat is a key part of any healthy diet. The American Heart Association says that your body can burn fat as a form of energy for its cells—we noticed this happening with carbohydrates, too! Some vitamins are only absorbed with fat, and fat in your body helps produce key hormones. Fat also plays a key role in satiety, which is a fancy way of saying that fats help you feel full and satisfied after you eat.
Nutrition labels are a great way to see what macronutrients are in food! Another great strategy for understanding what’s in homemade food is to look online or to research the nutrients in the ingredients of a recipe.
Ok, so how should I eat?
There’s no one perfect way to eat! Some people feel better eating a bit more fat, while others maximize protein. The one thing to keep in mind, as we talked about earlier, is balance. Sometimes, athletes won’t feel good eating just spaghetti noodles, for example, since spaghetti noodles are mostly carbohydrates: they might feel fuller for longer by adding some ground beef (protein!) and grated cheese and olive oil (fats!) to their plate of pasta. Our first tip, then, is to pay attention to the kinds of foods that make you feel good.
Another tip is to pay attention to your goals. If you want to build more muscle, for example, adding more protein (which is muscle’s building block) helps you work toward that goal. If you have a long tournament ahead of you, opt for carbohydrates and fat: your body will thank you for the boost of fuel!
Here’s the best news: no food is off the table! Treats, which tend to be higher in carbohydrates and fats, can be a great way to celebrate with friends and family. You might consider pairing a delicious slice of cake with a scoop of peanut butter to create the balance we were talking about above—or you might just enjoy the cake! Just as nutrition is part of a larger athletics picture, so too is nutrition part of the larger story of your life and your community, and it’s important to honor the connections people make over great food. Work with parents, coaches, teachers, and mentors to put together a nutrition roadmap that’s right for you.
Do you think your family might benefit from extra nutritional support? The Giving Dogs is committed to well-rounded, healthy athletes, and we’re here to help! We’d love to hear from you.