from Athletic Foodie
Fall is such an amazing time of the year, with cooler weather, school starting, sports kicking off, and lots of foods with pumpkin in them being offered everywhere you turn! However, for many athletes that I work with, Fall presents many challenges that can affect their overall health as winter rolls around. Since the Fall season is typically when schedules (school and workout/game) really ramp up, it’s easy for athletes to get behind with their nutrition. This puts their immune systems at risk, and makes them more prone to getting ill in the winter months. The main culprits that cause issues for overall health and immunity for athletes is under fueling (not eating enough at the right times), and a lack of foods with high nutrient density to protect the immune system.
The good news: if you’re an athlete, it’s not hard to stay ahead of the game with your nutrition so you can stay healthy and strong all year.
Athletes: fall into these 3 easy steps for protecting your health:
1) Recover Well
After a hard workout, your muscles are primed and ready to take back in the fuel you just burned. If you wait too long (more than 30 minutes), you miss the “window of opportunity” for refueling the muscle and protecting your immune system.
Pack a recovery snack to eat (or drink) right after your workout (even if you are not feeling hungry). Make sure you have carbohydrate, protein, and fluids – and you get bonus points if you get some color in. Check out this video for more tips on recovery nutrition: http://www.texassports.com/allaccess/?media=335865
Or check out this video Garrett made about fueling after workout!
2) Eat Often
Start your day off with a healthy breakfast, and then aim to eat at least every 3-4 hours throughout the day. If you start your day off by skipping the most important meal, you’re already behind the fueling curve, and set yourself up to overeat later. Breakfast can be as easy as a yogurt, a bagel with peanut butter, and a banana as you are heading out the door. For quick/healthy snacks, keep a small container or baggie of trail mix in your backpack or purse to munch on, or pack ½ nut butter sandwich and a piece of fruit. The key is to eat whole foods often, but be prepared when you walk out the door. If you don’t plan, you’re more likely to pick up “fun foods” that may taste good, but don’t offer as many health or performance benefits as whole, unprocessed foods.
3) Eat with Intention
When choosing foods, take a moment to think like a sports registered dietitian – think about the nutrient density of the foods you are choosing. Another way to think of this – are you getting the biggest (nutrient) bang for your buck with the foods you are choosing? For example, a 100-calorie snack pack, and a large handful of berries both contain about the same amount, and type, of fuel (~100 calories from carbohydrate), but the berries offer so much more! They are jam packed with nutrients, phytochemicals, and antioxidants to give you more than just carbohydrates alone.
A couple of tips for choosing foods with high nutrient density:
- Look for color – fruits, veggies, and legumes that are deeply colored also pack a large nutritional punch – think dark, leafy greens, purple grapes, berries, black beans, avocado, sweet potatoes, etc.
- Check the ingredients – if you look at the ingredients list, and feel like you need a chemistry degree to understand it, chances are there’s a better choice. Whole foods don’t contain an ingredients list, so that’s a great start!
Take a little time today to plan your day with whole, unprocessed foods so that you are prepared to fuel often and fuel well!
