A Guide to Eating for Sports

A Guide to Eating for Sports

There's a lot more to eating for sports, than just chowing down on power bars, or chugging sports drinks. The good news is that eating to reach your peak performance level doesn't require a special diet or supplements. It is all about working the right foods into your fitness plan and the right amounts.

Because teens are mostly athletes, they work out more than their less active peers. In order to maintain their high intensity levels, they generally need extra calories to fuel both their sport performance as well as their growth. Depending on the athlete, they may need anywhere from 2,000 to 5,000 total calories per day to meet their energy needs.

If athletes don't reach their potential calories per day, their bodies are less likely to achieve peak performance and may even break down rather than build up muscles. They wont be as fast and as strong as they can be, and they might even loose some weight.

Since teen athletes need extra fuel during the day, it is a bad idea for them to go on a diet. Athletes in sports where weight is emphasized...
• wrestling
• swimming
• dance
• gymnastics
might feel pressured to lose weight, but they might need to reconsider their choice.

Before a big game you may have herd the term "carb loading." But it is a bad idea to focus on only one type of food before something so big. Carbohydrates are an important source of fuel, but they are not the only foods that athletes should eat.
By also taking vitamins, minerals, protein, and fats help to stay in peak playing shape.