Every youth athlete will always go through a period in their adolescent years of life where they will have to need to make responsible decisions with their diet. We continually give our athletes guidance as to which foods to stay away from and which foods are healthier choices. We all know that there will be days that they will make some bad decisions with their diet. In the end as parents and coaches, we just want them to understand that with a simple outlook on their diet they can help themselves to a healthy lifestyle.
If your athlete is having trouble figuring out how to live a healthier lifestyle, here are four simple self-pledges that they can use on a daily to keep themselves on a road to healthy eating habits. It will get them a direction into becoming a healthier athlete with more energy and focus.
I will eat breakfast daily.
Unfortunately, most teenagers leave the house without eating or drinking enough fluids. You cannot think without fuel in your system. You cannot physically or mentally function well without fuel. Imagine you have an upcoming game – we’ll use football as an example. Normally, you’re on the offensive line. However, this time your coach wants you to play Quarterback. Here’s the problem – you’ve never practiced. You don’t know any of the plays, and you can’t really throw that well either.
Not eating breakfast and then being asked to “perform” in the classroom, on the field, in the pool, or on a court is like being thrown into a position you’ve never trained for. You will not function well or as well as you should, and may even get hurt. Fuel up for the day by starting off with a smart breakfast no matter how big or small it may be. There is no mistake when you have fuel in your system every morning.
I will skip the energy drinks and instead get a more sound sleep each night.
Energy drinks are loaded with caffeine and sugar – two ingredients teens surely don’t need more of. Instead, make sure you’re getting adequate rest, at least eight hours of sleep each night.
That means you’re not texting or on social media at night, you’re not on your computer or phone immediately before going to bed, and you’re phones are off to not disturb you as you sleep soundly. A good tip that will help get a good night sleep is to leave your phone far enough away from you so that you cannot grab it in the middle of the night to look at it.
I will replace the soft drinks to hydrate myself with water.
Let’s face it, teenagers are flooded with too much sugar in their diet. Liquid calories from soft drinks, slushies, energy drinks, etc lead to weight gain and replace healthier food options since soft drinks can fill you up.
A simple and quick way to figure out how much water you should be drinking daily is to divide your weight in half and you would drink that amount in ounces. One of the best ways to stay hydrated in the morning is to drink water before you go to bed and when you wake up. So, instead of the soft drinks, pick up a bottle of water.
I will include some type of protein with each meal and snack.
Most people don’t eat enough protein in the morning or the afternoon and instead lump it together at dinner. The problem is your muscles continually need protein since it provides them with recovery, repair and regrowth. So rather than skip protein at breakfast here some examples of protein sources that you can have you athlete have as an option in the morning:
- Greek yogurt with cereal
- Scrabbled eggs or hardboiled eggs
- Fruit smoothies with green leafy vegetables
- Granola bar with dried fruit
- Protein smoothie with some protein powder, fresh or frozen fruit and 2% or Almond milk.
This is just small yet effective method to have your athlete on a path to becoming an healthier and more focused athlete on the field and in the classroom. If we can make it simple for the youth then they will be more willing on trying new things, especially when it comes to nutrition. We all know how picky our athletes are when we try to give them new foods. If we can keep it simple then they will be open to any change needed to increase their performance.
