Sports Parents and the Nutrition Game: Eating Your Best When You’re Busy
If you’re a parent with kids playing competitive sports, are you struggling to stay on top of things, especially healthy eating?
It can be tricky to honor your nutrition intentions when you don’t have the time for things like making your own healthy snacks, meal prepping, and shopping for the right ingredients. And even when you send your athlete with nutritious snacks, they still beg you to hit the concession stand with their friends.
And what about travel or tournament games? Being away from home base and home rules creates a false sense of a “free for all” attitude. Will saying yes to their cravings really affect their game? And how do you talk to your children athletes to help them make the right choices with nutrition?
As a mom running a financial business full-time with a 10-year-old daughter who plays hockey, I struggle to stay strong with nutrition habits. I have all the best intentions, but sometimes I find myself just giving in - to her wants, to what her friends are doing, or just because it’s been a long day.
I wondered how this really affected her performance and how I could better stick to healthy choices, so I reached out to some experts in my network for their input and tips and received a wealth of information.
Maggie Dion is a Health Coach and Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner.
As far as a healthy nutrition plan Maggie suggested focusing mainly on three things:
- A diet mostly consisting of whole foods
- Eating foods as close to their natural state as possible
- Change up the menu week to week to diversify their intake of nutrients and vitamins.
“When discussing food with kids,” Maggie suggests, “it’s important to foster a positive relationship between food and their bodies. Many times we fall into the trap of labeling a specific food as good or bad. This can lead to negative feelings and guilt when consuming a "bad food." Or even worse, can draw attention to their body image at a young age. Instead, I encourage parents to talk about food in terms of what the food can help their bodies do.”
Yvette Taylor is a Professional Wellness Chef and Lifestyle & Weight Management Coach.
Yvette’s food philosophy is to choose whole foods first and to have a well-balanced approach to filling your plate, regardless of age ranges or any preferences or restrictions. She’s a big fan of the general Mediterranean style approach to nutrition which includes healthy fats, lots of fruits, veggies, nuts and seeds, and fish and lean animal protein.
Yvette tells us that, “One’s nutrition plan can be easily improved by making healthier swaps for food items they already like just from reading the food labels and ingredients lists. Or even better, making some of these foods at home from scratch.”
In general it’s best to eat about an hour before a game or practice. This will provide sustained energy and allow time for proper hydration. “Make sure your athlete doesn’t over do it with chugging water!” Maggie advises. “This could result in cramping, acid reflux, or burping throughout the game.”
Both Maggie and Yvette agreed that proper hydration is crucial. Always have water on hand and stay far away from sugary energy drinks like Gatorade.
Kimberly O’Brien, PhD, LICSW
I also asked for input from my daughter’s hockey coach, Kim O'Brien, co-captain of the Harvard women’s hockey team that won a National Championship in 1999. In addition to her work at Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Kim runs a mental health practice for athletes. “It's important for kids to understand food as fuel and recognize the potential impact of missing a meal on their performance,” Kim shared. “Energy deficiency caused by underfueling can result in fatigue, extreme weight loss, poor performance, injuries, and stress fractures.”
I also learned a lot from Kim about things to watch out for as my daughter gets older. Thus far the struggle has been real with junk food...but will this always be the case? Or, might things change in the very near future?
Kim explained how young athletes can become overwhelmed with what they see on social media about what they should be eating, and how their bodies should look, which is most often extremely inadequate.
“Parents need to model for their kids the importance of eating for health, which typically involves three meals and three snacks a day from a wide range of food groups.,” Kim said. “It is also important for parents to help their kids learn to love their bodies for all they are able to do when they are adequately fueled, and not try to make their body look like anyone else’s.”
Did you find this information and tips helpful?
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