As an athlete, you look for an “edge” over your opponents. What can give you that “edge”? Your sports performance depends on several factors:
Genetics affects your body type which may guide your choice of a sport at which you can be successful.
Training affects your technique, skill level, and body development.
Dedication and discipline determine the effort you put into your practice sessions as well as other factors affecting your sports performance—sleep, socializing, and so on.
Nutrition affects the amount of energy, strength, and endurance you have for practice and competition. Among equally trained and dedicated athletes, nutrition can be the “edge” that makes the difference between winning and losing.

Food is fuel for your body. Compare your body to a car that needs gas, water, oil, grease, spark plugs and the proper amount of air to operate. Your body needs similar items in varying amounts, depending on your body type and sport. Your car can run on low-grade gas and oil with a minimal amount of water, but like a car, your body will run best with high-grade fuel.
Food supplies body fuel in the form of nutrients— carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. Vitamins and minerals are the spark plugs that ignite the fuel. Water is essential for your body to work at maximal efficiency. The Food Guide Pyramid is a simple guide that helps you get the right amounts of these nutrients.

Carbohydrates -- These are quick, easy-to-use fuels. They’re like the battery in your car. Your body uses them to get started at practice or events. Carbohydrates also keep you moving once your engine turns over because they help your body burn fats for energy. Glycogen is the name for the carbohydrates stored in your muscles and liver.

Athletic Advantages:
• Sprinters and other athletes moving short distances at a time rely mostly on carbohydrates for power.
• Middle and long distance runners, or other athletes who keep a constant pace for several minutes, still need carbohydrates to keep their bodies powered. For example, during an hour of constant practice, about half your energy comes from carbohydrates.
• Proper training and eating enough carbohydrates all season can double the amount of carbohydrates you can store in your muscles.
• Maximum carbohydrate storage helps you avoid “hitting the wall” or “bonking” (running out of stored glycogen) at practice or an event.

Food for Fuel:
• You can get carbohydrates from every group in the Daily Food Guide Pyramid. The grain, fruit, and vegetable groups are the most concentrated sources. Dairy foods like milk are also good sources of carbohydrates. Sugary foods at the tip of the pyramid provide carbohydrates, but are missing important vitamins and minerals to spark your body’s engine. (See Training Meals handout for more information.)
• Slower burning complex carbohydrates (starchy foods), like whole grain bread, cereal, pasta, rice, dried beans and fresh fruits and vegetables give you a more constant fuel source than simple carbohydrates such as candy and soft drinks (sugar). Simple carbohydrates help you feel energized but the effect doesn’t last long. You’ll be more likely to run out of energy in the middle of an event if you depend on sugary foods.

Fats -- These are fuels for the long haul. They’re like gas in your tank. Once you get your engine running with carbohydrates, fats become important to keep you moving in activities which last more than 20 minutes.

Athletic Advantage:
• Fats are an essential part of your diet to fuel practice sessions and longer events.

Food for Fuel:
• Fats are in all the food groups in varying amounts. Many athletes try to limit fats, but may cut too much. Even a 100 pound athlete can consume at least 50 grams of fat per day. To give you an idea of what that means, here’s the fat content of some popular foods.
• If you are going to limit fats, cut back on foods like cookies, cake, and donuts that don’t have many vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients.

Proteins -- In a pinch you can use them for power, but their primary purpose is building and maintaining your muscles.

Athletic Advantage:
• There is no advantage to using protein as a fuel. In fact, excess protein will be stored as fat.
• An adequate protein intake and exercise will develop and strengthen muscles.
• Usually, your body uses proteins for fuel only when you’re cutting weight too quickly or when you’re on a diet that is not balanced.

Food for Fuel:
• Good food sources of proteins include meats, poultry, fish, milk, cheese, yogurt, eggs, dried beans and peas.
• Foods that are good protein sources also contain other nutrients like iron and zinc. However, most protein supplements contain only proteins.

Vitamins and Minerals -- These are your spark plugs. Your engine needs them to release energy from carbohydrates, fats and proteins.

Athletic Advantage:
• There is no scientific evidence that proves supplements improve athletic performance.
• Excesses of some vitamins and minerals from supplements can be toxic.
• Excessive amounts of vitamins and minerals from some supplements can decrease the effectiveness of other nutrients. For example, too much iron from pills will decrease zinc absorption.

Food for Fuel:
• Vitamins and minerals from food are essential for producing energy.
• Getting your vitamins and minerals from food is safe because its hard to overdose on nutrients from food.

Water -- Your body produces energy through chemical reactions that need water. If you are dehydrated, your power system isn’t working at its peak and your performance suffers.

Athletic Advantage:
• Stay well hydrated. Even a slightly dehydrated body may affect your concentration, reaction time, strength and endurance.

Food for Fuel:
• Drink before you get thirsty. If you wait until you feel thirsty, there’s a good chance you’re already dehydrated.

It might be nice if eating high protein foods would build stronger muscles, but proteins don’t build muscle by themselves. You also need muscle-building workouts. You can be a “pro-teen” by combining resistance training and good nutrition.
Get the amount of proteins you need by eating the recommended number of servings from the Daily Food Guide Pyramid. Teen-age athletes over 130 pounds may need additional servings from all the food groups to get enough calories and nutrients.

Along with an adequate protein intake, to develop a specific muscle it must be exercised. For strength, it must be worked more than normal and the workload must be increased gradually.
Using protein/amino acid supplements presents potential dangers. Its easier to overdose on supplements than on food. Excess proteins will be stored as body fat and may cause kidney damage.

Vegetarians may be at risk for not getting enough proteins. If you are a vegetarian, you may want to consult a Registered Dietitian or physician.

Wanna Win?
Did you know your body weight and eating habits can make the difference between winning and losing? Being too thin, not eating enough, or eating too much can decrease your sports performance. Maintaining a healthy weight can help you perform at your best by maximizing your energy and strength potential. The key is to eat a well-balanced diet (a variety of foods in the right amounts) and to train properly.

Don’t Lose Out
If you’d like to lose weight, first check with your doctor or a dietitian to find out if its really necessary. A sensible weight loss plan can shed extra pounds and maintain muscle. The secret is a well-balanced diet and slow, but steady, weight loss.
• Eat smaller portions of a variety of foods and don’t over-do high-fat foods. (See Training Meals handout for fat-trimming tips.) This will help you get and stay lean but powerful.
• Lose no more than 1 to 1 1/2 pounds each week. It’s the best way to take off body fat. You’ll lose muscle and strength if you drop weight faster.
Going on a quick weight loss diet will only backfire and can be dangerous. Unhealthy weight loss methods (like excessive calorie-cutting, fasting, dehydration, vomiting, use of laxatives or weight loss drugs) can cause major losses you may not expect: loss of muscle, water, strength, endurance, speed, agility, energy, concentration--even loss of life!

Keep the Muscle
Trying to build a “better” body by bulking up can also backfire. Eating excess calories and fat mainly adds body fat which can slow you down. Protein or amino acid supplements aren’t necessary and can damage your kidneys.
A slow weight gain will help ensure the added body weight is mostly muscle. Eat larger portions of a variety of foods from the Five Food Groups, go easy on high-fat foods and work your muscles.

You’ve probably heard of “miracle cures” or “magic bullets”. They just don’t exist. Good nutrition and maintaining a healthy weight will power your performance—not fad diets, miracle cures, or supplements. When reading the claims made about a nutritional supplement, remember the following four things:
• Supplement manufacturers don’t have to prove their products work!
• Supplement manufacturers don’t have to prove their products are safe!
• Supplement manufacturers may make questionable health claims about their products, and,
• Supplements don’t have to be manufactured according to any quality standards.

Food is not your enemy. You need to eat, so make it enjoyable! What and how much food you need is based on many factors including body type, training schedule, and current weight. While charts may list “average caloric intakes” for teenagers, those numbers may not take into account the needs of athletes.
First, you need some calories just to remain alive, about 10 calories per pound.
Then, you need additional calories for daily living—school, chores, hanging out with friends.
Finally, you need calories for practice and competition. Without adequate calories, you will lack the energy, strength, and endurance to be successful in your sport.
All foods can fit into a training diet. Its okay to follow your personal likes and dislikes when choosing foods. You don’t have to give up your favorite foods during your sports season. You may need to make some changes, like how often you eat them and how much you eat at a time. Potato chips can still fit in after the game but may cause sluggishness and an upset stomach if eaten as part of a pre-competition meal.

Many myths and misconceptions surround the relationship between eating and getting the athletic “edge.” In truth, following the wrong nutrition advice can lead to decreased performance, injury, or serious health issues. A balanced diet is still the best source of energy and nutrients for athletic success and overall health!

Your body, like your car, can’t operate without water. You can’t live more than a few days without it, and you definitely can’t perform at your best without it. While other fluids can and should be part of your training program, there is no substitute for water.

Water, Water, Everywhere
...and not a drop to drink! If that sounds like you, your body is probably not performing at its best.
Water is everywhere in your body. More than half your weight is water. Muscles are almost three-quarters water. Water is part of every system your body uses to perform.
Radiator: Water is the coolant. Heat from deep in your muscles is carried by water to your skin surface. As the water evaporates, heat is released so you don’t overheat your engine.
Fuel system: Water in your blood carries essential nutrients to keep your engine running.
Exhaust: The same water in your blood carries waste products away from your muscles and all the other cells in your body. This lets your muscles keep working throughout long events.
Shock Absorbers: Water absorbs some of the shock that might injure your organs, joints, and other tissues. That’s helpful when you really push your body to perform.
Lubrication: Your joints also use water as a lubricant. To stay flexible you need water.
Your body uses many systems to be a winning athlete. These systems all use water to run at max.

You need to drink more than you think! Thirst is not a good indicator of when your body needs a fill up. You may be dehydrated and your athletic performance could decrease before you feel thirsty. To avoid dehydration, drink plenty of fluids throughout the day.
To make sure you are fully hydrated, use the plan below from the American College of Sports Medicine and American Dietetics Association:

Fluid Intake Recommendations
Everyone needs to drink at least 8 to 10 cups of plain water and other non-caffeinated, non-alcoholic beverages each day. In addition, athletes need to drink:
• at least 2 cups two hours before practice/ competition
• another 2 cups 15 minutes before practice/ competition
• at least 1/2 cup every 15-20 minutes during practice/ competition
• 2 cups for every pound lost during practice/competition. Begin immediately after exercise for quickest recovery.
Morning is a good time to start your fluid intake. Enjoy juice or lower-fat milk with breakfast. Drink water when you brush your teeth. Eat a juicy piece of fresh fruit for a snack. Throughout the day, take a long drink every time you pass the water fountain at school and drink at least one glass of water at each meal. Drink fluids whenever you think about it—carry a water bottle with you as a reminder. If tap water doesn’t taste good, try a water filter or bottled water. For flavor, add lemon or lime slices.

When Your Radiator Springs a Leak
Your body normally loses 10 cups of water a day. As you exercise, your body can lose twice as much from increased perspiration. Its as if your radiator has sprung a small leak. Unless you replenish with water from foods and fluids, your body may have to shift water from your fuel and exhaust systems into cooling. If your radiator fluid gets too low, your performance starts to suffer. “Too low” is when you lose about 3 % of your body weight. For a 150-pound athlete that is only 4 1/2 pounds or a little more than the fluid in a two liter bottle. Many athletes lose that in just 1 1/2 hours of practice.
Dehydration is one of the most common problems which hurts your performance. You know you’re getting dehydrated if you don’t urinate as often as usual or the color of your urine is darker than freshly squeezed lemon juice.
Heavy clothing and equipment like that worn in football and ice hockey increase the problem. If you are a swimmer, you still have to replenish fluids. The physical activity of meets and practices will drop the water level in your radiator even if you don’t feel the sweat. Hot, humid surroundings increase your fluid losses. In cold weather sports like skiing, you can still become dehydrated from moisture loss through sweating and breathing. Deliberate dehydration to cut weight for sports like gymnastics and wrestling not only decreases your strength and endurance, but is very dangerous.
During your season you may have a practice or event most days of the week. Some athletes don’t lose much fluid at one practice, but they forget to replenish between practices. Over time, you become dehydrated. Keeping well hydrated is a full time job for athletes, just like practice or conditioning. You can’t let it slip, even a little, or you’ll find your engine stalling out from overheating. Don’t forget to drink...water that is!

Don’t Let Your Engine Overheat
Your body puts a very high priority on keeping cool. It will shift water away from fueling your muscles and clearing wastes to avoid overheating.
When your radiator starts to run dry, you see definite signs your cooling system is not working right. This phase is heat exhaustion. It is more common when you begin training at the start of the season. Some signs to watch for are listed below.
• weakness
• dizziness as you stand up
• rapid but weak pulse
• low to normal temperature or cool clammy skin
• normal or slightly reduced sweating
With a dry radiator your engine shuts down quickly. This is called heat stroke. You become weak and confused. Your body stops sweating and you become very hot. You may feel headaches, numbness or tingling. If you continue without fluids and medical attention, heat stroke can lead to convulsions, a coma...even death.
Athletes may not realize how dry their radiator is. Confusion and general weakness can cloud their judgment. However, heat stroke and heat exhaustion demand immediate medical attention. This is where your coaches, your teammates, and you can all contribute. It is important to notice when others show dramatic behavior changes at events and practices. You or a teammate may be getting severely dehydrated!

Electrolytes
Why Do You Need ‘Em?
Sodium, potassium, and chlorine are the nutrients known as electrolytes. Electrolytes control the flow of fluid between your body’s cells and their surroundings. This flow helps you perform better because it provides nutrients to produce energy and removes waste products which would eventually slow you down. Electrolytes also send nerve impulses to the muscles and help the muscles contract and relax—all of which affect your sports performance.

Where Can You Get ‘Em?
Many athletes worry about replacing electrolyte losses. Any losses from sweat are easily replaced by your next meal. You might think you need “sports drinks” to replace lost electrolytes. However, sports drinks are designed for endurance events which last for more than 60-90 minutes. Athletes who work out for less than an hour have no need for sports drinks to replace electrolytes. If you will drink more fluid because you like the taste of sports drinks, drinking a limited amount may fit into your training plan. Keep in mind, many sports drinks contain much less sodium and potassium than foods.
You need to eat within 30 minutes to 2 hours after practice or competition to replace your stored energy (glycogen). The same foods will replenish your electrolytes. (See Training Meals handout for post-competition meal information.)

How Much Do You Need?
Weigh yourself before and after practice to see how much you’ve lost. One pound of sweat contains about 80-100 milligrams of potassium and 400-700 milligrams of sodium. As you become better conditioned, your electrolyte loss through sweat is smaller. Use these charts as guidelines, then look at food labels to see how easily you can replace electrolytes at your next meal or snack.

Caffeine
Why would you?
Some athletes believe caffeine gives them an energy boost. However, many athletes have negative reactions to its use. Caffeine leads to water loss through urination. It may cause stomach upset and diarrhea. You may become increasingly nervous, irritable, and end up with a headache. Not exactly the shape you want to be in for your best athletic efforts!
Maybe you never thought about caffeine’s effect on your athletic performance. With soft drinks being common, you need to be particularly aware of their caffeine content. Also, recognize there is caffeine in other products such as over-the-counter medications (check labels). You may be getting more than you realize.

Beverages of Choice
For overall health, to avoid over-heating, and to perform at your best, you need plenty of fluids before, during, and after physical activities.
Before and During The Event
Cool water is the best choice before and during practices and events. It’s easily absorbed, caffeine-free, and essential for your body to function. Fluids such as juices and regular soft drinks contain enough sugar to slow absorption. They should either be diluted for use as pre-exercise hydration or saved for later.
After the Event
For fluid and electrolyte replacement after exercise, beverages like milk and juice are good choices. Sports drinks can also replace lost fluids and provide a few electrolytes.

“Just tell me what to eat and I’ll do it!” This sounds like a simple enough request from an athlete seeking nutrition advice, but leaves out one very important fact: what foods you like to eat! Taste is an important consideration in choosing foods to power your sports performance. You’ll be more likely to stick with high-powered foods if you can eat the ones you enjoy.
Think of the food you eat in terms of the preventive maintenance you’d give a car. Oil changes are routine, as is changing the air filter, adding windshield washer solvent, and checking the antifreeze in the radiator. Routinely choosing appropriate foods for your training meals will be the preventive maintenance you use to keep your body running smoothly and powerfully all season long.

The Food Guide Pyramid is a general outline to help Americans choose a healthful diet. It guides you in selecting what and how much to eat from each food group to get the nutrients you need. Using the pyramid also helps regulate the amount of calories, fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sugar, sodium, or alcohol you consume. As an athlete, the pyramid should be the foundation of your training diet.
Foods are grouped by common nutrients. Eating the appropriate numbers of servings from each food group makes it easy for you to get the nutrients to keep you fit and improve your sports performance. (See Nutrition, The Athletic Advantage handout for pyramid information.)
Food provides carbohydrates, proteins, and fats for energy (calories). As an athlete, you need to divide your total daily calories into these proportions:
Carbohydrates 60-65%
Proteins 15-20%
Fats <20%
Athletes’ carbohydrate requirements are higher than a less active teenager. A moderate amount of protein will maintain muscle mass and strength. Too much fat can slow you down during competition. To reach these percentage goals, eat more servings from the grain, fruit, and vegetable groups.
Picture your plate of food as you begin to eat. Almost two-thirds of the plate should be covered with high carbohydrate foods. Less than one-fourth of the plate should contain high protein foods (from the meat group). Eat only small amounts of fat, which may come either from the food itself or from the way it is prepared.

How Much Fuel Do You Need?
A car’s fuel is measured in gallons. Your body’s fuel is measured in calories. Your calorie requirement is determined by body size, age, gender, sport, and conditioning. You need to eat enough food so as not to compromise growth and health while training. Athletes need tremendous amounts of energy to practice and compete, so you may need to eat even more than the number of servings recommended on the pyramid. This is true even in sports where athletes try to keep their weight low (wrestling, gymnastics, cross country, diving).
Refer to the chart on page 6 to estimate your daily calorie needs. From the “What’s My Number?” chart, identify the minimum number of servings you need from each of the Five Food Groups.

Be a Winner With Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner
You can increase your strength and energy for practice or events by spreading your calories throughout the day. It is best to divide your calories into thirds. Try to consume one-third of your calories in the morning, one-third in the afternoon and another third in the evening.
In the morning you can have both breakfast and a snack. Some athletes who work out in the morning eat a light breakfast before their activity and a heavier snack afterwards. Lunch and a light afternoon snack are essential to power after-school practices. Dinner can help you refuel from an afternoon practice or event. If you have an evening game, eat a light dinner then a more substantial snack afterwards.

Eat To Compete
What you eat all season can make the difference between winning and losing. Your best bet is to eat a low fat, high carbohydrate diet. Extra carbohydrate increases the amount of carbohydrate (called glycogen) in your muscles.

Timing is Everything
Most of the glycogen your body uses during competition is stored in the muscles 24 to 48 hours before the event. Eating high-carbohydrate meals at least a few days before an event will help you achieve maximum strength, energy and endurance. Eating a high carbohydrate food or meal right before an event will give you a little boost if you are competing for more than one hour. However, it alone will not provide you with all the energy you need for the entire event. That’s why it pays to plan in advance.
To plan in advance means:
• determining which high carbohydrate, low fat meals you enjoy most
• knowing which foods are convenient and portable for away meets, day-long tournaments or super busy days
• shopping for those foods so you have a constant supply on hand

High-Carb Foods
Foods that are good sources of carbohydrates are mainly found in the bottom half of the Food Guide Pyramid in the grain, fruit and vegetable groups. Other good sources of carbohydrates include milk, yogurt, nuts, dried beans and peas.

Limit the Fat
When limiting fat, the first step is to go easy on foods in the “Others” Group (at the tip of the pyramid) such as regular salad dressings, mayonnaise, butter, margarine, snack chips, and candy. Be aware some foods in the other five food groups can also be high in fat. For example, when choosing foods in the grain group, choose whole grains often and eat fewer dessert-type breads like donuts, danishes, cake, and cookies. Foods in the fruit and vegetable groups naturally contain little or no fat, but are chock full of vitamins and minerals. This is another good reason to enjoy a variety of fruits and vegetables.
Meal Deals
The following meals are a few examples of high carbohydrate, low fat choices.

Training Meals
breakfast
granola cereal with raisins
OR fruit-flavored yogurt
lower fat milk
whole wheat bagel
apple juice
orange juice

lunch
bean burrito OR
pizza with ham and veggies
fruit salad
fresh fruit
iced tea
lower fat milk

dinner
grilled pork chop OR
baked chicken
baked potato
rice, long grain
wheat roll
tossed salad
broccoli
bread sticks
baked apple
peas
lower fat milk
lower fat milk

But I Don’t Eat Breakfast!
Skipping breakfast is like trying to run your engine without fuel. Even while you sleep, your body’s engine is idling. By morning, your gas tank is empty and you need to refuel. You can choose usual breakfast foods like cereal, waffles or eggs and toast. You can try unique breakfast combos like peanut butter and jelly on your pancakes. If those foods don’t satisfy your cravings, try cold pizza or other leftovers. Remember to refuel!
Breakfast is the most critical refueling time of the day, but when you skip lunch or dinner your performance and training still suffer. Your engine gradually runs out of fuel and rolls to a stop.
You get into double trouble when you skip two meals. For example, you get up late and rush to school without breakfast. Then you’re busy at school and don’t eat much lunch or a snack. By the end of the school day your engine is running on fumes--not the way to start your practice or a game.

The Lunch Munch
Taking a lunch to school can solve many problems. It’s faster than waiting in the school cafeteria line or at a restaurant. You can be sure it includes your favorite foods and foods that are high in carbohydrates and low in fat. Pack your lunch the night before so you won’t have to rush in the morning. Use leftovers from dinner, if available, and add your favorite combinations of the following portable, high-energy, healthful foods:
• peanut butter sandwich
• lean meat and cheese sandwich
with mustard
• fresh fruit
• yogurt
• raw vegetables
• pasta salad
• soup in a thermos
• dried fruit
• wheat or rye crackers

Snack Sense
One way to keep your gas tank full is with nutritious snacks. Even when you don’t have time for a big meal, snacks provide your body with extra power. Besides energy, snacks give your body nutrients, such as vitamins, electrolytes, iron, and calcium which are like spark plugs in your body’s engine. Your engine won’t start without spark plugs, so use snacks to fire it up.

The secret to snack sense is choosing from the Food Guide Pyramid. Check out the “Snack Attack” pyramid below for ideas. Think of other snacks you would add to each of the food groups.
By combining three or more food groups, you can create some super power-packed snacks. Here are some examples:
• Yogurt, topped with cereal, sunflower seeds and raisins
• Pita bread filled with veggies, cheese, and ham or chicken; add fruit juice
• Crackers and peanut butter with a glass of milk
• String cheese, plus a mixture of peanuts and raisins
Nutritious snacks taste great and give your body what it needs! Use your snack sense. Get creative.

About Eating Out...
Eating at fast food restaurants can occasionally fit into a training diet. The key is to make high carbohydrate, lower fat choices. Greasy food before practice or competition will most likely give you stomach problems.
breakfast choices
• pancakes
• hot or cold cereal
• juice
• bagels & low-fat muffins
• non-fat or light milk

lunch and dinner choices
• thick-crust pizza
• chili
• baked potato (add small amounts of
toppings)
• salad bar (go easy on the high-fat toppings and dressings)
• spaghetti and other pastas
• soups (broth or beany ones)
• roast or grilled chicken (no mayo on the sandwiches)
• lean roast beef sandwich
• non-fat or light milk

vending machine choices
• pretzels
• fruit bars
• vanilla wafers
• cheese or peanut butter and crackers
• milk
• juice

Pre-Competition Meals
Eating before competition helps your body in many ways. It will prevent low blood sugar (which can cause dizziness, fatigue, blurred vision and indecisiveness), help settle your stomach and stave off hunger. Food eaten 24 to 48 hours in advance and stored as glycogen will fuel your muscles. Food eaten within an hour of competition will give you extra energy for longer events.
There are general recommendations for the kinds of food and beverages that work well for many athletes before and after competition, however, what works best for you may vary slightly. Some athletes can only tolerate liquids before events; others swear by particular foods like cereal and a banana. You’ll discover what works for you by trial and error during training.

Pre-Competition Meal Guidelines
• high carbohydrate
• low fat
• small amounts—just enough to keep yourself from being hungry during the meet
• include fluids (see Fluids: Solutions for Competition handout)
• low salt (to help avoid dehydration)
• last meal eaten 3 to 4 hours prior to competition
The rule of thumb is: closer to the event eat a smaller quantity of food in a more liquid form. Here are some particulars:

One hour or less before competition:
• fruit and vegetable juices such as orange, tomato, or V-8 juices and/or
• fresh fruit such as apples, watermelon, peaches, grapes or oranges

Two to three hours before competition:
• fruit juices and fresh fruit, and/or
• breads, bagels or muffins, with a limited amount of butter
or cream cheese

Three to four hours before competition:
• fruit juices and fresh fruit, and
• breads, bagels or muffins, and
• a light spread of peanut butter or slice of cheese for breads, or a light spread of cream cheese or butter for bagels and/or
• bowl of cereal with lower fat milk

Four hours or more before competition:
• sandwich with 2 slices of bread and 2 ounces of lean meat, and
• fresh fruit, and
• fresh vegetables, and
• lower fat milk

Post-Competition Meals
Your body’s energy reserves will have been depleted after competition, so it’s important to refuel your body immediately to prepare for the next practice or event.
The most effective way to replenish carbohydrate stores is to eat a high carbo-hydrate meal within 15 to 30 minutes. If drinking a beverage is preferred or the only option right away, eat a high carbohydrate meal within two hours. Athletes involved in intense daily training or repeated and closely- scheduled competitions should pay careful attention to immediate refueling.
Liquids and solid foods will refuel your muscles equally well. Here are some tried-and-true re-energizers:

• 1 cup orange juice and a medium bagel
• 16 oz. cranberry juice
• fruit yogurt and graham crackers
• bowl of corn flakes with milk and a banana

You can enjoy your favorite foods as part of your training when you plan ahead.

Portable Power for the Road
Try these high carbohydrate, low fat foods that don’t need refrigeration:
• juice in individual servings
• breakfast tarts
• combo-packs of cereal and milk
• dry cereal, granola, or trail mix
• pretzels
• popcorn
• fresh fruit (apples, oranges, bananas)
• dried fruit
• lowfat fruit bars
• bagels
• animal crackers
• veggie sticks
• graham crackers
• fig bars

Food Preparation Tips To Reduce Fat Intake
• Make dips with nonfat yogurt and salad seasoning packets.
• Try baked, not fried, snack foods.
• Use lower fat versions of food: Canadian bacon instead of bacon or sausage, turkey-based cold cuts instead of beef or pork.
• Air pop popcorn rather than oil pop.
• Substitute mustard, catsup, salsa, fresh veggies for mayonnaise-based condiments.
• Use smaller quantities of high fat toppings on salads, baked potatoes, and bread products.
• Use lower fat cooking methods: microwaving, broiling, grilling, roasting--instead of frying.
• If you do fry, use cooking spray in place of oil.
• Drain grease from cooked meats before adding to tacos, chili, spaghetti sauce, etc.
• Use more vegetables and less meat in stir-fry meals and casseroles.