They need to be taught that calories are fuel and not a commodity to ingest when they ‘feel like it’.
“Calories are fuel.
Sure, there are better calories than others, but an overarching issue in youth athletes is lack of calories.
Kid’s need to stop viewing food as a commodity only needed when they ‘feel like it’.
They need to view it as a resource that drives performance.”
-Ray Zingler on Twitter
Beyond the standard training questions I get from parents, which I greatly appreciate, the number one question that comes up is related to diet.
“He needs to gain weight. Any ideas?”
“She needs to eat better, what do you recommend?”
“Do you offer meal plans?”
While I could sit here like a square nutritionist and tell you what you already know, “3-4 balanced meals with a lean protein, complex carbohydrate, and fruit…..” I’m not going to do that.
Because obviously that’s ideal. But we don’t live in an ideal world.
I love nutritionist Suzy, and her recommendations are sound and in fact, “the best”, but no, kids aren’t going to eat bland chicken and broccoli, even if their parents meal prep it for them.
The boys aren’t even going to drink an RTD protein drink that tastes good, with a jacked bodybuilder on the front.
Save the, “6oz of neatly portioned salmon”. They are in school 7 hours a day, they typically have an hour of obligations before school, and multiple hours of obligations after school.
A normal day for a 16 year old athlete starts with him leaving the house at 7am and returning home after 9pm.
And that’s normal.
So what do we do about this diet thing?
First and foremost, use “ideal” as a guide if you want, but largely throw that notion out the window.
At the end of the day, kids aren’t eating enough. Not even close.
In all honesty, I care far less about the “quality” of the calories (yes grilled chicken is better than a burger, duh) than I do the actual calories.
Most kids literally aren’t eating.
You’re right, Nutritionist Steve will tell you that a chicken finger basket & fries is “bad”, but contextually speaking, if the kid(s) eating said basket are under calorically nourished, that “bad” choice, just became a great one, when the alternative is Dr. Pepper and Twizzlers.
We must get kids out of this “ideal” box and focus on caloric consumption, I’ll say it again, good choices are better than bad choices, but bad choices are still calories and our kids NEED calories.
Eat hotdogs. Burgers. Steak. Rice. Chicken. Broccoli with cheese. Potatoes. Nuts. Ice Cream.
JUST EAT.
A granola bar because it’s “healthier” ain’t it, for regularly depleted athletes
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