Sports Nutrition Made Simple

Following these simple nutrition guidelines will allow you to lose weight, and an abundance of energy throughout the day.

1) Hydrate with water throughout the day.

2) Avoid processed foods

3) Eat plenty of lean meats (fish, poultry, and lean beef)

4) Avoid Starches and Sugar (breads, grains, pasta, etc.) Never eat these alone.

Breakfast - Protein (1 egg with 2-3 egg whites, plenty of fruits and vegetables, water) Lunch- lean meats and plenty of fruits and vegetables, water Dinner - lean meats and plenty of fruits and vegetables, water

Eat every 3 hours and snack on fruits veggies.

Before practice or games - hydrate with water and snack on fruits.

Once you begin to practice or begin pre-game practice, start drinking a sports drink. You should be able to replenish your sugar (glycogen) stores with a sports drink.

If the athletes like the taste of sports drinks, they will likely drink more. Sports drinks also replace electrolytes lost with sweating.

At half time - fruits and sports drink

Right after practice and games - Fruit smoothie with some protein powder, fresh fruits.

So where are all the starches (pasta, breads, etc) that we think of as pre-game meals?

This is important:

What athletes need are carbohydrates that do not raise the blood sugar rapidly but also replenish the muscle glycogen stores. That comes from fruit and veggies.

If you have waffles and bagels for breakfast before the games here is what happens:

Those starches (high glycemic foods) are rapidly turned into sugar; the body senses the rise in blood sugar and releases insulin. The insulin grabs the sugar and stores it as fat. The brain and the muscles now do not have enough sugar to function as effectively. You now have low blood sugar. So you are dumber, slower, and fatter. Not the best way to start the game or practice.

The only time you want to eat the starches is during or after exercise to rapidly replace your sugar stores.

Avoiding the starches will also help with weight limits. Starches bind more water and therefore result in more weight.

Dr. Jeffrey Banas, is a Sports Chiropractor and Strength an Conditioning Specialist practicing in Gilbert, AZ. He can be contact at 480-633-6837 or by his web-site at http://www.sportstraining-weightloss.com