Proper fueling is essential to an athlete’s complete training routine. Alicia Kendig, USOC’s Senior Sport Dietician, addresses meal and snack options, along with timing of fueling for peak performance.
Learn more about Alicia Kendig.
Video Transcript
I always say, “You need to be proactive with your fueling, as opposed to reactive. That addresses the timing of when you’re consuming snacks or your pre-competition meals. Giving yourself enough time for digestion is a big part of fueling for performance. Just really having that mindset of I am eating to fuel what I’m doing, I’m not eating because I just finished competing.
A lot of times, we’re working with nervous stomachs, and having the coach and the parents focus on the benefits of fueling in advance and how it can help with performance really helps the athlete understand that this is part of even the training that I do all week. This is part of helping me perform at my best.
All-day energy starts at breakfast time, and having athletes understand the importance of waking up and giving themselves enough time to eat breakfast, and those energy levels first thing in the morning, especially if you’re choosing something that has enough protein. Protein’s a big thing. Wake up and get some protein in, can really help athletes feel a lot better, they’re thinking better, and there’s so much research showing that, if you start the day eating, then you don’t overeat as much the second part of the day. So, it really helps balance out everything, but breakfast needs to happen, and you need to find that level of convenience that works for an athlete so they actually do it.
Wrapping up the day, in terms of fueling, I remember when I was growing up. We would hear, “You don’t eat before bed,” or, “Don’t eat anything after seven o’clock.” That’s definitely a myth. Some athletes, especially growing athletes, need to eat before they go to bed because they wake up in the middle of the night hungry. Also, consuming protein right before bed can actually help with recovery and growth. So, maybe having some of those healthy snack options as a before bed snack can be beneficial, and it could just be a glass of milk before you go to bed. It’ll address all those needs and help with recovery.
