Consuming healthy snacks between meals can provided athletes with tremendous benefits. But what makes a snack healthy?

This post is provided by My Sports Dietitian

By Tavis Piattoly MS, RD, LDN

Can snacking really boost performance? 
How do I put together a healthy snack to curb my hunger levels throughout the day? I don’t have time to eat a snack between meals because I don’t have time and there are not any healthy options on campus. These are questions I get and statements I hear all the time from athletes. I’ll answer the questions and provide practical guidelines to help you fix your snacking woes if you fall into the same boat.

Perception of Snacks
Athletes typically perceive the word “Snack” as some sort of junk food option (i.e. Chips, Candy, Cookies, etc). They typically don’t view it as an opportunity to get quality calories to fuel their body between their major meals. A snack can be comprised of anything you want it to be but what you choose, may determine how hungry you are in the next hour as well as how good you feel going on the field for practice at 3:00 pm, especially if you’re a high school or college athlete. This also depends on the sport as some collegiate sports practice and lift in the morning depending on the student athlete’s class schedule. Regardless, I’ll discuss what your snack should consist of to provide your body with a great source of fuel for the next 2-4 hours.

Benefits of Snacking between Meals
Dr. Dan Benardot, Professor of Sports Nutrition at Georgia State University, and Nutrition Consultant for USA Gymnastics, conducted a study on comparing the effects of consuming a healthy snack between meals in athletes vs. those who do not eat a healthy snack between meals. His findings were those who consumed a healthy snack demonstrated the following:

• Improvement in Anaerobic Power (Strength)
  • Significant Increase in lean muscle mass
  • Significant reduction in body fat
  • Improvement in energy levels
  • Weight remained the same while muscle mass increased and body fat decreased

Additional benefits include blood sugar control, lower levels of hunger throughout the day which will reduce how much you eat later at night.

What Makes a Snack Healthy and Balanced?
There are 3 components of a healthy snack: Protein, Fiber, and Fat. When consuming these 3 nutrients synergistically, they help keep you full longer. Below is a chart that provides you with examples from each category.

PROTEIN
Lean Turkey, Ham, or Roast Beef Deli Meat
Chicken Breast
*Extra Lean Beef
*Lean Beef Jerky
*Low Fat Cheese
Low Fat or Fat Free Greek Yogurt
Protein Powder
Protein Bar

FIBER
Fresh Fruit
100% Whole Wheat Bread
Wheat Bagel
Whole Grain Cereal
Whole Grain Waffle
Whole Grain Crackers (i.e. Triscuits, Beanitos)
Vegetables
Light Popcorn

FAT
*Peanut Butter
*Nuts
*Sunflower Seeds
Olive Oil
*Trail Mix
Avocado
*Nut or Almond Butter
Ground Flax Seed

The above chart will give you a few examples of foods in each category. Those listed with an * next them indicate they are a source of Fat and Protein. Below are some examples of healthy snacks you can use between meals. These are just examples and may not apply to caloric needs.
• Peanut Butter Sandwich with Fresh Fruit
• 1 oz or Handful of Almonds with an Apple or piece of fresh fruit
• 1 scoop of Protein Powder with low fat milk or almond milk and a tbsp of Peanut Butter
• 6 Triscuit Crackers with 1 oz of low fat shredded cheese

Challenges for Athletes
High School and College athletes may face challenges in their schedule to where they may not have the ability to eat a snack. Some of these challenges are:

• Only 5 minutes between classes to eat
  • I don’t have time to make snacks in the morning
  • Teacher may not allow athlete to eat in class
  • Healthy snack options are not available on campus
  • I don’t know what’s safe to pack in my bag

Putting together a Plan for Success
To be successful, you must develop a plan. All of the above are realistic challenges for athletes but they can be accomplished by doing the following:

• It only takes 2-3 minutes to a PB and J sandwich, Protien Bar, or a handfulof nuts and blueberries.
  • Use a day off (i.e. Sunday) to make 10 Peanut Butter sandwiches or portion out your snacks for the week
  • Pack snacks from home and bring to school so you don’t miss your chance to eat
  • The following foods do not require refrigeration so you don’t have to be concerned about food spoilage.
  o Nuts or Trail mix
  o Nutrition Bars
  o Peanut Butter Sandwiches or Bagels
  o Whole Grain Crackers
  o Fresh Fruit
  o Dried Fruit (Raisins, Dates, Prunes, etc)
  o Beef Jerky
  o Whole Grain Chips (i.e. Sun Chips, Beanitos, Multigrain Tostidos)
  o Whole Grain Cereal (i.e. Special K Protein Plus, Kashi, Cheerios)
  o Whole Grain Waffles

Click the link below to get a free eBook that gives you tips for finding healthy snacks at the grocery store.

3 Guidelines for Choosing a Healthy Snack

This article was provided by Training-Conditioning

By: Becky Lindberg, RD, MAEd, LDN, CSSD
Coordinator of Performance Nutrition
University of Louisville

Athletes are more aware than ever of the importance of sports nutrition, and many know that they should be including post-workout nutrition as part of their routine. If they aren’t properly fueling and recovering with the nutrients their body needs, they may not see the success they are expecting.

As a sports dietitian, I find far too often that athletes think that post-workout nutrition is all about protein and don’t realize the important role that carbohydrates, liquids, and electrolytes also play in this timeframe! Sometimes referred to as the “Three Rs of Recovery” (Refuel, Repair, Rehydrate), it is important that athletes include each of these components after finishing their workout.

Refuel with Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates provide our bodies with fuel to operate in the form of glucose and glycogen. During exercise, our glycogen (stored in the muscle) is used for energy. Therefore, it needs to be replaced afterward, so that the body is ready for the next training session. Replenishing these glycogen stores is especially critical for those who are exercising twice in a day or those without a consecutive day or two off to allow the body to rest and recover.

In general, recommendations on how much carbohydrate to consume post-workout vary from one to two grams per kilogram of bodyweight (g/kg). However, this is what the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics/American College of Sports Medicine says on the matter: “Because the rate of glycogen resynthesis is only five percent per hour, early intake of carbohydrate in the recovery period (one to 1.2 g/kg per hour during the first four to six hours) is useful in maximizing the effective refueling time.”

The amount of glycogen used does depend on what type of activity is done. For example, endurance training uses much more than resistance training, so a cross-country runner would use more glycogen stores while running compared to lifting weights.

To replenish glycogen, there are two primary forms of carbohydrate: simple and complex. The athlete’s body responds differently to each of them. Complex carbs, like vegetables, do not cause the same insulin spike as simple carbohydrates, like sugar, and can be broken down and utilized by the body over longer periods of time. Simple carbs can provide a quick energy boost, while complex carbs help with building future energy stores.

Repair with Protein

Exercise will inevitably trigger some form of muscle breakdown. However, the type of exercise and the duration will have an effect on the amount of protein damage in the muscle. Resistance training can create more damage than endurance training.

To repair this damage, athletes should aim to consume 20 to 30 grams of protein post workout, although larger-sized athletes and those with longer and more aggressive sessions may require slightly more. In addition, resistance training recovery can be on the higher end of this recommendation.

Rehydrate with Fluid

Replacing water and electrolytes lost through sweat in exercise is an important step that many athletes forget. Performance athletes can lose one to three liters of sweat per hour of exercise, which can translate to upwards of eight pounds lost. In that sweat is typically between 1.5 to 3.5 grams of total electrolytes—over 90 percent of which are sodium and chloride, or salt.

That is why it is critical to replenish not just water after exercise but also electrolytes, mostly sodium.  Muscles with higher water content can decrease the risk of tearing and injury.

After activity, encourage athletes to choose water or an electrolyte beverage to continue hydration. For chronic crampers and heavy/salty sweaters with greater electrolyte needs, there are higher-concentration electrolyte solutions available like The Right Stuff®, developed by NASA, which can be added to water or a favorite sports drink.

Beyond the Three Rs of Recovery, athletes must factor in what to eat and when following exercise. A general recommendation for most athletes is to consume a 3:1 ratio of carbs to protein. An athlete could start with 60 grams of carbohydrates and 20 grams of protein. A recovery option such as eight ounces of chocolate milk (25 g carbs + 8 g protein), Greek yogurt (14 g carbs + 12 g protein), and a banana (25g carbs + 0 g protein) would meet this 3:1 ratio. An endurance athlete may need a 4:1 ratio of carbs to protein.

Regardless of what your athlete chooses to meet their carbohydrate and protein needs, they should consume it within 30 to 45 minutes after completing exercise so the body is able to immediately start repairing the muscle tissue and restoring glycogen levels. During this timeframe, the body is able to use the nutrients at a faster rate than hours following exercise.

Keep in mind, this recovery snack can also be a meal if consumed within 45 minutes following activity. , For instance, many athletes work out in the morning and have breakfast after exercise. We encourage that they still meet the 3:1 ratio of carbs and protein and continue to hydrate throughout the day.

Post-workout recovery is not a magic bullet to instantly improve athletic performance, but it will help promote muscle protein synthesis, keep energy levels high, and improve fluid balance – which should lead to a high-performing athlete!

This article was provided by Training-Conditioning

Could your athletes’ nutrition be the final piece to the puzzle for success? As the Texas A&M University track and field team found out, time spent creating individualized diet plans was well worth it.

By Amy Bragg

Amy Bragg, RD, CSSD, LD, was recently appointed Director of Performance Nutrition at the University of Alabama. She previously held the same position at Texas A&M University and can be reached at: abragg@ia.ua.edu.

The pieces are in place: A highly decorated and successful coaching staff, beautiful facilities, and most importantly, an outstanding group of elite athletes. When a team is already poised for success, what can you add to make it even better?

Not long ago, the Texas A&M University track and field coaches asked themselves this question, and the answer they arrived at was an emphasis on sports nutrition. “Paying attention to nutrition enhances our student-athletes’ opportunities to be successful, and when integrated with coaching, it leads to greater achievements,” says Head Men’s and Women’s Coach Pat Henry. “We have great coordination between the coaching staff’s and nutrition staff’s educational message, and we position nutrition as a lifestyle commitment.”

Of course, the main challenge in providing nutrition guidance for track and field is the sport’s great diversity–sprinters, distance runners, throwers, and jumpers all have different needs and goals. It may seem impossible to provide customized advice for so many different types of athletes, but that is exactly what we strive for every day. Doing so means evaluating the demands of each type of athlete, optimizing their eating environment, and formulating nutrition goals that individuals can work toward throughout the year.

FUELING WITH PURPOSE
In our program, we want to link daily food choices with performance outcomes. We tell athletes that they train a certain way to achieve a desired result, and they should eat a certain way for the same reason. They need to understand that lifestyle and nutrition habits have a cumulative effect that produce tangible changes in performance, energy level, body composition, and injury recovery.

Body comp testing provides a nutritional scorecard we can analyze and interpret along with nutritional habits. We use it regularly along with 24-hour food logs as a starting point for talking with an athlete about making changes.

Most track athletes at Texas A&M undergo body comp testing four or five times per year. During a couple of those testing periods, we will also record the student athlete’s nutritional intake over the 24 hours prior to the testing appointment. Accuracy is stressed since a nutrition professional is taking this information directly from the athlete while prepping the body comp exam. Timing, recovery choices, and sleep and wake time are included along with the quantity and quality of food items. Simply holding this discussion in tandem with the body comp testing is educational, but there’s a wealth of information taken in during those appointments.

For instance, if a body comp test reveals that dropping fat would help an athlete improve performance, we’ll look at one or more 24-hour logs to see if there’s an especially problematic time of day or a poor choice in food quantity or quality that needs addressing. Other times, an athlete will tell us that they eat healthy most days, but an occasional “off day” of high fat and calorie consumption throws them off track.

Education is another essential part of our approach, so we use team presentations to help convince athletes of the value of optimal nutrition. Food logs might tell us that only 40 percent of the team is getting adequate nutrition at breakfast and lunch. There’s a target message for a quick team presentation: importance of breakfast in energy level, weight maintenance, and performance, along with 10 easy breakfast options so the athletes can see how simple it is to make an improvement.

On other occasions, we may administer a poll over the course of a full day of team body comp tests. This leads to customized team presentations, and allows student-athletes’ interests to drive a portion of the content.

For example, armed with that information, I can go to the coaching staff and report that 70 percent of the team members are dining at campus eateries for the majority of their meals and 68 percent of their athletes are interested in learning more about using nutrition to boost immunity, while only 12 percent feel they need guidance in the grocery store. To me, it sounds like this team needs a mini nutrition talk at the start of flu season and a nutritionist to visit a couple of campus dining facilities to show them optimal menu options.

The questions that arise from these sessions are always encouraging, because they show us the athletes are taking our message seriously and are truly interested in finding ways to better fuel themselves. Some recent examples include:

• Each year at the same time, I seem to struggle with fatigue–why does it happen and what can I do?

• I’m focusing on a certain aspect of my performance right now. How can nutrition help me with it?

• I had an injury last season. Is there anything I can do with my nutrition to help prevent a recurrence?

Fueling for performance means different things to different athletes at different stages of development. So once they’re armed with a foundation of knowledge, we delve into specifics through individual consultation. And if the athletes follow our advice, we let the results speak for themselves.

CASE STUDIES
The examples below illustrate how I’ve been able to convert broad sports nutrition concepts into targeted advice for different types of track and field athletes dealing with various challenges. Each case is unique, and I find that one-on-one counseling is by far the best way to achieve success.

Tired jumper. In the middle of last season, one of our jumpers came to the nutrition staff complaining of low energy levels. His food logs revealed that his meal selections were consistently very good, but the overall quantity of food was too low, leaving him with inadequate amounts of total calories, carbohydrates, protein, and fat. In addition, he kept pre-activity nutrition very light due to a preference for feeling “weightless” at practices and meets. His body comp history evidenced a tendency to lose weight and lean mass toward the end of the season, and the lower quantity of food was the likely culprit.

Our first intervention strategy focused on increasing food intake and calorie density throughout the day. After discussing the times of day when he didn’t want to eat (particularly before practices), we decided to target breakfast, the recovery period after workouts, and the evening.

He added more calorie-dense foods to his breakfast, such as peanut butter and granola. After working out, he had a snack consisting of other calorie-dense options, such as whole grain breads, guacamole, and peanuts to kick-start his recovery. (This was in addition to his normal lunch and dinner.) At night, I encouraged him to eat a snack such as frozen yogurt with toppings. Foods like these support weight maintenance without requiring large portion sizes, which was important for someone who wasn’t interested in adding a lot of food to his diet.

It seemed like we had solved the problem, but before long, the athlete came to me again and reported “never feeling good” on this new eating pattern. The breakfast changes weren’t a problem, but he told me that snacks didn’t “sit well” for him. After more discussion, we determined that frequent eating made him feel undisciplined, as if his intake was excessive. The issue was as much mental as it was physical.

Because he understood that he still needed more calories to improve his energy level and prevent unwanted weight loss, we decided to try other options besides the calorie-dense ones he had been using. He started snacking on fruit frequently throughout the day. Because it was whole food and not something out of a package, he could snack on things like apples, oranges, and bananas and still feel like a “disciplined” eater. We also increased the amount of 1% chocolate milk he drank after workouts, which boosted his intake of calories, carbs, protein, and fat. As a result, he’s been able to maintain his weight, particularly near the height of his competitive season.

This case was a great learning experience for both sides of the consultation. Sometimes the assessment and advice is totally on point, but it just doesn’t work in practice for the athlete. Just as a coach continues to develop the athlete’s workouts, so does the sports nutritionist adjust the nutritional plan. This athlete needed several touch points with the dietitian to build trust and try alternative strategies. His nutritionist needed knowledge of body comp history at her fingertips, a rapport with the athlete, and an appreciation for the psychological aspects of nutrition and performance.

Combo platter. Combined-event athletes train and compete in a wide variety of venues. The decathlon, heptathlon, and pentathlon comprise a mix of running, jumping, and throwing events such as the 100 meters, long jump, shot put, high jump, 400 meters, 110-meter hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin, and 1,500 meters. The athletes compete in multiple events on consecutive days, and in many ways, it is the ultimate test of strength, speed, agility, and endurance.

Recently, a young woman joined Aggie track for combined events. She had previously competed exclusively as an endurance athlete, burning a massive amount of calories due to the prolonged aerobic nature of the sport. When she switched to track and field, the lower overall energy requirements meant she was eating too much.

In her first year in our program, she was able to maintain her muscle mass but also experienced an increase in fat mass and body fat percentage. The pattern continued the following year, so we scheduled a meeting.

Early in the discussion, it was clear that food and weight were sensitive subjects for this athlete. Based on her food log, I observed that she was overusing energy bars, eating three to four each day in addition to breakfast, lunch, dinner, and pre-training and recovery snacks.

“But I’m doing what I’ve been told: fueling frequently throughout the day to maximize my energy,” she said. She obviously understood the basics of nutrient timing and consistency, but her eating habits weren’t tailored to her actual energy needs–a common problem for athletes who switch sports but don’t change their diet accordingly.

With this athlete, I offered a lot of positive feedback on the good food choices she was making at mealtimes, and focused on the bars as the source of unwanted extra calories. Because she was used to those frequent energy boosts, we talked about spreading out her calories by eating a little less at breakfast, lunch, and dinner, while adding healthy snacks throughout the day in place of the bars.

For instance, instead of having fruit salad as part of her lunch, she would save it for an afternoon snack in place of her usual pre-workout energy bar. At breakfast, she would eat a slightly smaller meal, then have a muffin or bagel with cream cheese in mid-morning instead of a bar. I threw out suggestions, and let her preferences determine the strategies she pursued. Using this approach, we were able to decrease her overall calorie intake without creating periods of the day when she felt tired or hungry.

In time, she realized that she ate the same portion sizes at meals whether she had an energy bar or not. For this athlete, the bars didn’t give her any satisfaction, and with her mastery of meal timing, they really weren’t serving any purpose. “I’m just eating them because they’re here,” she realized.

MUCH TO GAIN
How far-reaching is nutrition’s role in performance? Texas A&M athletes who sharpened their focus on quality and consistency of nutrition choices have seen benefits including improved energy level, better management of inflammation, higher peaks in training, faster rehab, and even a reduction in injuries.

And besides all that, a great nutrition regimen feeds their confidence in competition. When athletes see nutrition as a performance optimizer and know they’ve done all they can to fuel themselves for competition, they get a valuable mental boost that complements all the physical effects. They also start to take pride in their smart decision making.

In the words of longtime Assistant Coach Vince Anderson: “The longer I coach, the more I believe it’s impossible to measure how critical nutrition is. I’m fascinated by the fact that it’s so often the ‘last frontier’ for athletes who are struggling to push their limits. So many athletes will do everything else before they truly focus on their nutrition, but once they do and they experience all the benefits, they never go back.”

Sidebar: OPPORTUNITY THROUGH INJURY
Injuries happen. And for a determined sports nutritionist, they could be a blessing in disguise. Even the most noncommittal athlete may finally become receptive to nutrition coaching during rehab or injury downtime. The
I-can-eat-whatever-I-want-and-never-gain-too-much-weight guy and the fast-food-got-me-here-so-fast-food-will-fuel-me-here girl may suddenly feel a need to change their nutrition habits.

Connecting with the athlete during rehab is not only ideal for a speedy return to play, but also provides a touch point with those athletes who may have viewed nutrition too narrowly in the past. Simply working with an athlete through an injury recovery process offers them support, both psychologically and medically, and in many instances I have found it’s a great entry into working with a resistant athlete. The support you offer during that process will always be remembered, and can completely change the dynamic of how nutrition’s role is integrated in the athlete’s overall performance.

Focusing interventions on relevant nutrients is a great way to start, with a more global assessment of calorie and protein needs falling in behind. Are you getting enough vitamin C and calcium? What about protein? Knowledge of weight history easily segues into recommendations for limiting calorie and protein intake, which may even need to be higher to support the recovery process for an injured athlete. In short, the time to improve nutrition is always now, and in whatever mode most resonates with the athlete.

This article was provided by Training and Conditioning