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7 Tips for a Great Pre-Game Meal

June 23, 2018 by

Eating properly before competition is extremely important if athletes are to perform at an optimal level. However, as we all know, getting high school athletes to eat the rights stuff and the right time is difficult. Here are some simple guidelines for them to follow.

This post is courtesy of My Sports Dietitian

By Tavis Piattoly MS, RD, LDN

Which Athlete are You?
The bell just rang and school is out! The game is 3 hours away and the coach dismissed the team to go get something to eat and be back in an hour.

Athlete #1
Goes to McDonalds, 2 double cheeseburgers, large fries and large coke.

Athlete #2
Two turkey sandwiches, fruit, and a low calorie drink from home.

Athlete #1  or Athlete #2  will experience the following?

  1. Significantly have more energy in the second half of the game?
  2. Still have large amounts of fat in their digestive system during the game?
  3. Be dehydrated and sluggish?
  4. Most likely to get abdominal cramps before, during or after the game?
  5. Recovers quicker the next day from muscle fatigue?
  6. Spent more money?
  7. Planned poorly and has no real sports nutrition goals?

7 Tips for a Great Pre-Game Meal 

  1. Don’t Experiment
    Don’t try new foods on a game day, it might cause unexpected problems.

     2. Avoid Soft Drinks and Candy
          Sugar is your enemy, empty calories that don’t provide long term fuel source

     3.High Carbohydrates
          Never can go wrong with breads, pasta, rice…pure long lasting energy source.

     4.Timing
         Takes about 3 hours to empty the stomach of quality food.

     5. Fluids
         Plenty of water and sports drinks…stay away from carbonated sugary soft drinks.

     6. Avoid High Fat Intake
         Fat takes longer to digest and lots of water to process.

     7. Limit Protein Intake
        Protein is a weak energy source, great for building tissue but limit the amount prior to game.

Filed Under: nutrition

What’s in a Healthy Snack?

April 9, 2018 by

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

 

 

Filed Under: nutrition

Post Workout recovery-It’s More Than Just Protein

January 8, 2018 by

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!

 

Filed Under: nutrition

Final Hurdle

November 24, 2017 by

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.

Filed Under: nutrition

Body Composition

September 19, 2017 by

This article was provided by Training and Conditioning

Analyzing athletes’ body composition can lay the groundwork for diet and lifestyle interventions that boost lean mass, reduce fat, and ultimately improve both performance and health.
By Amy BraggAmy Bragg, RD, CSSD, LD, is in her sixth year as Director of Performance Nutrition at Texas A&M University. She can be reached at: braggamy@hotmail.com.Whether they’re on the field, court, or track, coaches use a mix of art and science to measure their team’s gains. They combine observations with game statistics to figure out where the team needs to improve.Strength coaches often do the same thing in the weightroom. By watching athletes work out and periodically testing them, we can determine how they are progressing.Recently, many athletic programs have added another tool for assessing athletes: systematic body composition testing. Here at Texas A&M University, we regard individual and aggregate team body composition data as essential in evaluating nutrition outcomes and their impact on performance.In some ways, body composition analysis seems simple. Decreases in body fat and increases in lean mass mean the athlete’s conditioning has improved, and thus he or she is making progress. But the numbers themselves don’t tell the whole story. Analyzing the scores correctly and providing the right advice is what makes the testing worthwhile.

BEST USES
A decade ago, body composition was usually measured using calipers. Today, we can also choose from a Bod Pod, underwater weighing, bioelectrical impedance analysis, or dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA), which is what we use at Texas A&M. The x-ray provides bone mineral density (BMD in g/cm_ along with T-scores and Z-scores) plus quantified total mass, lean mass, body fat, and bone mass expressed as bone mineral content. Regardless of the method, there are many ways to use the results.

A major benefit of body comp testing is that it builds confidence in the training and nutrition plans we provide for our athletes. When hard work results in increases in lean mass, athletes buy into our expertise and the program as a whole. Your school’s nutrition expert should be responsible for testing and communicating results to student-athletes, as this helps reinforce the significance of nutrition for athletic success.

The results also provide a form of motivation. We know proper strength and conditioning requires intensity in the weightroom. The variables with collegiate athletes are often nutritional consistency, timing, and food choice. Working toward a specific body comp goal can keep the competitive fires stoked through grueling workouts and challenging eating plans.

Body comp testing can be especially helpful when athletes are not on campus. “We can track changes in lean mass over training breaks and hold athletes accountable while they’re away,” says Raychelle Ellsworth, MSCC, CSCS, Assistant Director of Strength and Conditioning for Olympic Sports at Texas A&M. “It gives an accurate picture of each athlete’s training intensity and frequency when we are not there with them.”

For those student-athletes who require extra motivation to ensure success, frequent body composition measurement can keep them on track toward their goals. The incremental feedback reinforces the importance of good decisions and demonstrates that poor nutritional choices carry a heavy price. If an athlete is getting off track or losing steam, an extra body comp test can help push them back on the path to success.

We often use body comp analysis in different ways for different athletes. For those with very poor eating habits who need large improvements in body comp, we’ll focus on the basics. We provide nutrition education and counseling and they are able to see their numbers change fairly quickly.

For the athlete who has naturally ideal composition, we’ll take a more detailed approach. We talk about improving lean mass and how small, incremental changes can make a difference. We’ll coach for a positive change in lean mass, explaining how this will help him or her be more explosive, more agile, and stronger.

Jeff Fuller, a freshman wide receiver on the Aggies football team, fell into this last category. “I came in at the weight I wanted to play, but the nutrition program helped me lose fat, gain muscle, and maintain my weight,” he told Aggie Websider, an online sports news outlet. “My body scans were a lot different. In the first one, I weighed 210 and I had six or seven percent body fat, which was decent. The second time I weighed 205 and my muscle went up and my body fat went down a whole percentage point.”

Fuller said he learned a lot through A&M’s focus on body composition. “There were a lot of things I thought were good to eat, but really weren’t,” he continued. “When you go to Subway you think you’re eating healthy, but that’s not necessarily true because of all the condiments and bacon and cheese and stuff you can get.” Jeff’s results at the end of the 2009 off-season showed an all-time high in lean mass, along with well-maintained body fat and overall weight.

For weight-sensitive athletes, especially those in aesthetic sports, testing results can show positive trends not apparent on a bathroom scale, which is integral to building and sustaining healthy training and eating habits. “The success story I see most often is the athlete who has been asked to lose weight for performance benefits,” says Ruth Taylor, MS, RD, CSSD, Sports Nutritionist at the University of Georgia.

“The athlete has been following a healthy performance meal plan and training hard, but is not seeing a change in weight measured on the scale, so both the athlete and coach are frustrated,” she continues. “When the body composition results from baseline and eight weeks out show us a loss of fat and gain in muscle, they can plainly see that they are reaching their goals.”

At the same time, it’s critical to red flag any athletes who treat body fat measurements as a point of obsession, which can indicate or lead to an eating disorder. In these instances, we stress that body composition is great feedback, but not the only measure of performance. For their own health and safety, results may be withheld from these athletes on occasion.

A great way to begin the discussion with an at-risk athlete is to ask something like, “Based on your training and eating, what are you expecting from today’s body scan?” Obsessive athletes never give themselves credit for good eating patterns–they only think about their indulgences. Sharing positive results reinforces moderation and a constructive outlook on nutrition and training.

In fact, to prevent overvaluing body comps, we do not share results with student-athletes until we have two scans to compare. The body composition or body fat percentage “magic number” doesn’t matter nearly as much as the trend, or the change over time. Handling results in this manner is consistent with our educational message and frames the results in a realistic, healthy way.

To best manage those who overvalue the tests, we continually monitor body comp to ensure body fat does not trend dangerously low, and reinforce the message that zero body fat is not the goal. If athletes don’t receive education and reasonable goals from professionals, they turn to less credible sources of information.

We do, however, use the initial body composition scan as a screening tool for disordered eating. Nothing illustrates compromised nutritional intake quite like bone density. Using the volume of scans we have collected since early 2006, we’ve compiled bone density standards for each team and even some specific positions (see “Sport by Sport” below for some examples). When an athlete’s initial scan results are significantly lower than our team index, we follow up with a full nutritional assessment and appropriate calcium and vitamin D supplementation. Scans may be repeated to assess progress and changes in bone density and overall body composition.

Another reason we do body comps is to develop a rapport between the sports nutritionist and student-athletes. Every Texas A&M athlete undergoes a body comp test, followed by a meeting with a nutritionist. This frames nutrition as a factor in performance and eliminates the “punitive” perception that may arise from referring athletes to the nutritionist. Too often, athletes perceive a referral for nutrition consultation as something for the “problem” athletes, the “big guys,” or eating-disordered athletes. When everyone meets with the nutritionist, nutrition becomes a coaching point for all athletes and another element in optimizing sport performance.

Team reporting also fosters collaboration among support staff and coaches. “Helping with our team body composition assessments quickly integrated me into our athletic population,” says Jonathan Tanguay, MS, RD, LD, Assistant Director of Performance Nutrition at Texas A&M. “That introduction to our athletes created familiarity and fostered success as I took over more nutritional coaching responsibility with Aggie athletes.”

COACHING POINTS
Regardless of how you use body comp testing, the key is to provide clear nutrition advice along with the numbers. The most disconcerting situation for a student-athlete is body composition assessment without personal feedback and actionable tasks. This feedback should include perspective on the individual’s development, nutrition coaching, and practical strategies.

Here are four common body comp test results, and our typical responses:

On the right track. When an athlete shows increases in lean mass and decreases in body fat, they are likely doing everything right–making quality food choices and eating the right quantity. In this case, we reinforce the positive outcome and use the momentum to build an even greater investment in optimal nutrition, using the following steps:

• Probe current nutrition habits and find small places for improvement.

• Assess micronutrients for performance optimization and injury prevention.

• Begin to lay the groundwork for in-season priorities by assessing the athlete’s in-season body comp history.

Body fat increase. Freshmen will typically increase lean mass, but may also increase body fat. Away from home and working out harder than ever before, they may consume too many calories in all the wrong categories. The advice here is to reduce meal portions and possibly increase eating frequency. But we also talk to each athlete about his or her dietary choices and how to change them:

• Push early calories, with the goal of taking in 50 percent of daily calories by the completion of the lunch meal.

• Assess energy intake from beverages, condiments, and empty calories.

• Evaluate the frequency and quantity of fried food consumption, and encourage switching to grilled, baked, and roasted alternatives.

• Recommend eliminating junk food late at night and train the body to be hungry earlier in the day.

• Add high-fiber options to dinner, such as whole fruit, side salads, and vegetables to enhance satiety.

• Advise stocking the pantry with sensible snacks to satisfy late-night cravings.

Decreases everywhere. When an athlete has a decrease in both lean mass and body fat, an immediate response is needed to prevent negative performance repercussions. This test result can also be a red flag that the athlete is using stimulants.

Along with talking about the seriousness of the test result, we’ll evaluate their use of energy drinks and supplements, prioritize rest, and promote healthy eating. We’ll also monitor the athlete’s body image, emotional vulnerability, and diet. And we will counsel them on how to increase nutrient density:

• Add peanut butter, cheese, guacamole, and two-percent dairy products for weight support.

• Add 100-percent juice or two-percent milk to meals, and drink less water.

• Snack on trail mix and higher-calorie (300+ kcal) energy bars.

• Never go to bed on empty. Have a snack of cereal and milk, peanut butter and jelly, ham and cheese on a bagel, or other breakfast food.

Complete overhaul needed
. Sometimes, an athlete will be heading in exactly the wrong direction, showing an increase in body fat and a decrease in lean mass. This may be due to an injury or a training break. The main direction here is to reduce food quantity and provide advice on quality choices:

• Reinforce a minimum of four meals per day plus customized recovery.

• Maintain structure in the day and review sleeping habits.

• Encourage adequate energy and protein intake to fuel recovery.

• Present the athlete with cost-effective shopping lists and meal ideas.

• Give realistic goals and a timeline for returning to the previous fitness level.

• When dealing with vulnerable athletes, remind them of previous success and reinforce healthy training and eating patterns. Without downplaying data, remind athletes not to overvalue their baseline.

CASE STUDIES
We use the above guidelines as a basis for more specific plans for an athlete or team. The strength coach, athletic trainer, and I typically analyze the individual and aggregate data to form practical recommendations. Here are some examples:

Softball Success. Team data can be profoundly influential for a coaching staff when it comes to eating during the season and on the road. The information drives home the importance of in-season nutrition and the cumulative effect of poorly chosen food patterns. One team we’ve worked closely with is softball.

Following a productive off-season, the team entered a new season primed for success. The Aggies advanced to the super regional, but ended the season in disappointing fashion, having not achieved the goal of advancing to the Women’s College World Series (WCWS).

After completing postseason body comps, the performance nutrition staff reviewed them with the strength and conditioning coach. We found that players struggled with weight fluctuation during the season, as some lost lean mass and others gained body fat. In short, team speed and power seemed compromised at the height of competition. We shared the results with the coaching staff and athletes, and gave the athletes a survey, asking what they felt their needs were. We asked them:

• What are you interested in knowing more about in nutrition?
• What do you struggle with most in-season that pertains to nutritional intake?
• When do you feel most fatigued?
• What did you like and dislike about travel nutrition last season?
• What can the nutrition staff do to help improve your performance?

From the survey, we found that the athletes were very interested in knowing how to lose fat mass (see a sample of our findings in “Survey Results” below). We then focused team talks on defining healthy body composition, and presented options on how to manage body comp throughout the season. The captains led the discussion to determine our final course of action. The team decided to focus on these points:

• Improve nutrition on road trips by following optimal menu choices provided by the nutrition staff and foregoing all soft drinks. Tables were pre-set with water at each place setting.

• Prioritize recovery nutrition. Athletes were charged with doing this individually after workouts, while postgame meals were pre-ordered by the operations staff. We also tweaked in-season conditioning to promote preservation of ideal body composition.

When body comps were completed before the following season, 71 percent of team members had preserved or increased lean mass while controlling body fat (the percentage would have been higher, but some players were injured and did not follow a normal training and eating schedule). It showed on the scoreboard, too, as the team advanced to the WCWS for the first time in nearly 20 seasons. Before the tournament, we shared these results to bolster the confidence of our team and coaching staff.

Following that season, the athletes wanted to further their body comp success by learning more about how to make good nutrition choices on an everyday basis. Each player met with the nutrition staff for one-on-one sessions and the team enjoyed a grocery store tour focused on their areas of interest. At the end of the off-season, the team’s body comp report card showed a gain of 62 pounds of lean mass spread across the 17 players on the roster. Body fat percentage remained in an optimal range and several athletes smashed individual goals. All their hard work paid off, as the team advanced to the championship game in the WCWS the following year and won the Big 12 regular season and tournament titles.

Their Own Culture. Baseball players are a unique breed when it comes to nutrition. They range from the very vain, highly developed power athlete to those with a Babe Ruth-like physique. Supplements and stimulants are a part of the culture.

In addition, superstitions and rituals often take precedence over nutrition. Pregame meals are tracked alongside wins and losses. No matter how popular a menu is, if it doesn’t lead to wins, it will be replaced.

We work with our baseball team in the off-season in several targeted sessions, which we map out in collaboration with the coaching staff. We go over sports nutrition basics, hydration, carbohydrates, protein, fat, maximizing recovery, and gaining lean mass (see “Baseball Sessions” below). We bundle these educational efforts with team meals to make the meetings more social and interactive and less like lectures. What better time to talk about the benefits of good nutrition than when a team is making food choices?

Standout achievements in body composition are recognized by the coaching staff. Our outstanding student-athlete in 2007 was a catcher who needed to lean out to improve performance. Baseline DXA showed a total mass around 186 pounds and lean mass of 129 pounds, with a higher-end body fat percentage and healthy bone mass. Specific strategies centered on prioritizing quality rest, incorporating more lean proteins, and pushing early calories while tapering intake downward after dinner. Following off-season conditioning, off-season nutrition programming, and a couple of individual nutrition sessions, this athlete added more than eight pounds of muscle and dropped nine and a half pounds of fat (more than five percent of his total body fat). Nothing reiterates the value of good nutrition choices like results.

Hidden Problem. Working with our track team the last few years, we had grown accustomed to seeing amazing body composition and fitness levels among freshmen. For one athlete, however, our initial body composition baseline screening showed significantly low bone mass and density. The athlete was invited in for an appointment, and screening continued as we inquired about body image and diet, looking for evidence of disordered eating. After finding nothing, I talked to the athletic trainer and coach to learn more about the athlete in question.

From them, I found the missing piece of the puzzle. This athlete’s home environment was fraught with food insecurity. There was a family history of obesity, and the athlete initially began running to control her weight. She lacked confidence in her food choices and had no previous nutrition education.

We started a personalized supplement regimen of calcium and vitamin D, coached her on adequate nutrition, and continued to monitor her bone density. Now, this athlete thrives in the competitive environment and is a role model for nutrition among her teammates. With encouragement, she’s become a more adventurous eater and appreciates the care given to her bone health. A simple screening and aggressive response set this athlete up for success, and prevented the development of disordered habits.

As these stories show, investing time and resources in body composition testing and extracting every performance-enhancing detail from both individual and team reports can yield great results. The keys are to position your nutrition expert as a performance coach who reaches every athlete on the team, make use of the data along with athlete feedback to establish feeding guidelines, prioritize nutrition education, and deliver appealing, dynamic nutrition sessions. Optimal nutrition benefits student-athletes’ health and wellness and, ultimately, fuels your win column.

Sidebar: SPORT BY SPORT
Over the past few years, we have compiled numbers on average bone density (in g/cm_) in various sports for comparison purposes:
Sport — Bone Density 
Basketball — 1.31
Cross Country — 1.171
Diving — 1.21
Soccer — 1.289
Softball — 1.27
Swimming — 1.166
Tennis — 1.174
Track (Sprinters) — 1.31
Volleyball — 1.27

Sidebar: SURVEY RESULTS
We gave our softball players a survey to discover what they felt were their greatest nutritional needs. Here are some of the results:

I am interested in knowing more about:

How to lose weight or fat mass — 86%
How to stock my pantry at home — 86%
Preparing quick and easy meals at home — 71%
Supplements, vitamins, and minerals — 43%
Nutrition to enhance immune function — 29%
How to increase lean mass — 14%
Hydration strategies — 14%
How to gain weight — 0%
Recovery nutrition — 0%

During the season I struggle with:

Weight gain — 57%
Fatigue — 43%
Frequent illness — 14%
Muscle cramps during games — 14%
Running out of energy during practice — 14%

I feel most fatigued:

Near the end of the season — 71%
During final exams — 43%
During off-season training — 29%
During preseason practice — 14%

Sidebar: BASEBALL SESSIONS
Here are the educational sessions we presented to the Texas A&M baseball team:

Sports Nutrition Basics
• Breakfast
• Meal Frequency
• Fast Food
• Applications for Individual Athletes

Hydration: Choose Your Beverage
• Signs of Dehydration
• General Guidelines for Fluids
• Alcohol Calories
• Sugar/Abdominal Fat Connection
• Effects of Hydration on Performance and Body Composition

Carbohydrates, Proteins, and Fats
• Targeting Carbs, Protein, and Fat Needs via Diet
• Shopping For and Preparing Easy Meals

Nutritional Strategies for Maximizing Recovery
• Recovery/Rest
• Glycogen/Endurance
• Staying Healthy Throughout the Season
• Individual Recovery Prescriptions

Gaining Lean Mass: Optimizing Body Composition
• Caloric Needs
• Carbohydrate and Protein Needs
• Lean Mass vs. Weight Gain

Filed Under: nutrition

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