When Your Athlete Is Always Hungry

Hi there! Welcome to the blog where I do my very best to support young athletes and help them fuel when fueling feels hard.

Recently I had someone tell me that their athlete is struggling with always feeling hungry. I heard that and thought, “How have I not done a blog on this yet?!” If your athlete complains of always feeling hungry and you feel like you just can’t keep enough food in the house, you are absolutely not alone! I hear this often from the teen athletes that I work with. It is an uncomfortable feeling to never feel full or to feel satisfied from a meal for only about 1 hour and then feel ravenous again. I see this happen so frequently in growing high performing athletes with their multiple practices a day and long school schedules.  If this is something your athlete struggles with, then today’s post is for you. I want to give you a few nutrition takeaways that your hungry athlete can start implementing this week to help them feel more satisfied.

3 Initial Nutrition Strategies to Help Your Hungry Athlete Feel Full:

1. No skipping meals

   I would think this is a given, but you never know. And I know from years of experience that adolescent athletes can be regular meal skippers. Your athlete needs at least 3 meals a day, minimum, and if he/she is super hungry all the time, I would throw in a 4th meal, especially if it’s a season of higher training volume or intensity.

2. Consistent snacks

   Is your athlete including at least 3 snacks? Most of my athletes struggling with persistent hunger get more than 3 snacks a day. If your athlete gets 3 meals a day already, how could they start getting in 4 or 5 snacks / day?

3. Create variety on the plate

   What are the athlete’s meals and snacks made of? I think we often immediately think “protein, protein, protein” in the sports world. BUT we cannot forget those other macros. Carbs and fat are really big energy sources for the athlete’s brain and muscles. They also slow digestion.  

• Have your athlete take a look at their plate.  What is the plate made of?

• It needs to have a balance of foods that provide protein, carbs and fat. 

• Example: if your athlete’s go-to snack is a bagel, great! That is a great source of carbohydrates but, while carbs are fantastic energy sources, they get utilized by the body pretty quickly. So, let’s add some fat and protein by topping that bagel with a couple of tablespoons of peanut butter and maybe they need a glass of milk or a yogurt to go with it for a protein and carbohydrate boost (not to mention calcium for the growing bones)!

• Example: Or, maybe your athlete is drinking a protein shake for a snack.  While these do contain a lot of protein, they are typically very low in carbohydrates, calories and fat. What if you blended that protein drink into your own shake with banana and peanut butter for added carbs and fat?

Now, of course you have to take into account the athlete’s school and training schedule. If they can’t eat that many snacks, then we adjust accordingly. And if it’s a snack right before practice, we may need to leave that snack alone and really focus on ramping up the others.

But, these are a few “getting started” techniques to help your athlete feel more satisfied with meals and snacks and less hungry so he / she can focus on the other aspects of the day.

If your athlete needs more help implementing a nutrition strategy that fills them up and fuels the sport I have a few resource that might interest you!

• You can download my FREE Getting Started Guide to a Well Fueled Young Athlete

• OR, I’m running a VIRTUAL LIVE SPORTS NUTRITION PROGRAM FOR THE YOUNG ATHLETE this summer! It’s perfect for the young athlete wanting to learn the sports nutrition fundamentals so they can feel confident building meals and snacks and a fueling plan to meet their goals on their own. If you’re interested in learning more about this program opportunity, I encourage you to sign up for the WAITLIST! You’ll get a few more emails directly from me with more program details and some special bonus offers should you decide to enroll. You can sign up HERE!

Much love and a well-fueled young athlete,

Taylor

Ps. You can also book a call to chat with me about working together any time. I would LOVE to speak with you!

Overnight oats are an excellent quick & easy way to pack in multiple food groups, extra energy and nutrition & lots of flavor! Can enjoy as a meal or a snack. This recipe is a favorite.

When Your Athlete Has a Super Packed Schedule

Do you feel like you hardly see your athlete?  Like, you get in a quick groggy hello before they are out the door for early morning practice and then you get an exhausted “hi again” or “what’s for dinner?” after school? Maybe you don’t see your athlete until even later - like 8 or 9:30 pm because they have evening practices or had an evening game. Or maybe your athlete is in a sport like gymnastics, dance or figure skating where they could be at the gym/studio/rink for hours at a time with small school breaks in-between and in the evening.

Regardless which sort of schedule your athlete follows, with this time-consuming commitment to sport it can be really really difficult to get a good fueling strategy in place and meet the high nutrition demands of sport. I see this as a roadblock with so many of the athletes that I work with and so today I wanted to take a little time and give you 5 nutrition principles along with actionable strategies that your athletes can start putting into practice now to help them optimize their intake when they have a super packed schedule that makes it hard to fuel well….

5 Nutrition Principles for the Young Athlete

with a Packed Schedule

1. Snacks are their best friend.

• Have your athlete go with you to the store to pick out different snack-type items that he or she can have on-hand in a lunch bag throughout the day for easy fueling. These should be from a variety of food groups so that the athlete is getting a variety of nutrients and energy sources throughout the day.

• Some examples include: granola bars, whole grain crackers, string cheese, chocolate milks, yogurt, goldfish, nuts/seeds, deli turkey, carrot sticks, hummus, cottage cheese cups, dried fruit, fresh fruit.

• Need help strategizing how to mix and match? Grab a copy of my Sports Snack Survival Guide! DM me on Instagram or email me at taylor@taylored-nutrition.com to grab a copy!

2. Because they are snacking, they need to eat more often (than if they sat down for a larger more balanced meal)

• A young athlete should not go 4 + hours between snacks.  

• If the athlete is mostly getting fuel from snacks, he/she likely should be getting a snack about every 2 to 3 hours, depending on the content of the snack and the specifics (age, height, weight, sport played, etc.) of the athlete.

3. Fueling meals and snacks don’t have to be beautiful or look Instagram perfect to fuel the body well. - put away those perfectionistic ideals!

• I help my athletes put together a lot of fueling meals and snacks that they end up doing really well with and feeling really good about.  Many of them are surprised at how simple and basic the meals and snacks are! 

4. Meals & snacks need carbs + a variety of these other foods.

• When it comes down to it, your athlete needs carbs from a variety of food groups to keep those energy stores up. These should be in each snack and meal.  Alongside it, depending on when the snack falls in relation to a practice or training session, there should also be some protein, some fiber and some fat. 

• Have your athlete pick different food sources of carbs, protein, fiber, and fat that they enjoy so that they get a variety of micronutrients (vitamins & minerals) throughout the day as well.

• And while the athlete may have to rely on lots of snacks some days, they should make sure one or two meals is still a part of their day. That could be a great breakfast to start the day or a great dinner with family or friends to end the day.

• Smoothies can be a great way to pack in food group variety and energy that is easy and quick.  I, personally, feel the same way about oatmeal & overnight oats!

5. Don’t forget the water bottle.

• Water is still super important to keep those energy levels up and optimize performance. We want the athlete to be drinking throughout the day.

• Remember, items like milk, sports drink, flavored water, teas, smoothies, fruits, veggies, and applesauce all contribute to an athlete’s hydration goal!
  

I hope today’s post has given you 5 strategies that your athletes can start working on today and take with them into the school year. As always, reach out to me if you have any questions or concerns regarding fueling your young athlete. I would love to chat!

Happy Fueling!

Taylor

Image credit - https://historyofsoccer.info/

3 Key Components of a Great Recovery Snack

Happy Wednesday, everyone! Hope everyone is hanging in there. I’ve met with a few athletes lately who have taken training into their own hands during this time of canceled practices and sporting events and have begun regular daily practices and resistance training sessions, which I think is great! Anything to keep up your skill, agility, strength and endurance. I’ve loved talking with my athletes and families about how they are keeping up when regular practices are canceled and I have found that I’m still getting similar nutrition questions as I was before COVID-19 and social distancing arrived. One question I’m continuing to receive from athletes and families is about the ideal recovery snack. To help answer these questions I thought I would simply share a previous post on the subject but, after going back through my blog posts, I realized I have not written one about this particular topic yet! So, that is what today’s post is about - recovery fuel for the young athlete. The intention of this post is to share what to know to create your own recovery snacks and some examples of good recovery snacks that meet the criteria. Hope you find this helpful. Comment below or feel free to contact me with any questions!

Happy Fueling!

Taylor

The 3 Components of a Great Recovery Snack

A recovery snack should contain the following 3 components:

1. Carbohydrate - to replenish depleted glycogen (energy/carbohydrate) stores

2. Protein - to repair and rebuild muscle

3. Fluid - to rehydrate the body

If you only give the body carbohydrate, it leaves it without sufficient protein to maintain or build lean muscle. However, if you only consume protein, your body doesn’t have the carbohydrate it needs to continue creating energy! The body is then left having to use protein as a source of energy instead of using it to build and repair lean muscle and other tissues. Without fluid the body may stay in a dehydrated state, leaving it unable to fully recover and setting the athlete up for a suboptimal next workout (especially if that workout is the same day).

As you can see, it’s very important to include all 3 of these items into the recovery snack or meal. While you need only 3 things, it’s important to realize that there are many foods to choose from in each category so the athlete can mix and match to figure out what works best for him or her and to prevent food burnout. If you are not sure what qualifies as carbohydrate, protein and fluid, keep reading for some examples to take with you!

Examples of Recovery Snacks for the Child & Teen Athlete

Below is an infographic I put together showing you how to think about piecing the recovery snack or meal together using the 3 key components. You can see that there are all different foods and varieties you can create and choose from. Make sure to play around with different foods and find what works for you!

Foods That Pack a Punch

There are some foods that actually can count as 2 or 3 components in one or can be in different categories depending on what snack you are creating. This can be really helpful for the athlete that doesn’t have a lot of time to prep snacks or a lot of time to eat them. This usually applies to the teen athlete during the school year.

These foods include:

1. Chocolate Milk: protein, carbohydrate & fluid all in one bottle!

2. 100% Fruit Juice: carbohydrate & fluid

3. White milk: this include carbs, protein and fluid, but it does not contain as many carbs as chocolate milk so try to get another quality carbohydrate food with it

4. Yogurts: protein + some carbohydrate. The athlete in very long or intense practices would most likely benefit from including another form of carbohydrate with his / her yogurt

Nine Protein-Boosting Breakfasts for the Young Athlete

Breakfast seems to be the hardest meal of the day for adults, kids and teens alike. While, yes, some adults can get along just fine with a coffee-only breakfast, there are certain groups of people that really need this first meal of the day. If you have read my previous posts, you now know that the saying “breakfast is the most important meal of the day” is not just some silly phrase. This statement holds a lot of truth, especially for athletes and active individuals. For these groups breakfast really is necessary because athletes, particularly young athletes, cannot typically get all of the nutrition they need to support growth, development, regular functioning AND sport from just two meals a day! Our bodies can only utilize a certain amount of protein per meal or snack for muscle building and maintenance and other necessary body functions. We now know the rest of it gets excreted as seen with increased urea levels. So, if your high intensity or power athlete needs a higher amount of protein, it’s going to be pretty important that your athlete include breakfast as a chance to get some of that protein! Of course, the breakfast meal is also a chance to get quality carbs and healthy fats + micronutrients like calcium, zinc, iron and vitamin D, but today we’re talking about protein so I’m going to try and stay on track!

Today, I’m tying all of my previous posts together with these ten protein-boosting breakfasts for the young athlete. I hope it helps make your mornings easier and your athletes stronger.

And remember, it doesn’t have to be fancy or complicated to be effective!

Happy Fueling!

Taylor

NINE PROTEIN- BOOSTING BREAKFASTS FOR THE YOUNG ATHLETE

1.

Whole Grain English Muffin + 1 Tbsp PB + Mixed Berries

~ 12 grams of protein

2.

1/2 cup Cottage Cheese + Sliced Berries

~14 grams of protein

3.

Whole Grain Oatmeal + Peanut Butter

15 grams of protein

4.

Greek Yogurt + Egg + Mixed Fruit

~21 grams protein

5.

Greek Yogurt + Whole Grain Granola Bar

~20 grams protein

6.

Make-Ahead Egg Cups: Up & At ‘Em Eggs Cups

You can have 3 egg cups for about 15 grams of protein or have 2 + an 8 ounce glass of milk for about 18 grams!

Get Recipe!

7.

Egg Sandwiches

You can make these simple with one or two eggs & a slice of cheese on a whole grain English Muffin or, I love my 5-Ingredient Breakfast Sandwiches! About 18 grams of protein!

Get Recipe!

8.

SunButter Banana Overnight Oats

Get Recipe!

9.

Cherry Vanilla Overnight Oats

Get Recipe!