Eat Like a Pro

Want to succeed as an athlete and wrestler? Start by eating right today, tomorrow, and every day throughout the year. Not just during the heart of the busy wrestling season.

“View eating as part of your training because it is that important,” says Gabriel Mooney, a registered and licensed dietician/nutritionist who speaks at wrestling camps and clinics and to high schools and college athletic teams on the topic of sports nutrition. Mooney was a four-time state champion for Minnesota's Greenbush Middle River High School, and a four-year starter for the North Dakota State University wrestling team.

“It is the fuel that runs you and repairs your body,” adds Mooney. “It will pay off now and in the future.”

Eating like the pros every day is especially important for the rapidly developing athlete between the ages of 12 and 18. That growth/development requires adequate nutrients to ensure optimal genetic potential is reached, says Ronette Lategan-Potgieter, PhD (dietetics), a visiting assistant professor at the Stetson University Department of Health Sciences in DeLand, Florida.

“We are what we eat and one of the best investments in future health and sport performance starts with providing the nutrients to build, fuel and protect the body to ensure optimal performance,” Lategan-Potgieter says.

Develop a Healthy Eating Routine

The following tips and strategies from Lategan-Potgieter and Mooney can help young athletes eat like the pros every day, starting in the offseason:

Focus on the super foods: Make sure about half of your plate consists of fruit and vegetables. These super foods provide important micronutrients, phytochemicals and fiber, which the body requires to function and develop optimally. Eat fruits and vegetables with every meal whenever possible.

Eat home-cooked meals: Try to eat meals prepared at home to ensure that you consume fewer foods high in refined fats and sodium. Fast food distributers add fats, salt and sugar to foods to get them to taste better, but that is not ideal for a person who wants to eat healthy and invest in their body.

Rethink what you drink: Sweetened soda provides calories with very little or no other important nutrients. Drinking water or milk is the best option for developing athletes. Skip sports and energy drinks. “Get in the habit of drinking water as your main beverage,” Mooney says. “This will help develop good habits for hydration. Most sports drinks are not healthy and are watered down sugary drinks with a little bit of salt and potassium to help with marketing.”

It only takes a small loss of body water to reduce strength, endurance and the ability to think fast. Stay hydrated. Remember, your foods contain fluids too. In addition, small sips are better than chugging water.

Eat breakfast: Make sure to eat breakfast and choose minimally processed foods that contain fiber. Fiber is important to keep blood sugar levels steady, and to keep your gut and gut bacteria healthy. A healthy gut is important for optimal health and to prevent diseases.

Lean protein: Adequate protein intake to support growth and development is necessary, but it should come mainly from low-fat sources like fish, chicken, beans and legumes and low-fat meats. Kids ages 12 to 18 should get enough calories and protein from a regular diet to support growth and development, and shouldn’t focus on high protein diets, which can actually be bad for one’s health, Lategan-Potgieter says.

Vitamins and supplements: Vitamin-mineral supplements provide value as a safety net for picky eaters, but more than what is required can be dangerous. If an athlete chooses to use a supplement, it should be a broad-spectrum supplement that provides not more than 100 percent of the daily requirement. Using a vitamin or supplement should also not be an excuse to eat poorly, relying on the vitamin to make up for making poor food choices.

Learn more about vitamins and supplements in the USA Wrestling article “Are nutritional supplements right for my young athlete?”

Calcium is important: All boys and girls need an adequate intake of calcium for long-term bone health. It is important to ensure that teenagers continue to drink milk or use other low-fat dairy products to provide them with the calcium (and protein) they need for optimal growth and health. If a child cannot use dairy products, a suitable replacement for these nutrients should be used.

Get the right carbs: Unrefined breads/pasta/cereal or other starchy foods should form the basis of the young athlete’s diet to provide adequate energy. Choose low glycemic index carbohydrates to ensure a sustained availability of carbohydrates over time. The brain relies on carbohydrates as a source of energy.

Quantity and Quality

Wrestlers should focus on quantity and quality of their foods, says Rob Skinner, MS, RD, CSSD, CSCS, a senior sports dietitian with the United States Olympic Committee who works closely with the top senior-level wrestlers in the United States.

“The quantity (calories) will provide the needed energy for workouts,” Skinner says. “The quality of the foods will assist in optimizing performance. A variety of nutrient dense foods like whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables, lean proteins and healthy fats are the base for a good meal plan.”

Healthy foods include quality starchy carbohydrates like whole gains, sweet potatoes, brown rice, and whole grain pasta, Skinner says. With lean proteins, think the fewer legs the better: fish, poultry, beef, pork, and dairy products all provide quality protein. Quality high fiber carbohydrates can be found in fruits and vegetables and quality fats are found in nuts, seeds, avocado, olives, olive oil and vegetable oils.

“You don’t have to have these at every meal, but variety is important,” Skinner says. “And if there are certain foods you don’t like, look at foods that contain the same nutrients that you do like.”

One of the biggest myths that Skinner hears is that carbohydrates are bad.

“Carbohydrates are the body’s primary source of fuel at exercise. If you don’t exercise, you don’t need to eat as much,” Skinner says. “Adjust your carbohydrates to activity levels. This may mean that you have a protein and vegetable meal versus pasta and garlic bread.”

Meal Planning

The reality is many young athletes and families don’t always have access to healthy foods, or don’t have time to make sure each meal is healthy. Planning ahead, if possible, is key.

“It takes planning to make sure you have healthy food,” Mooney says. “Just like a workout must have a plan, the same goes for meals and snacks. Plan ahead to eat healthy.”

Mooney offers these tips for busy families looking for ways to plan ahead with meal prep:

• Cook/make food in batches. This way you get a couple of meals from one. Freeze the leftovers in portions for a meal to use at a later time.
• Buy food in season. This will be the most affordable and best tasting.
• Stock up on sale items to use for later if you can store on the shelf or freezer.
• Experiment. There are many options for healthy eating. Experiment to find your favorite healthy foods. Make different varieties of your favorite foods if possible.

Healthy Snacks

Healthy snacks are important. Stocking the fridge with fresh fruits and veggies, milk, or yogurt, can be a way to provide quick healthy snacks healthy, Lategan-Potgieter says. In addition, a homemade sandwich made with wholegrain bread and layers of different types of veggies (lettuce, tomato, onion), low fat cheese and lean meat can provide a healthy, quick lunch. Add milk or water and it packs even more of a punch.

Busy parents can also ask kids/athletes to assist with meal prep, teaching them cooking/meal prep skills along the way.

“When the young athlete understands the role of good nutrition in optimal performance, they are usually willing to assist with planning and preparing meals,” Lategan-Potgieter says.

As for treats or cheat days, they are okay in moderation. Balance is the key. And remember, eating for success is an ongoing, long-term commitment - just like one commits to the sport of wrestling. Prepare for the long haul versus expecting overnight changes or results.

“It is all about choices,” Lategan-Potgieter says. “The choices we make today will influence our health and performance tomorrow.”