I recently gave a talk on nutrition for young athletes to a group of students, parents, and coaches at my old high school to commemorate my 25-year reunion later this month.
My cross-country running coach was there, and it was such a full-circle moment because I never considered myself athletic until a friend convinced me to join the team. This experience kicked off a lifelong love of running that ultimately motivated me to become a sports dietitian!
I did this talk to give back to a great school, but also because my younger self needed it. I wish someone had taught me how to support and fuel my body, rather than fight it. I wish I had known that constantly trying to shrink my body was not worth it, and was harming me in more ways than I could ever imagine.
In this post, I'll share the 11 Nutrition Tips for Young Athletes that I delivered to my high school audience, as well as the free resource I created for these students, coaches, and parents.
11 Nutrition Tips for Young Athletes
Nutrition has a massive impact on how you perform, not just in sports but also in your daily life. What you eat (and don't eat) literally impacts EVERYTHING.
Prioritizing your nutrition as a young athlete will help you feel great during practice and competitions, while also improving things like:
Energy levels
Sleep
Recovery from training and racing
Mental health
Gut function
Ability to focus and do well in school
Bone health
Immune health
And SO much more!
This is not a comprehensive list, but below you'll find my top nutrition tips for young athletes to feel good and perform well in all areas of life.
1. Eat adequately and consistently (every 3-4hr) during the day
Eating enough and eating regularly throughout the day is THE most important thing you can do for your health and performance. If you're not getting enough total energy (aka calories) into your body, including adequate carbohydrates, it doesn’t really matter what else you're doing.
You could be taking creatine, hitting your protein goals, eating your fruits and veggies, taking a multivitamin, or whatever else. Your body needs adequate energy available to function and thrive, and everything else you throw at it won't make up for that deficit.
This is my first tip because so many athletes I work with and observe, including young athletes, are not eating enough. This can be intentional or unintentional - your body does not know the difference.
If you go long periods of time without eating (i.e. more than four or five hours), you are putting a lot of stress on your body. Your body activates a bunch of systems that are reserved for survival mode, even if you “make up for it” later and meet your total energy needs for the day. This is what's known as a "within day energy deficit," and negatively impacts your health and performance.
If you are consistently not eating enough each day, you create an energy deficit that grows over time. After as little as five days of being in an energy deficit, your body starts to undergo various changes to protect itself. Eventually, every system in your body (brain, heart, immune system, bones, reproductive system, metabolic health, etc) is impacted.
You may not notice much at first, but over time you may feel less energy, get sick more often, get soft tissue or bone injuries, lose your period or have irregular cycles, feel more moody and irritable, have more stomach trouble than usual, etc. The list of symptoms is long.
Being in a state of low energy availability, where the body doesn't have what it needs to function properly, can lead to a cluster of symptoms that is known as Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport or REDs. This affects active people of all abilities, ages, and genders.
Many young athletes struggle to eat well for several reasons. For example:
Some may skip meals or snacks because of busy school schedules, with free periods and lunch breaks filled with club meetings or studying
Many don’t bring all the food that they need for the day, especially for before and after practice, and end up not having what they like or need available
Others are actively trying to eat less, in order to lose or control their weight
Here are some things to keep in mind, as a parent, coach, or student:
Plan ahead and prioritize fueling, even on busy days and rest days
Don't skip breakfast, even if you're running late (take on the go if needed)
Don’t wait for hunger to eat - low appetite after exercise is common, but you still need to fuel yourself
Snacks are key, both at school and at home
Look out for signs that you’re not eating enough, such as:
Low energy, frequent illness/injury, stomach issues, poor recovery/performance, sleep problems, increased anxiety or mood swings, missed periods, etc
What you eat doesn’t have to be complicated, and it can absolutely be a convenience (aka "processed") food if that’s what helps you stay fed!
For example:
Play around to see what sits well in your stomach and what you enjoy.
2. You have increased carb and protein needs (among other things)
Carbs are your body's preferred source of energy, and your needs increase as you train for more time and/or at higher intensities. This means you do not want to eat exactly the same throughout your season or on different training days, because your body needs different amounts of carbs.
You also require more protein as an active, young person than someone who is sedentary. Unlike with carbs, your protein needs stay roughly the same throughout the season.
This article about Athlete Performance Plates is a great visual guide showing you how to adjust your eating on different training days and phases of training. It's focused on endurance athletes but the concepts are similar and the performance plate visuals are the same for young athletes.
To make sure you're meeting your daily goals, include good sources of protein and carbs at all meals and snacks. Post-dinner / pre-bedtime is a great opportunity to have a protein and carb-rich snack to meet your daily goals and promote normal growth as well as recovery from exercise.
If you're right about to exercise, you can skip (or at least reduce) the protein and opt for a snack that is rich in easy-to-digest carbs, such as:
3. What you eat everyday and surrounding exercise is highly individual
Nutrition should always be personalized, because what each of you needs depends on your age, sport, how active you are, taste preferences and tolerances, body weight, performance goals, and so much more.
It often takes some experimentation to figure out what feels good to you, especially when it comes to eating and drinking before, during, and after exercise. If you’re in a sport that involves running, you may be extra sensitive to nutrition because you are jostling your stomach around.
There are certain guidelines for different nutrients both during and outside of exercise that you can use as a starting point. From there, try various things until you figure out what feels good for you.
So the main message is that you can absolutely try what your friends and teammates are doing, but what may work for them may not work for you.
4. Dehydration impacts overall health, cognitive function, and performance
It's essential that you start exercise well-hydrated and replace fluid/salt losses due to sweat. To do this, you need to have a sense of what your individual needs are.
From one athlete to the next, we see drastically different amounts of sweat being lost, and amounts of sodium lost in sweat. Furthermore, the environment (e.g. heat) can impact how much sweat these athletes lose.
Just to give you a sense of how vast these ranges can be, athletes may lose between 0.5 and 2.5 liters of sweat per hour of exercise, and between 200mg and 2,000+ mg of sodium per liter of sweat. This is why it's so important to personalize your fluid and electrolyte targets during and surrounding exercise.
To do this, first make sure you are meeting your baseline hydration needs:
Weight (lbs) / 2 = # of oz you should aim to drink per day
This is without taking exercise losses into account
Then, add fluid and electrolytes before, during, and after exercise to replace sweat. These amounts should always take into account your unique losses, the environment, and what you're doing, but here are some general recommendations:
Drink ~8-16oz of fluid (potentially with carbs/salts) before exercise and ~16-24oz after
Sip fluids (potentially with carbs/salts) during shorter, intense sessions (30-60min)
Aim for ~12-28oz/hr of fluids with carbs/salts (or include carbs separately) during longer sessions (>60-90min)
Heat and increased intensity make you sweat more, thus you need to drink more
Remember, fluid is more than just plain water.
To learn more about hydration, this blog post goes deeper into everything you need to know, including how to test your sweat rate and sweat composition. Again, it's geared towards endurance athletes, but the principles are very similar.
5. You may need to consume carbs DURING exercise
As stated earlier, your body's preferred energy source, especially at higher intensities of exercise, is carbohydrate or glucose (aka sugar). The problem is that you can only store a limited amount of glycogen (the storage form of glucose) in your muscles and liver.
That means that in certain types of sessions (e.g. harder and/or longer), you may need to consume carbs both before and during practice or competition to feel and perform your best.
Here are some situations where your body would benefit greatly from getting some additional energy:
If exercising at a high intensity (e.g. a hard workout, game or race) for 45min or longer
If exercising at a moderate intensity for 60min or longer
If you didn’t eat enough before and need to make up for it during exercise
During exercise, choose simple carbs that are very easy to digest. Depending on your sport, you may be able to eat some real foods. Some examples:
Sports nutrition products: Sports drinks (contain carbs and electrolytes), gels, chews, energy bars, etc
Easy-to-digest foods: Pretzels, graham crackers, dates, banana, energy bar, etc
Please, do not fear sugar, especially in this situation. Sugar is demonized everywhere these days, but simple sugars are exactly what the body wants and needs during exercise so that it can get energy quickly and easily.
Remember, there is no one "right" way to do this. There are many options and again, you just need to experiment to see which ones work for you.
6. Prioritize eating and rehydrating soon after all workouts and races
Recovery nutrition helps you adapt to training, get ready for your next session, and feel good for the rest of the day so you can study, socialize, and do everything else you love to do.
Here are some quick recommendations to help you recover like a boss:
Try to have a protein and carb-rich meal or snack within 1hr after exercise
Aim for ~20-40g protein and ~50-90g carbs (general recs)
Include healthy fats (nuts/seeds/avocado/fish etc) and color (fruits/veg)
Omega-3 fatty acids (e.g. fatty fish) help fight inflammation from exercise
Polyphenols (brightly colored fruits) provide much-needed antioxidants
If not hungry, try a smoothie/shake then a solid meal 60-90min later
This blog post deep dives into recovery nutrition and will give you tons of meal and snack ideas, as well as more detailed recommendations. Even if you're not a distance runner, the principles will still apply.
7. It’s common to have stomach troubles, especially before a big event
I remember my first big cross country meet. I was so nervous my stomach was a disaster!
The gut-brain connection is strong, and it's not uncommon to experience GI issues (especially if you're in a running sport) on competition days. You may also experience stomach trouble if you try eating before exercise and you’re not used to that.
Here's what I want you to keep in mind:
You still need to consume carbs/fluids before (and potentially during) exercise to perform well
Practice breathing exercises or try other things (e.g. listen to your favorite music) to try to calm your nervous system
Your stomach is a muscle that you can train like anything else
Train the gut to tolerate simple carbs by practicing with small amounts, (e.g. sips of sports drink or bites of banana), and increase slowly over time
Here is an example of how you can train your gut to accept more food before exercise:
You could also start with a couple bites of banana and progress from there. This is just one example, and you don't have to use sports products, although they are generally better tolerated than solid food if you're having trouble.
8. Not all popular sports products are helpful or safe
There are TONS of products on the market. Some are great, some are not. I'm going to focus on two products here - Prime, and caffeinated energy drinks.
Prime is a useless product that doesn't give you what you actually need as an athlete.
Instead, Prime gives you a lot of potassium (which we lose in very small amounts and don't need much of in exercise), and some vitamins. It provides hardly any calories or carbs, and basically no sodium.
This product is not a sports drink. I wouldn't even categorize it as an electrolyte drink.
As a reminder, a sports drink contains carbs to replace what you use for energy during exercise and sodium to replace losses in sweat. Products like Skratch Labs, Tailwind Nutrition, Precision Fuel and Hydration, Gatorade, etc are just a few examples.
You can also choose to get carbs from other sources (gels, food, bars etc) and take in fluids/sodium separately from lower carb electrolyte drinks with sodium, salt pills, salty food etc.
If you like the taste of this product, fine. But don't expect it to actually accomplish any of your hydration goals as an athlete. Your money is better spent elsewhere.
Watch this Instagram reel to hear my full review of this product!
Additionally, young athletes should limit or avoid caffeinated energy drinks like Red Bull, Monster, Celsius, Rockstar, etc. Many products have unsafe levels of caffeine for young athletes, especially if you're drinking more than one serving.
Caffeine is a well-researched drug that has been shown to have performance benfits. That's why it's often added to sports nutrition products, and why many athletes strategically incorproate caffeine into their fueling plans.
HOWEVER, athletes under 12 should not consume caffeine. Teenagers should limit caffeine to 100mg per day. That means if you enjoy coffee, either choose decaf, a single espresso shot, or half a cup (4oz) of coffee.
No one should be slamming energy drinks for energy. I know marketing is very persuasive, but just because a company throws literally millions of dollars behind a product and recruits your favorite professional athletes in ad campaigns, that doesn't mean it's a good product (either in general, or for you specifically).
If you need energy, eat balanced meals/snacks with carbs, stay hydrated, and get sleep! Easier said than done, I know, but you have to at least try.
9. Supplement with caution, and buy third-party tested products
Speaking of products not all being effective or safe, the supplement industry is the Wild West. There is a huge lack of regulation, and it can be a very confusing world to navigate.
Some supplements are well-researched, helpful, and even necessary in certain situations. Others are total garbage and a waste of money, in the best-case scenario. Some brands are trustworthy and prouce high-quality products, while others are super sketchy.
Here are things to keep in mind when considering supplementation:
Certain supplements may not be necessary, per se, but are useful for many people and safe to use (e.g. protein powders), assuming you choose a trusted brand
Generally speaking, make sure you have worked on foundational things (e.g. sleep, nutrition, managing stress) before supplementing to enhance athletic performance
Only use supplements that are well-researched and have demonstrated a clear benefit (this is a great resource for supplements)
Vitamin and mineral supplements should only be used when necessary, along with dietary changes (e.g. iron supplementation due to deficiency seen in bloodwork)
Choose products with third-party certifications (e.g. NSF, Informed Choice) so you know that what’s on the product label is actually in the supplement you’re taking
I've already said this but it's worth repeating - slapping a supplement on a poor, inadequate diet is like trying to plug one of many holes in a leaking bucket. It's probably not going to do much. Always focus on the basics of nutrition first!
10. Lighter does NOT equal faster; Fueled is faster
For the longest time, athletes were told that they need to lose weight or achieve a specific body composition in order to perform better. This was particularly true for running, cycling, and other sports that involve moving your body through space.
Many young athletes were weighed by coaches, told to eat less, and encouraged to get smaller. The consquences were detrimental, physically and mentally.
This narrative is thankfully changing in recent years. However, there are still coaches and athletes of all ages who believe that weight and body composition are the most important things when it comes to performance.
The reality is that speed is the product of MANY factors, including strength, endurance, nutrition, and mental fortitude, among a long list of other things. Yes, weight and body composition are relevant - but everyone puts way too much emphasis on these things, and almost always, it leads to negative consequences.
Even something like running truly is a power sport - your strength matters, and not fueling yourself adequately takes away from that.
Fueled is fastest. Forcing yourself to be lighter can suck your strength (and so many other things) away.
I'm not saying that it's never appropriate to lose weight or change body composition. There are certain athletes where these may be appropriate goals, at certain times of the year (never try to lose weight during a training season).
But the thing to keep in mind with young athletes is this:
Your body is changing right now, and I know that's not always an easy thing to deal with. Especially young girls. Please, don’t fight it, support and fuel it!
I know how hard it is, but you have to keep the big picture in mind and fuel for the future too. Your body will thank you later and pay you in dividends, I promise.
11. Food is not “good” or “bad” - food is food
Balanced meals and snacks packed with nutrients are obviously important to eat as a young athlete. You need fruits, veggies, whole grains, high quality proteins and fats etc to feel good, grow normally, and perform well in both sports and in school.
But you also need to live your lives and enjoy all types of foods with your family and friends, without stress. In other words, try to avoid using the language that food is either "good" or "bad." I know it can be tricky, but try to remind yourself that "food is food."
Health is more than physical health - it's mental health too. Eating disorders and disordered eating are very common among young athletes, and you have to tread very carefully when it comes to the language you use around food (that goes for commenting on what you're eating as an adult, and how you speak about food to young athletes).
When working on nutrition for young athletes, there are two main objectives:
Cultivate a positive relationship with food that you can carry with you into adulthood
Learn how to fuel your body in a way that feels good to you, while supporting normal growth and development as well as your athletic goals.
It's easy to get hung up on a single meal, snack or day. Remember to zoom out and focus on the overall picture of what you are eating - that is what ultimately makes a difference.
Summing it all up
Navigating nutrition especially as a young athlete is particularly hard in the social media and internet-driven world we live in. There is a TON of information and misinformation online, with influencers and other people who are not experts in nutrition pushing all kinds of fad diets, supplements, and confusing and often conflicting information.
I understand how hard it is, and I hope that this post has been helpful. I created 11 Nutrition Tips for Young Athletes for my high school audience and wanted to share this free resource with all of you. I wish someone had given me this information when I was a young athlete.
Happy fueling to all of you, and hope you have an amazing school year! If you're interested in working together, check out my services page to learn more about 1:1 and group nutrition coaching, and the rest of my website to view my digital resources, my podcast, and more.
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