5 Rules for Athlete Nutrition

   Following these simple eating guidelines could dramatically improve your health and performance 

TRAINING TIME : Tim Rudd for IYCA

   Do you know the types of things athletes must do to improve their health, body composition and performance? As a Precision Nutrition Level 1 coach, I have the most up-to-date, scientific-based researched and practical nutrition strategies at my fingertips.

   Everything I teach my athletes is based on the 3S criteria, developed by Precision Nutrition.

   SIMPLE: Are the rules easy to follow?

   SCIENCE-BASED: Are the rules based on sound scientific principles?

   SUCCESSFUL: Have the rules produced success in others like your athletes?

   A system based on those three things is absolutely critical.

   To help you out, here are the exact rules I’ve used with my athletes for years.

   >> EAT EVERY FEW (3-4) HOURS: Now, the athletes don’t need to eat a full meal every few hours “” some of them can be smaller snacks. But every few hours they should be getting a dose of good food that follows the other rules below.

   >> INCLUDE PROTEIN-DENSE FOODS IN EACH MEAL AND SNACK: The most protein-dense and high-quality proteins come from animal foods (chicken, beef, fish, dairy etc.)

   >> INCLUDE VEGETABLES IN EACH MEAL OR SNACK: One of the best and easiest things athletes can do to improve their health and performance is to include veggies in each meal or snack.

   >> EAT MOSTLY UNPROCESSED CARBOHYDRATES: This includes things like rice, pasta, potatoes, etc. These should come from whole food sources that contain no more than three ingredients if packaged. Athletes should control their portions, limiting them to a cupped palm size with each meal. 

   >> INCLUDE A GOOD BALANCE OF HEALTHY FAT IN YOUR DIET (There are three types of fat): 

         – Monounsaturated fat should come from mixed nuts, olives, and olive oil.

         – Polyunsaturated fat should from flax seed oil, fish oil, and mixed nuts.

         – Saturated fat come from animal proteins, butter and coconut oil. 

   Eating all three kinds in a healthy balance can dramatically improve their health, performance and body composition.

   Those five rules alone will have athletes eating better “” and performing better “” than 85-90 percent of their competition.

Check out this article in the digital edition of SportStars Magazine… 5 Rules for Athlete Nutrition 

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