Young Athletes Nutrition - Pre-Game Meal Plan

Bridget Snapp: Today on Clubhouse GAS, we're finding out the best foods to eat before the big game. I'm back here with Ms. Diane King, Certified Athletic Trainer at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Registered Dietician and Specialist in Sports Dietetics. We appreciate you being here with us once again. Diane King: Sure. Bridget Snapp: Okay, today we're talking about pre-game eating. Diane King: Okay. Bridget Snapp: Our first scenario, the early game. Diane King: Okay, so we have that 8 o'clock on the soccer field game and it's not likely that the kids are going to get up at 5 in the morning to have a big breakfast. So what we're really talking about is putting something in that child's belly that's going to keep him from getting hungry, keep him from getting distracted and just give him just enough energy to make it through the game. So that can be something as simple as a glass of chocolate milk that might be some orange juice and a piece of toast. One thing we have to remember is that food at pre-game meal is not really what's giving the child energy for that game. Bridget Snapp: Well, I don't think anyone is going to argue with the glass of chocolate milk. I couldn't imagine. Diane King: Right. Bridget Snapp: Alright. So now you've got 45 minutes between now and the next match. What do you eat? Diane King: I think when you have that little time between, we're really looking at sports drinks maybe small handfuls of dried fruit or trail mix. Again, it's not something that we're looking at filling us up with, but it's just kind of the food that's going to help keep blood sugars a little more normalized and consistent, so that you don't have that big drop and that big kind of energy crash within the hour. Bridget Snapp: So, it's important to get something if you've got a little bit of time. How often would -- what is window of time which you recommend that they eat? Diane King: Well, I think you really shouldn't to get something in them within 15 minutes of when they finish that previous match. The problem that we run into sometimes is though the kids want to do the energy drink and things like that because it's going to give them a little burst of energy. They've got the little caffeine rush and when we're talking about tournament play and all day tournaments and matches and things like that, that's probably the worst choice that they can make. Bridget Snapp: So we're talking like what would a Red Bull do to a young athlete in the middle of the game? Diane King: Well, what it's going to do is it's going to let him crash and burn couple of hours later. They definitely get a little high from having the caffeine and having that little sugar rush, but it's not actually providing energy and giving them nutrients to make and sustain energy during the actual match or competition. Bridget Snapp: So small snacks protein? Diane King: Correct. Bridget Snapp: Now let's talk about the pre-game meal. Does the meal, the morning hour before a Saturday competition give you the energy you need? Diane King: Well, not really. What it's going to do, if you have a Friday night game, a lot of teams will have a pre-game meal right after school and before they go to the game, but that meal is really just kind of topping them off. It's like putting that last little bit of gas in the engine. It's not the meal that actually provides the foundation of their energy. That's coming from about two days before hence. So really a Thursday night meal or mid-week meal is what helping best for a Friday or Saturday competition. Bridget Snapp: Really? Diane King: Yeah. Bridget Snapp: Okay, so that's why it's important to eat consistently throughout the whole week. Diane King: Absolutely. A lot of times kids will eat a really good meal right before their match or right before their game and that's helpful, but it's not the best way of managing their energy levels. We really teach the kids to work on consistency throughout the week. So, again, that includes don't skip your meals, make sure you have that variety of food choices along the way, hydrate. You can't drink a gallon of water right before you go out for a football game and expect that to keep you hydrated and not have problems with heat. You've got to be drinking throughout the week. Bridget Snapp: Now is this having to do with how the body metabolizes food? Why is it exactly that the couple of days before are going to be more important? Diane King: Well, it is what gets the glycogen stores or the energy levels built up better and it's what makes energy available more quickly. A lot of times we think about our metabolism like a faucet and you can't just turn it on and turn it off. And selectively pull out energy when you need it right then, it's kind of a ramping effect. So to have it available all the time, helps to keep your metabolism running at a higher level which makes energy production and energy availability more readily available. Bridget Snapp: I've often heard that if you abuse your metabolism, then you're going to slow it down in a long run. Diane King: That's correct. Bridget Snapp: That is true? Diane King: Yeah, by skipping meals, you force the body to have to use what's available and a lot of times people think, well, I've got fat stores and I can just use that for energy, but selectively your body will use your muscle tissue before it will actually tap in the fat stores, if you're not eating on a regular basis. Bridget Snapp: Okay. So eat on a regular basis. Keep that food in your system. Diane King: Yeah. Bridget Snapp: What about the kid who gets little nervous before a game and somebody is going to clinch out, I don't want to eat? Diane King: You have to kind of weigh out what's really going on. A lot of times if you are having them eat something, it's going to come back. So a lot of times, we'll concentrate more just on some fluids and whether it's just a sports drink, whether it's a milk based shake or something like that, that might be tolerated. It really kind of depends on what the food intolerance for the child is. Anyway, it could be that we're uncovering some type of food sensitivity. Certainly, acid producing foods can increase the risk of reflects and things like that. So there are times when we'll even use the specialty products like sports gels which are really kind of the consistency of a little cake icing or something like that. So using some energy without putting a lot of volume in their stomach and usually they'll tolerate that pretty well. Bridget Snapp: If you do suspect that there could be some type of food sensitivity or food allergy, what do you do? Diane King: I think you really need to check it out with your physician. I mean a lot of times parents like to guess, oh, they are intolerance to this or they are allergic to this and the body changes. So whereas they used to eat corn when they were two-years-old, they may not be eating it and tolerating it well as they get a little bit older. So recognize if there are changes happening within the body and check in with your physician from time to time if you suspect a pattern in developing. Bridget Snapp: Now there is a situation where our kid is maybe nervous and doesn't want to eat. There is a situation where the kid is actually getting sick to stomach. He might be actually throwing up. What do you advise for those children? Diane King: I think you've got to rely on that healthy eating that they've done earlier in the week and so you don't force them to eat something right before their match. Wrestlers, especially will tend to have that problem, focus on the recovery nutrition and make sure you're getting the fluids in them. If they're vomiting, if they're having continuous bouts of diarrhea, certainly hydration becomes an issue. So you've got to keep the fluids coming in. Bridget Snapp: Okay, anything else you want to say about the healthy eating for kids and the young athletes? Diane King: I think just the message that consistency is important and remembering to treat the child individually based on the sport and then the type of training that they do. Fit those snacks in and around before and after practices and definitely give them at bed time snack. Bridget Snapp: Well, we thank you for your consistency and delivering great information to us each time we've talked with you. Diane King: Thank you. Bridget Snapp: Alright, and thank you for watching this edition of Clubhouse GAS. We'll see you next time.