The day was a great success and I enjoyed it immensely; the young swimmers were fabulous, interacting and getting involved in the activities and quizzes I’d prepared for them; unfortunately we didn’t have access to power-point, but the slides were easily printed out and adhered to a flip chart. Lisa had organised the groups into no more than ten at a time, so the four separate groups, spread throughout the day, all contributed something different to each session; working with young people involved in sport is so inspiring, they are so dedicated to their activity, rising early morning to train and often attending classes & events late into the evening - real dedication which obviously means that their nutrition is of paramount importance to ensure they stay well, healthy and free from injury.
I began by
talking to them about energy and the importance of carbohydrates and we then
moved onto protein, and the constituent building blocks of amino acids, before
moving onto fat. I think it so important
to emphasise to young people that all fat is not bad; there is so much hype
about fat being the demon macromolecule, but without it we couldn’t absorb the
fat soluble vitamins, ADE & K and for athletes it is a valuable source of
energy - furthermore, all fat is not equal!
Most of the young swimmers were aware of saturated fat and although I hadn’t
planned on talking about the monounsaturated and polyunsaturated varieties, the
final group of the day were eager to learn more and so I briefly touched upon
these and their importance in our diets, emphasising that for athletes, when
time is short and energy often needed quickly and in large amounts, high energy
rather than nutrient-dense snacks are absolutely vital.
I then talked
about the vitamins, minerals & antioxidants and the importance of eating
lots of fruits & vegetables; we discussed how many portions of F&V they
thought we should all eat on a daily basis; fortunately most were aware of the
5 a day message, but I was very pleased that some thought it should be 5+ and
this is indeed the answer we agreed upon.
It made me smile, when one of the young swimmers asked me “do you eat 5
a day?” - honesty is definitely the
right policy and so I said that yes, on the whole I tried very hard to make
sure I achieved that goal but there were busy days when this was impossible;
however, it was important not to beat myself up about it, but rather get back
on track and make up for the shortfall as soon as I possibly could.
We then talked
about fuelling up prior to training and the importance of refuelling afterwards
and the optimum time-frames for doing so; we brainstormed ideas for snacks to
have beforehand and discussed those containing both carbohydrate and protein to
have within the hour after training and devised healthy meal options to ensure
their “fuel tanks” were full to prepare them for the next busy day and to enable
them to train and perform again at their best.
It’s such a
privilege and so very refreshing to work with young people; to be able to try
to make a difference and to provide them with sound, scientific knowledge about
nutrition, before they begin to perhaps be influenced by messages that are
based upon the latest fads or trends. I’ve
inserted below my final messages to the young swimmers, which I hope they will
remember!
It is very important to remember that as an athlete you expect a great deal from your body, therefore you need a huge amount of energy to perform all your day to day activities, i.e. going to school, doing your homework, meeting with your friends etc. and lots more energy besides to train & compete.
Your diet needs to contain a wide variety of foods - carbohydrates to give you energy, protein to repair and recover and lots of fruit and vegetables to provide you with your vitamins & minerals.
BUT … this does not mean that foods such as cakes, crisps, chocolate and sweets are all BAD, it is ok to have them now and then, they will give you lots of energy as well, but just don’t have too many of them, choose healthier snacks instead such as toast & jam, a peanut butter sandwich, cereal with milk, yogurt, lots of fruit, a cereal bar or a milk shake.
Don’t be a fussy eater; athletes need a wide variety of foods to ensure they obtain all their vitamins & minerals; be prepared to try new foods and even if you don’t like a vegetable such as broccoli very much, try to think like an athlete and eat like an athlete, and try just a small amount.
 |
| The Eatwell Plate - a visual representation of the types and proportions of foods needed for a healthy & well-balanced diet |
Eat well, stay well
Cathy x
No comments:
Post a Comment