When Your Athlete Is Always Hungry

Hi there! Welcome to the blog where I do my very best to support young athletes and help them fuel when fueling feels hard.

Recently I had someone tell me that their athlete is struggling with always feeling hungry. I heard that and thought, “How have I not done a blog on this yet?!” If your athlete complains of always feeling hungry and you feel like you just can’t keep enough food in the house, you are absolutely not alone! I hear this often from the teen athletes that I work with. It is an uncomfortable feeling to never feel full or to feel satisfied from a meal for only about 1 hour and then feel ravenous again. I see this happen so frequently in growing high performing athletes with their multiple practices a day and long school schedules.  If this is something your athlete struggles with, then today’s post is for you. I want to give you a few nutrition takeaways that your hungry athlete can start implementing this week to help them feel more satisfied.

3 Initial Nutrition Strategies to Help Your Hungry Athlete Feel Full:

1. No skipping meals

   I would think this is a given, but you never know. And I know from years of experience that adolescent athletes can be regular meal skippers. Your athlete needs at least 3 meals a day, minimum, and if he/she is super hungry all the time, I would throw in a 4th meal, especially if it’s a season of higher training volume or intensity.

2. Consistent snacks

   Is your athlete including at least 3 snacks? Most of my athletes struggling with persistent hunger get more than 3 snacks a day. If your athlete gets 3 meals a day already, how could they start getting in 4 or 5 snacks / day?

3. Create variety on the plate

   What are the athlete’s meals and snacks made of? I think we often immediately think “protein, protein, protein” in the sports world. BUT we cannot forget those other macros. Carbs and fat are really big energy sources for the athlete’s brain and muscles. They also slow digestion.  

• Have your athlete take a look at their plate.  What is the plate made of?

• It needs to have a balance of foods that provide protein, carbs and fat. 

• Example: if your athlete’s go-to snack is a bagel, great! That is a great source of carbohydrates but, while carbs are fantastic energy sources, they get utilized by the body pretty quickly. So, let’s add some fat and protein by topping that bagel with a couple of tablespoons of peanut butter and maybe they need a glass of milk or a yogurt to go with it for a protein and carbohydrate boost (not to mention calcium for the growing bones)!

• Example: Or, maybe your athlete is drinking a protein shake for a snack.  While these do contain a lot of protein, they are typically very low in carbohydrates, calories and fat. What if you blended that protein drink into your own shake with banana and peanut butter for added carbs and fat?

Now, of course you have to take into account the athlete’s school and training schedule. If they can’t eat that many snacks, then we adjust accordingly. And if it’s a snack right before practice, we may need to leave that snack alone and really focus on ramping up the others.

But, these are a few “getting started” techniques to help your athlete feel more satisfied with meals and snacks and less hungry so he / she can focus on the other aspects of the day.

If your athlete needs more help implementing a nutrition strategy that fills them up and fuels the sport I have a few resource that might interest you!

• You can download my FREE Getting Started Guide to a Well Fueled Young Athlete

• OR, I’m running a VIRTUAL LIVE SPORTS NUTRITION PROGRAM FOR THE YOUNG ATHLETE this summer! It’s perfect for the young athlete wanting to learn the sports nutrition fundamentals so they can feel confident building meals and snacks and a fueling plan to meet their goals on their own. If you’re interested in learning more about this program opportunity, I encourage you to sign up for the WAITLIST! You’ll get a few more emails directly from me with more program details and some special bonus offers should you decide to enroll. You can sign up HERE!

Much love and a well-fueled young athlete,

Taylor

Ps. You can also book a call to chat with me about working together any time. I would LOVE to speak with you!

Overnight oats are an excellent quick & easy way to pack in multiple food groups, extra energy and nutrition & lots of flavor! Can enjoy as a meal or a snack. This recipe is a favorite.

NEW! A Group Sports Nutrition Program Specifically for the Young Athlete!

Hello everyone!

I hope your Spring is going well. It’s my, hands down, favorite time of year :)

If you’ve been following along with me this year, whether via this blog or Instagram, you know I have been focused a LOT on this topic of underfueling. It is probably the #1 conversation topic I have with 95% of the athletes that come to see me because of an injury. Yes, it can be intentional but it is also often completely unintentional. Little changes in an athlete’s training schedule or school schedule or a sudden growth spurt with no change in intake can suddenly shift them into this state of underfueling. Underfueling can increase risk of injury, it can lead to poorer performance and it can be the underlying reason an athlete can’t build the muscle they need for a certain sport or position on the team. When I say underfueling, I can be referring to calories or specific nutrients or both. If an athlete is underfueling in energy (calorie intake) they are much more likely to be under consuming specific nutrients needed for growth, development, performance and injury prevention.

Last year I realized how, despite this underfueling being such a big deal, athletes and families are often uninformed about its severity and the risks associated with it. I know I was completely in the dark about this condition when I was a teen athlete. So, I decided at the start of this new year to do a deep dive into all different topics centered around underfueling, to at least help educate my followers and readers. And that’s what you will find if you look back through the blog topics from this year.

In the last couple of years I’ve talked a lot with athletes about how to eat enough for their training level, what nutrients to include to ensure best performance and help prevent injuries like stress fractures. I’ve also done a LOT of education on how to use nutrition to optimize recovery from injuries like a stress fractures but also other big injuries like ACL tears. I’ve worked hard to help coach and guide athletes through these long recovery periods to feel confident in how they are eating during this restricted period of exercise and help them understand how to create meals and snacks that will serve their recovery, helping them maintain muscle, build back muscle while healing from a surgery, and maximize bone health.

I’ve chatted with hundreds of athletes over the last couple of years and I’ve discovered a few things:

• So many young athletes don’t learn anything about nutrition in school (they might get a week of education from their health class)

• So many young athletes WANT to learn about nutrition and understand how they can use it to fuel their body, recover from injury, etc (many many athletes have visited with me simply to learn)

• While, of course, nutrition on its own is not the answer to preventing all injuries it is the driving factor in certain injuries, like stress fractures.

• And, while many factors contribute to an injured athlete’s recovery plan, nutrition can keep the athlete on track or it can slow their recovery down or make it a bigger hill to climb once they are cleared to return to sport

With all this to say, I’ve had this thought nagging at me for over a year of, “these athletes could really use a place to go to learn (1) nutrition fundamentals (2) key sports nutrition principles and (3) how to use this info for their own performance and injury prevention.”

With that thought, I’ve seen how my process of working with young athletes over the years has improved their sports nutrition knowledge, enabled them to implement this information into their own routine AND allowed them to see and feel a difference in their performance / health / recovery / etc.

That’s why today I’m EXTREMELY EXCITED to tell you that I have finally done something about it!!

I’ve created an EXCELLENT resource for young athletes (and their caregivers) who are ready to learn and ready to implement the nutritions strategies they need to perform well, prevent injury and more during these critical years of growth and development.

It’s an online group sports nutrition program geared specifically for the young athlete! If this interests you at all and you want to learn more I encourage you to sign up for the WAITLIST!

By signing up for the program Waitlist you will:

• Receive more details about the program

• Receive bonus offers when doors open to register 

• Be one of the first offered a spot (there will be limited spots in this first group) before sign-up is offered to the public.

I’m really so so excited to finally get to offer this resource to young athletes (and their families). Make sure to sign up for the Waitlist if you want to get more details and, as always, you can reach out to me any time if you have questions!

Much love and a well-fueled athlete,

Taylor

Female Athletes: What your period is telling you

As someone who grew up in a house that NEVER talked about periods / menstrual cycles, I sometimes laugh at the irony of HOW MUCH I talk about periods every day. I really mean it.  It comes up weekly with the female athletes that I see. It comes up so much so that I don’t hesitate or even give the topic a second thought. I hope that continues so that my daughter feels totally comfortable talking about it as she gets older. Although, I’ll probably be the “embarrassing mom” that talks about it too openly. I can already see the eye rolls and hear the “ughh, moommmmm”s now.  But, oh well. It’s a fate I’m willing to embrace if it means she’s aware of its importance and how it can be a sign and indicator of her overall health.

TOday I’m talking all about female athletes and their periods from the sports nutrition angle

I want to discuss why a female’s period becomes a focus in the work that I do and why I put such importance on it. Having a menstrual cycle is a normal function of the female body as they reach and navigate through puberty. A young female athlete should get her period by 15 years old.

Typically if a young female has reached 15 years old without ever having had a period it is termed “primary amenorrhea” and she is typically referred to a specialist to determine if something is going on in the body that has prevented her cycles from starting. 

It is fairly normal for a young female athlete to reach menarche (her first period) and for her periods to be a little irregular at first. However if she gets further into her sport and you notice it stops completely and she goes months and months and months without having one, OR, it normalizes and then her training increases and she starts skipping her periods, that is not normal. Losing her period or going three months or more without it is not a badge of honor displaying what a hard core athlete she is. This is a medical condition known as “secondary amenorrhea”. 

Whether the athlete is experiencing primary or secondary amenorrhea, there is reason to take a look at what might be going on. I’ve seen and research supports that it can be a cause for concern in the sports world.

Annoying BUt important

I know that having a period as a young female athlete can be VERY annoying. The cramps, the fatigue, nausea, bathroom breaks. It’s very annoying and very inconvenient. So, when we skip one or more periods or delay ever starting, we may think, “sweet, one thing I don’t have to deal with”.  However, what we may not realize is that this period and regular menstrual cycle is very important for injury prevention and performance, specifically things including (but not limited to) hormone regulation like estrogen which impacts bone health. 

While there can absolutely be an anatomic or endocrine issue going on, amenorrhea can also be a result of underfueling, the theme we have been covering the last couple of months. And that is what lands so many athletes in my office and why I’m so concerned with the female athlete’s cycle. What is happening here is that the athlete is demanding a very high amount of energy due to training for sport. However, she is not consuming enough energy each day for the body to cover all of the demands being placed on it between energy needs for sport, school, growth and development and daily physiological functioning (breathing, heartbeat, digestion, menstrual cycle, etc.). So, I like to explain this as:

In this state of limited energy availability (or, Low Energy Availability) the body takes an inventory of the functions not absolutely needed in the immediate present to function and it starts powering down or even shutting off those identified systems. That’s when the athlete loses her period. The body says, “I don’t absolutely need you right now to live and function and so I will power you down or turn you off for a bit until I have more energy. Right now I need to use all of this energy for this other function over here”.

my thinking when a female athlete tells me her cylces have been absent or irregular.

When a young female athlete walks into my office and tells me she has not had a period in the last 3 to 6 months or more, I get very concerned about her health, performance and risk of injury, particularly the state of her bone health. If she isn’t already seeing me with a stress fracture, I’m  on heightened alert of her susceptibility to acquiring one in the near future. And, even if she is lucky and avoids a fracture, it can still put her at risk for low bone mineral density and osteoporosis later in life. Not having her cycle is also a sign that she could very likely have RED-S, which we know from my previous posts means she could be setting herself up for further complications like decreased performance, stomach issues, heightened anxiety, cardiovascular concerns, altered iron levels and more.

So, what can you take away from today’s post? Today I want to leave you with a few questions you or your athlete can ask regarding her period to determine if she is fueling well to prevent injury and perform her best…

Period check to determine if your female athlete is fueling well:

• Has your athlete started her period by 15 years old?

• Is your female athlete having monthly periods?

• Does your athlete have regular periods EXCEPT during her sports season? For example: “I have a monthly period all year with the exception of cross country season. I lose it for 4 or 5 months and then it comes back after my season is over”.

  • This indicates likely underfueling in-season

• Does your athlete only have her periods when injured?

  • This could indicate that she may be underfueling when she is fully training. When she is taken out of her sport and her activity decreases her intake is finally able to meet physiological demands and her periods resume.

• Is your young female athlete struggling with or has she in the past struggled with stress fractures?

  • NOTE: An athlete can still experience stress fractures with regular periods and an optimal energy intake. They could be more a result of specific nutrition deficiencies. However….

  • Make sure to at least ask, “is she having regular periods?”

    • If she is not, it should be a red flag to start taking an even closer look at her fueling and working on optimizing and increasing her energy intake as soon as possible.

    • In my practice, stress fractures are often a result of underfueling AND certain nutrient deficiencies (not getting enough food each day = not getting enough nutrients each day)

Now, or course, a young female’s athlete’s period, or lack there of, should always be checked on by the appropriate specialist (pediatrician, OB, endocrinologist, etc.). But, today, I encourage you to not gloss over the fact, that her FUELING could be the reason for her menstrual irregularities. Or, her STRESS INJURIES could be a result of her MENSTRUAL IRREGULARITIES, which could be a result of her UNDERFUELING.

For more info on underfueling you can check out my latest posts linked below….

• Is your athlete underfueled?

• RED-S: The reason for your athlete’s struggles?

• Underfueling: Intentional or Unintentional?

Much love & a well-fueled athlete,

Taylor

Oh! And, if you do feel like your young female athlete is struggling with her fueling and you need a place to start, feel free to grab a copy of my Getting Started Guide to a Well-Fueled Young Athlete! 

RED-S: The reason for your athlete’s struggles?

RED-S: Is it the reason for your athlete’s struggles?

I know I’m talking a lot about underfueling lately. But, with what I know and all I’ve seen in the last couple of years, I feel like I would be doing my followers, clients and athletes a true disservice if I glossed over the topic or, worse, didn’t address it at all.

So, today I’m going to spend time giving you a surface-level overview on a relatively new medical condition known as Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport, also known as RED-S. 

I talk about this condition ALL THE TIME whether I’m in clinic or speaking in schools or speaking at a conference. I can speak in depth on this topic for 30 to 45 minutes if given the time but this post is just to give you an introduction to this important-to-know-about condition so it will be much more brief. So, today I hope to hit the high points on this important condition called RED-S.

BEFORE THERE WAS RED-S

Researchers have been studying underfueling, or as I explained in my last post, Low Energy Availability (LEA), for a long time. 

Lea in Females

Initially this occurrence of LEA was associated with females in what was termed the Female Athlete Triad. The Female Athlete Triad  is a medical condition in which a female athlete experiences one of the following: 

1. Compromised bone health

2. Irregular menstrual cycle

3. Underfueling (intentional or unintentional)

lea in Males

As researchers and clinicians continued to look into underfueling and its effects on athletes, their health and their performance they found that a similar condition to the Female Athlete Triad with similar consequences could present itself in males as well. And so a condition in male athletes was established called the Male Athlete Triad. 

In males the condition could manifest in several ways, very similar to females:

1. Compromised bone health

2. Altered hormone levels and cycles (testosterone levels, etc.)

3. Underfueling (intentional or unintentional)

In both Female Athlete & Male Athlete Triad…

Not all components have to be present to be diagnosed by a physician. It might be that the athlete only exhibits one. However, if one component is present, it is very likely that others are present as well and so further examination into the others is recommended. From my practice, I see that the root cause is the underfueling. And from there, if not noticed and managed leads to what we see and the athlete experiences - the bone injuries and / or the hormone changes. lost periods, etc.

In practice…

I typically come in when a female athlete has:

• lost her period for 3 months or more or 

• has experienced one or more stress fractures or

• when an athlete has exhibited some significant weight loss or a weight plateau in the last few months to years, causing her to start falling off her growth chart.

I’ve found that for some female athletes it takes a small amount of underfueling and for others it takes extreme underfueling for their menstrual cycle to be disrupted. But, just because a female athlete still has her period, it does not mean she is for sure fueling enough and appropriately. Just something to keep in mind.

I typically come in when male athletes have:

• had one or more stress injuries in the last year

• had altered labs at their last pediatrician visit  or 

• H=had recent weight loss or a weight plateau, causing them to start falling off their growth chart.

DISCOVERING RED-S

Researchers and clinicians were aware of the Female and Male Athlete Triad but continued to study the effects of underfueling and LEA (and we’re still studying LEA today).

the effects of underfueling and LEA can reach beyond decreased bone health, hormone regulation, and menstrual dysfunction

As they studied athletes and underfueling they started to see that the effects of underfueling and LEA can reach beyond decreased bone health, hormone regulation, and menstrual dysfunction. It can actually have a much wider scope of impact on the athlete’s health and performance. Underfueling can impact an athlete’s:

• mental health (seen or felt as increased anxiety for example), 

• cardiovascular health (ex: slowed heart rate as the body tries to preserve energy)

• metabolism

• gastrointestinal health

• immune system

• endocrine system

• haematological (iron deficiency anyone?)

• growth & development

DETECTING RED-S

Putting this into practice, some examples of when I would look further into RED-S and check an athlete’s fueling would be:

• A typical non-anxious athlete begins to struggle with anxiety.

• An athlete already diagnosed with anxiety has been feeling heightened anxiety lately.

• The pediatrician or other medical professional has observed a very low heart rate.

• The athlete has started complaining of GI issues like constipation or feeling like it takes a long time to digest food.  Maybe they just don’t get hungry anymore.

• The athlete is constantly getting sick or it’s taking a long time to recover.

• The athlete has experienced an injury and it’s taking a longer than expected amount of time to heal and recover.

• There are delays in growth and development. This could look like the athlete’s weight and height plateauing or falling off their growth curve. It could look like a 16 year old female athlete still not every having had a period.

• The athlete is complaining of extreme fatigue with exercise, weak muscles, hitting a wall. Labs come back from the pediatrician and patient has low iron levels.

• The athlete gets hormone labs at their well-check visit or another visit and they find low and altered levels of specific hormones.

what next?

Now, it’s important to take into account that there could be something very clinical going on and these complications have nothing to do with nutrition, so of course get it checked out by the appropriate specialist.  

BUT, at the same time, if there has been any change in the athlete’s training or the athlete’s intake, it may benefit the athlete to look at their fueling. Are they getting ENOUGH fuel each day? And then, are they getting enough of the best foods for them within those fuel choices? 

In practice…

Similar to what I included above, athletes with suspected RED-S typically show up in my office when:

• A female athlete has lost her period for 3 months or more

• A 15 or 16 year old competitive female athlete has not yet started her period

• An athlete has experienced one or more stress fractures

• An athlete has exhibited some significant weight loss or a weight plateau in the last few months to years, causing them to start falling off their growth chart.

• The athlete is experiencing repeated injuries or illness

• The athlete has had a sudden change in intake and food preferences

• The athlete has received altered nutrition labs like iron levels from the pediatrician or other markers that may indicate dehydration or altered nutrition intake

Sometimes taking a look at the athlete’s fueling plan and giving it a boost AND BEING CONSISTENT with these changes, can improve digestion, can help the athlete with their anxiety, can decrease illness and can allow appropriate, necessary and needed weight gain so the athlete can continue to reach their height potential and get through puberty.   

What I’m talking about today is something I see in my practice all the time. It’s also all found in the scientific literature. I’m linking a resource below in case any of you like to get really into the details and the science (like I do 🙂).

Resource for more reading:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9724109/pdf/nihms-1853616.pdf

And here’s a great graphic that explains RED-S by Keay & Rankin…

And, if you think your athlete could benefit from improved fueling, you can download my free Getting Started Guide HERE!

Until next time!

Much love and a well-fueled athlete,

Taylor

Is Your Athlete Underfueling? A Common Oversight

Is Your Athlete Underfueling?

Many of my posts have an underlying theme of underfueling but I realized I have not created a post specifically devoted to this topic. So, that’s what I’m going to take a few minutes to talk about today.

If you have been following along with me on Instagram lately, or in my Newsletters, then you have seen me talk about this topic. It has been the most asked for topic that coaches and athletic trainers have asked me to come speak on in this last year. And it is one of the top two reasons athletes have come to see me in clinic since the beginning of 2023 (with probably the other one being helping them navigate nutrition in their recovery, like from an ACL tear and repair).

Going into the field of sports nutrition and then, more specifically, pediatrics I didn’t think this is what I would spend the majority of time talking about. Although, it should not surprise me because for a time in my childhood I was absolutely another underfueled young athlete - even when I improved my fueling significantly, I was still underfueling. And I didn’t realize that part until I got into this field as an adult, started working with young athletes, and studying the field. So, I know how easy it is to say, “no, my fueling is good. It’s so much better than a year ago. There must be another reason for (xyz). Or, I’m doing well so my fueling must be optimal now”. 

If the young athlete is experiencing any of the signs or symptoms I’m about to mention, then they and their support team really need to take a closer look into their fueling. Improved food and energy intake can have a huge impact on performance, helping the athlete achieve the muscle gains they have been working on, it can improve endurance and speed, it can improve mental focus and, a big point, it can keep your athlete in the game and away from nutrition-related injuries that can have them out of their sport for months. From a health perspective, being well-fueled can improve the athlete’s mood, help keep anxiety down, promote heart health, metabolic health, and bone health. 

Maybe you are the athlete or have the athlete who has experienced some of the signs and symptoms below but they are still performing and practicing well. My thoughts to that are... 

“Ok, great. So you’re performing well off of minimal fuel. But, for how long? And, if you can perform well off not enough, JUST IMAGINE what you could do, how you could perform, the levels you could get to if you were fueling WELL. If you were fuleing your BEST. If you are talented and driven and scrappy enough to perform well off of too little fuel or the bare minimum, just think about what your body could do if it had all that it needed!! Imagine what it could do if it didn’t have to power down or compromise different systems so you could practice and perform?

I’m so passionate about this, clearly. And I get SO EXCITED when I see athlete’s performance improve with improved fueling. It could be small changes it could be big changes, but it makes a difference and I love to see this “click” in the young athletes I work with.

This is not just me talking about fueling and how important it is. This concept of underfueling has actually been studied and continues to be studied in great detail. From it has developed a term call Low Energy Availability, meaning the athlete does not have enough energy available at the end of the day each day to perform all of the functions demanded of it (think - exercise, studying, growth, development, breathing, eating, heartbeat, hormone cycles, etc.). Another way I like to explain this is that “if you have been underfuling consistently for a long period of time, you are likely in a state of Low Energy Availability (LEA)”. It can be intentional or it can be unintentional, but either way it means that some function of the body is very likely getting powered down or compromised (think loss of menstrual cycle in females, sluggish performance, fatigue, lowered heart rate, etc.) and can lead to decreased performance and injury.

Further research shows us that Low Energy Availability is often the root cause of a few other medical conditions now recognized in athletes.

These medical conditions stemming from LEA are:

• Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S)

• Female Athlete Triad

• Male Athlete Triad

I’m not going to go into detail about these today, but will instead devote a separate blog post to each topic. They all can lead to decreased performance, health problems or injury, none of which we want in our young athletes! In future posts I also want to talk more about potential reasons for underfueling - intentional vs unintentional. The reason the athlete is underfueling can have a big impact on how we help them get fueled and the projected timeline of return to optimal fueling (or return to sport).

So, I’ll leave you today with a handful of the signs and symptoms of underfueling. Is your athlete experiencing any of these? If so, it’s likely time to start looking into their fueling habits and create a plan. And, definitely stick around for future posts where I go a little deeper and provide insight into these medical conditions caused by underfuleing.

Signs and Symptoms of Underfueling:

• Dizziness

• Fatigue

• Weight Loss

• Hair Loss

• Growth Disturbances (athlete stops gaining in height)

• Unable to build muscle

• Lost period or not starting period by age of 16

• Heightened anxiety and/or moodiness

• Low iron levels / iron deficiency

• Low heart rate (but must distinguish between underfuling and lower heart rate that elite athletes tend to have)

Much love and a well-fueled young athlete,

Taylor

Oh, and if you’re looking for a little more direction and a place to start taking action, you are welcome to download my free Getting Started to a Well-Fueled Young Athlete!

A Key to Fueling Well in 2024

Happy New Year, Everyone!

How is your year starting off? For me, in my current season of life, it’s a time to take a breath after a very fun but very hectic December.

I sent out my first newsletter of the year last week (you can sign up here if interested) and thought I would pull my intro message from my newsletter for this first post of the year because it’s a message that I really want people to hear and I know that not everyone who follows or lands on the blog is a newsletter subscriber. So, as we kick off this new year, I share with you what I hope will be one key practice you and especially your athlete keep in mind going into and throughout this next year…..

---

An excerpt from my Winter 2024 Newsletter…

… I see young athletes in my practice for a variety of reasons. Some have sustained an injury, some have recurring injuries, some are struggling with body image related to their sport and some simply want to learn about sports nutrition so they can make food and fueling decisions on their own to improve their training and performance.

As I thought about this newsletter, I wondered, “if there was one thing I wanted athlete families and athletes to remember throughout this entire year, what would it be?” I reflected on most of the clients I worked with last year and, for our winter newsletter, I quickly landed on this…

If your athlete’s training increases, whether it’s the duration of practices, intensity of practices, or number of practices a week, then his/her intake should increase as well. Let me share a little more…

So many athletes have walked into my office over the last year due to injuries like stress fractures. Many are runners. Some play soccer. Some run and play soccer. Some are dancers. Some are gymnasts.Some play lacrosse. These injuries are not exclusive. Some are new to the sport and quickly take to it and some have been playing since they were six years old. Either scenario, they have recently been ramping up their mileage or hours in the studio or the gym or decided to play for school and club. During our conversation in my initial session I ask my usual questions about training schedule and level, food allergies, recent labs and appetite, specifically if there has been a change in appetite or intake over the last year or so. It’s often a casual conversation revealing no big allergies, altered labs or changes in intake or appetite and we continue on with our discussion.

Now PAUSE for a moment, as the sports dietitian I have already seen a big red flag. Did you see it?

It was the fact that there was no change in appetite or intake over the last year or so. What I would have wanted to hear, was “yes, we’ve seen an increase in his appetite” or “yes, she’s been packing bigger snacks or been snacking more since his training has picked up”. The fact that this adolescent athlete, who already has high energy and nutrient needs for growth and development, is intensely training daily, logging lots of miles or hours in the gym or on the field but without an increase in intake tells me he/she is very likely underfueling and likely has been underfueling for quite some time. And, if you have been following my blogs and social media, you know that underfueling puts an athlete at a high risk of stress fractures (and I’ll be talking more about this on the blog this year).

I share this with you today because I think we can (1) forget to think about our fuel when life gets busier and practices and school pick up and (2) get caught up in macros and micros and “healthy” and “unhealthy”. I know I did as a young adolescent athlete. However, it doesn’t matter what ratio of macros our athlete is getting or how much magnesium, potassium, calcium, etc. our athlete consumes if at the end of each day, day after day, they are at an energy deficit. If they are chronically in an energy deficit at the end of each day then they are still at risk of injuries like stress fractures, among other health concerns or it’s going to be super hard to reach goals for those trying to build muscle / gain weight.

So, this year, let’s help our athletes first and foremost fuel enough to help prevent injury and perform their best! Only when they are fueling enough will specific fueling strategies put in place be most effective.

This is what I intend to help you with this year. Over the next few months I plan to shed some light on underfueling. I saw this a lot in 2023. I saw injuries that could have been prevented if the athlete was optimally fueling. And the thing is, so much of it was unintentional. A lack of awareness of how food needed to change along with the athletes training and involvement in sport. I saw girls get their periods back, I saw runners reach new PR’s, I saw football and soccer players reach weight goals and I saw anxiety and moods improved as athletes learned nutrition fundamentals and built off of this foundational knowledge to improve their fueling. I’m even more passionate about this topic going into 2024 than going into 2023 (and I thought I was pretty passionate about it then). So, I share this with you today and shed a little light on what to expect in the months to come.

---

Follow along my newsletter (sign up HERE), on my blog, on Instagram (@taylormorrisonRD) or on Facebook (Taylored Nutrition, LLC) where I will continue to share content with you and hopefully create more ease and understanding when it comes to fueling the young athlete. I know fueling can be really hard in different seasons for a variety of different reasons. My goal here at Taylored Nutrition is to guide you and your athlete through some of those difficult scenarios and give you both facts and resources so that your athlete can feel more confident in fueling enough and fueling well through those tough situations and perform his/her best.

There are other big topics I want Taylored Nutrition to cover this year such as: factors around recovery after injury, supplement use in YAs, energy drinks and more. But as we get started, this topic of underfueling (unintentional and intentional) is where I want to start.

Stick with me and I’ll talk to you again soon!

Much love and a well fueled athlete,

Taylor

P.s. -

If you’re looking for direction on where to start when it comes to helping make sure your athlete is fueling well, you can download my FREE Getting Started Guide HERE!

If you’re looking for a little more help and okay spending a bit of money ($30) to start off the new year, I’m excited to announce that I’m hosting our first parent chat of 2024! Our Winter Parent Group Chat will be held virtually on Thursday January 25th at 7:15pm CST! This is a great chance to discuss some basic nutrition info to know for fueling the young athlete with a registered sports dietitian (me) and other parents of young athletes. You can learn more about these by reading this blog here or reading more here. It’s only $30 per person and space is limited to allow for good discussion. If you would like to join us this month to kick of the year, you can REGISTER HERE!

Please don’t hesitate to reach out via email (taylor@taylored-nutrition.com) or send me a DM on Instagram (@taylormorrisonRD). I would love to hear from you!

When Your Young Male Athlete Wants to Make Body Composition Changes

Hi everyone!

How is it going? My family and I just got back from celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday with our family at the ranch and I always feel so refreshed and ready for the Christmas season (and more mentally equipped for the Dallas holiday hustle & bustle) when I return. As my children are getting older it has become such a source of joy to see the holidays and the celebration of family traditions through their eyes. This time is a mix of fun and excitement and I do my best to prevent it from creeping over into overwhelming.

Coming back from the Thanksgiving break, I wanted to make this week’s topic about a scenario I have been working with more often this past year. My post today will speak to a narrower audience, but I think that even if this isn’t 100% you / your athlete, you will still find it informative, helpful and maybe get your mind thinking. I have seen young male athletes (typically between ages 12 and 17 years old) with this request numerous times over the course of this past year. They have been in all different sports, which has been interesting and a fun challenge for me to work with, some have sustained an injury and are working through their recovery and others are healthy and well but going about changes in not the best way. However, despite these differences, they have one thing in common and that is the main reason they have come to see me is because they want to increase or maintain muscle but decrease body fat.

I’ve talked about weight gain a bunch on the blog, male athletes wanting to gain weight and build lots of bulk for their sport. Today I’m going to share information and my thoughts on something slightly different though. These young male athletes that I’m talking about today specifically want to build or just maintain muscle and lose fat or at least not increase their body fat percent. We have to remember, however, that young athletes are not just little adults. With this specific scenario there is a lot to consider and, I think, a lot to unpack so I want to outline that for you today. Todays’ post is not a how-to on getting a young male athlete to achieve body composition goals, but more of a “what to think about first” to (1) determine if he is ready for this goal and (2) to set him up for long-term success. Here are my thoughts when it comes to body composition change goals in young male athletes.

What To Consider for the Preadolescent Male Athlete Wanting to Build Muscle and Alter Body Fat

• First, how old is this athlete AND what stage of development is the athlete in? Remember that boys can begin puberty at different ages. It is not the exact same for each athlete. 

• Second, is this an appropriate goal for this athlete? Does this athlete already show signs or have risk factors for disordered eating or an eating disorder?

• I ask this because making weight changes, going on any type of restrictive diet and being focused on one’s physique can be triggering for some individuals and turn into more serious underfueling and, if not monitored and confronted, can develop into a very serious clinical eating disorder.

• The above could sound extreme, but I know and have seen the damage and hurt and pain that eating disorders cause, not only on the athlete, but also on the family, the friends and all involved. We want to avoid these AT ALL COSTS. To me, this means even if it looks like changes take longer or the athlete competes in a different weight class than he may like.

• Third, let’s talk about the developing male adolescent body…

• We know from the scientific literature that as males go through puberty their hormone shifts involve an increase in the production of testosterone (I am, of course, wildly oversimplifying their hormonal cycles here but this is the main thing I want to point out today). As they go through puberty and reach adulthood, their bodies start to naturally build more muscle and their body fat decreases (different from females whose hormonal shifts wire their bodies to store more fat). 

• We also know through recent research on the Male Athlete Triad and Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S) that underfueling, ie not providing the body enough daily calories (and therefore under consuming micro and macronutrients, like carbs and fats), can set a young male athlete up for many complications including, but not limited to: compromised bone health, illness, GI complications, altered cardiovascular functioning, and endocrine dysfunction, including altered hormone production.

• That said, as a young male athlete, you really want to be careful with any extreme body composition change attempts. Puberty could actually work in your favor if you let it. In general (there are always exceptions and everyone is unique), children will have phases of childhood where they may have more fat on their bodies and that is ok! Their bodies need everything to allow them to have their growth spurts and to start puberty. If you get nervous about body fat at a young age and start to take measures to decrease that, there is a chance that you could mess with hormones, delaying puberty and delaying those hormonal changes that could actually help you reach your goals.

So then, if a young male athlete has body composition goals for his sport, what are some good nutrition guidelines?

• Make sure lean protein is a fixture in each meal and snack (although likely doesn’t need more than about 20 or so grams per meal for muscle maintenance)

• Make sure the protein in the meals and snacks are complemented by quality carbohydrates like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains

• Include fat as an accompaniment to the meals and to snacks, as desired

• Remember in past blog posts and in my new Getting Started Guide, we talk about how children actually tend to be more efficient at using fat as fuel and that it’s not until they get through puberty that they start to utilize carbs for fuel like adults do. This doesn’t mean we need to load their plates up with high fat foods, but it does give an extra point to why our children need fat (ideally making a majority of it the healthier fats as they will let us) and balance in their meals each day.

Ok, I hope this information I provided today has been helpful for any young male athletes already wanting to make body composition changes for sport. Don’t rush it. Be patient and work with your body as you get older. The best results that can support best performance for the long-run do not happen overnight. It takes time, patience, dedication and accurate information and understanding.

If you feel like this is you / your athlete and you would like to work together to figure out the best fueling strategy for your athlete, remember you can reach out to me here to chat more and see if working together would be a good next step. I am taking new clients in the new year and would love to make a spot for you if we feel it’s the right thing for your athlete.

Wishing you much love and a well-fueled athlete!

Taylor

When You're Not Sure Where to Start + Another new FREE resource for you!

Hi friends!

If you’ve been following along for a while now, you know most of my posts are directed towards specific scenarios of when fueling might feel hard. I’ve decided to go this direction because fueling the young athlete can be really tough for a variety of reasons and it can be hard for a variety of people - the parent, the coach, the AT, the PT or the athletes themselves. There is a lot that goes into optimally fueling a high-level athlete and different factors to think about in each stage and season of sport, of school and of growth and development. These are unique young people with unique needs, unique food preferences, unique thoughts and feelings about their bodies and unique thoughts and feelings about food.  Whew, so, where the heck do we even start when it comes to fueling our young athletes? Do we focus on meal composition? Do we talk about macros? Do we talk about micros? Do we focus on timing? Do we follow a popular diet trend? Do we talk about body image? There are a lot of equally important topics to discuss, so what takes priority?

Having worked in pediatric nutrition for 12+ years, working with young athletes and their families for 6+ years, and having been a competitive athlete myself growing up, I recently took a step back and started to think, “Out of all the discussions I’ve had and information I’ve shared, if I could give parents / caregivers of young athletes and young athletes, themselves, any initial advice, what would it be?” It felt like a big question to ask myself. So, I created some quiet space to sit and think about past consults, team talks, conferences, and Q&A sessions. I reflected on (1) what topics I brought up the most (2) what topics parents or athletes may have brought up the most and (3) where many of my athletes end up starting, regardless of the reason they are there to see me. I brainstormed and took notes and landed on what I think is a really great place for young athletes to start. Then, I went one step further, allowing myself to do something I love, and that is create, and compiled all of that content into a new free product! I’m excited to say that I now have a new resource that you can download for free that offers an initial checklist to go through to see if your athlete is on the right track to good performance, good health and preventing nutrition-related injuries along the way. I know, of course, other people out there may have different thoughts or opinions but this is what I believe is a great start, based on my years and years of clinical practice, my years of professional supervision in eating disorders and sports nutrition, the professional development I’ve completed to maintain my RD and licensure and the research journals I’ve consumed.

So, here it is! I’m really excited to finally be able to offer something like this to readers, followers and clients.  I hope you find it helpful! As always, feel free to reach out to me any time with questions by commenting on this post below or sending me a DM over on Instagram (@taylormorrisonRD).  

Your Getting Started Guide!

Ready to get started improving your fueling?

Download your FREE Getting Started Guide to a Well-Fueled Young Athlete!

Download!

Much loved and a well-fueled athlete,

Taylor

Oh! and one more thing…

Did you read my last post or see my social media posts about my new Small Group Parent Chats (virtual or in-person)? If so, we use this Getting Started Guide as our starting place and then jump into more detail or onto totally new topics from there! If you read about this offering and think you’re interested in joining a small group or you have a group of 7 or so parents that want to do this, reach out to let me know and I can answer any questions you have or we can go ahead and work on getting a chat scheduled!

NEW: Small Group Parent Chats!

Last week I got the opportunity to do something really fun! I got to spend about an hour and a half with a group of about 6 moms talking with them about nutrition for their young athletes. It was super casual, there was wine, we talked about nutrition, we talked about parenthood in general. It was fun for everyone in attendance. 

This was a chance for me to share some foundational sports nutrition information specifically pertaining to children and adolescent athletes - things that I really wish all parents and their young athletes knew. It was also a chance for these moms to ask me any questions they had, whether they centered around my basic topics or not. We went into chats about everything from sports drinks and electrolytes to protein to meal, snack  & recipe ideas to kids’ attitude and relationship towards food at this young age. These moms had kids in a variety of sports at different ages and it was such a great discussion! 

I’ve had an idea like this in my head for a while now and, by chance, this opportunity presented itself and I finally got to make it happen! It was so fun and I got such positive feedback that I have decided to offer more of these! 

So, if this is something that interests you, here are the details…

Small group chats for parents of young athletes:

• 7 to 10 people per group

• 60 to 90 minute meeting

• Virtual or in-person (depending on location of host)

• $36 per person

• You will receive copies of our NEW Getting Started Guide and our Grocery Guide + additional resources that we think may benefit the group

• Please note: this is not a time to get detailed specialized nutrition recs or meal plans for your kiddos. However, you will leave with a good understanding of the general needs of your athletes, the different nutrition needs of young athletes vs adult athletes, and what products out there are better options for your young growing athletes

If you are interested in doing something like this with other parents, please let me know by completing the form HERE! You can create your own group with parents from a team, or it could be a group of friends who all have young athletes in various sports, or you can ask to be added to a group independently.

Ideas to include when completing the form…

• Title: Parent Group Chat

• Do you want in-person or virtual?

• Do you have a group of 8 to 10 people who want to participate?

• Don’t have a group but want to be put into a group of 7 to 10 people that you don’t know?

• Is there a date range you would like to do this?

Have questions about these session and want to chat with me? You can find me on Instagram (@taylormorrisonRD) OR send an email to taylor@taylored-nutrition.com.

Wishing you much love and a well-fueled athlete!

Taylor

When Your Athlete is Losing Weight

Good morning! Well, on a personal note, our kids have started waking up very early in our household. Our 3 year old who has always been the best sleeper and slept easily until 7 or 8am is now coming in our room at 6am and takes five tries to get to bed at night. With that said, time to work has been limited and so this blog will be short.  However, I really wanted to get some content out to you that I feel is important as many athletes are well into their season. And that content is around weight loss. I work with and hear from many of you who are struggling to keep your athletes well fueled now that sports have really ramped up and school is in full-swing and maybe your athlete is involved in additional activities outside of their main sport. 

Today I am going to share a post that I actually wrote a year ago on this topic. I think it is super applicable to what many of you / your athletes are facing right now. We know that weight loss is a sign of underfueling (often unintentionally for this busy athlete population) which can lead to consequences in health and performance and so we want to try and reverse the trend as quickly as we can.  I hope this post gives you some guidance and initial steps to take with your athlete if they are facing the frustrating situation of weight loss during his/her season. 

Also, I got to speak on the topic of underfueling yesterday with a sports medicine center that I work closely with. If you are interested to learn more about the signs and symptoms of underfueling, I would highly recommend watching the recording. I plan to link to it in my last newsletter of the year.

If your athlete is struggling with weight loss this season, please give this post a read….

Help! My Athlete is Losing Weight

Initital steps to take to stop the weight loss and get your athlete well-fueled for their season

I hope this post is helpful for you and your athlete as he / she works to stay fueled for the remainder of this season.

If you work through the tips here and still are needing more, I am always happy to chat about working together. You can reach out to me here to schedule a free 15-minute call to chat about your athlete’s needs / goals and see if working together is the best fit.

Happy Fueling!

Taylor

We have a Newsletter! (and 3 reasons you should subscribe!)

Did you know there is a Taylored Nutrition newsletter?! Yes, there is! I created it as a way to stay in touch with my clients, followers and those I have spoken with at various speaking events. It’s a way I can continue to provide content in a casual way straight to your inbox. Today I wanted to use this space to share a little bit more about the newsletter, why it can be a valuable resource, and give you the opportunity to subscribe if this is something you think would be helpful for you.

So, with that said, what is the Taylored Nutrition newsletter and how could it benefit you? The newsletter is three things that I think we could ALL use right now….

Three facts about the

taylored nutrition newsletter

1. It is a TIMESAVER

   Life is busy and I know many of you don’t have the time to follow me daily and keep up with every time I post something new. Maybe you don’t even really love social media or Instagram (where I hang out on social the most) that much! My newsletter will give you a recap of all the website’s most recent content as well as any new resources that we have recently released! This way you can wait and scroll through our newest content all at once, choosing to spend time only on the articles / recipes / info that best serves you and your athlete!

2. It is a TRUSTED RESOURCE

   There is so much nutrition content out there! I know from talking with past clients that it can be hard to know what you should listen to and who you should follow. Honestly, I have never loved social media that much. However, I’ve seen what (false or harmful) info is out there and how much it can confuse parents, teens and children and so I choose to show up in the social space anyway to be one of the ones who provides valuable and trustworthy content. I’m committed to providing reputable science-based content because of my love and passion for this field and profession and because of my history as a young competitive athlete (figure skater & cross country runner) who also found herself looking for reliable sports nutrition info. And, in case you still have hesitancy, I also have professional credentialing and state licensure that demands I meet a code of ethics in all the ways I practice.

3. It is a source of INSPIRATION

   Meal planning and grocery shopping for our kids, not to mention our child / teen athletes, can become monotonous, tedious and exhausting! My newsletter strives to provide inspiration for you as you work to support your young athlete, whether that is through providing recipes, reliable information & resources your young athlete can use or conversation tips to have with your young athlete when it comes to all things food, eating and nutrition.

Some FAQ’s About Our Newsletter

How so I sign up?

You can sign up 3 ways:

1. Go to our Connect page on the website and click the, “Yes, please send!” button.

2. Find me on Instagram (@taylormorrisonRD) and send me a DM, saying, “Newsletter, please!” with your preferred email address.

3. Email us at taylor@taylored-nutrition.com and ask to be signed up for the newsletter with your preferred eamil address.

How often will I get the newsletter?

We send our sports nutrition newsletter our quarterly

Can I unsubcribe?

Yes, you may unsubcribe at any time (and, of course, re-subscriber if you find it valuable later)

What if I have questions about any of the content?

If you ever have a question about an article, recipe or resource, you can email us at taylor@taylored-nutrition.com OR you can find me on Instagram (@taylormorrisonRD) and send me a DM!

I hope this gives you a good picture of our quarterly newsletter and answers any questions you might have. We would love to see you join and stay connected so that we can best serve you as you support your young athlete.

Happy Fueling!

Taylor

The Building Blocks of "Optimal Nutrition"?

I recently got to speak with a high school cross country team to help prepare them for fueling well during their season this fall. I loved talking with this group. I was a runner myself growing up who struggled to fuel well. In fact running cross country is, partially, what lead me to study nutrition and become a sports dietitian. Nutrition plays such a big role in the performance and health of an adolescent runner. It also, I have realized as I see lots of injured runners in the sports medicine nutrition clinic that I’m a part of, plays a big role in injury prevention in this group of athletes.

In putting my talking points together for this group, I knew I wanted two main outcomes: (1) understand the VALUE of optimal nutrition for performance and injury prevention and (2) Understand basic nutrition fundamentals so that they can put together great meals and snacks throughout the day each day that support not only performance and injury prevention but also growth and development.

As I started putting my thoughts together I realized that what I really needed to define before I dove into any other sport nutrition principles was this term “Optimal Fueling” or '“Optimal Nutrition”. I mean, to me, it sounds pretty “buzz wordy”, right? Sounds kind of fancy, but what the heck does it mean? So, I decided to spend a chunk of my talk defining these terms and then decided that I really think this deserves a post of its own here on the blog.

So many athletes are starting school this week or next week or they started last week. And don’t we all want to make sure our athletes are optimally fueling? We tell our athletes we want to see them incorporate good fueling strategies, but what does this mean? What is the priority? Where should our athletes start? So, sit tight as I try my best to briefly and succinctly explain and put context to this term, “Optimal Nutrition” or “Optimal Fueling” from my clinical experience.

The 4 Building Blocks of “Optimal Nutrition”

1. ENOUGH food/calories/energy in at the end of each day

   This is the foundation of a good fueling plan for young athletes. If young athletes are not getting enough total food at the end of each day every day, they are (1) definitely not going to perform at their best and (2) putting themselves at big risk of injury.

   An athlete can be intentional about getting carbs and protein and fat at each meal but, at the end of each day, if enough food/calories are not consumed to support activity + growth & development, the athlete is setting himself up for injury.

   Injuries, like stress fractures, are serious and can take an athlete out of sport for months. These are typically caused by a number of factors, with one of the big factors being not consuming enough calories at the end of each day to support the basic needs of growth, development and daily life + the needs for sport and training. Getting enough calories at the end of each day is a big first step in the prevention of this particular injury.

2. Adequate macronutrients

   After focusing on getting ENOUGH total food each day, young athletes can think about the form in which they are consuming and meeting those energy needs. Are they including carbs, protein and fat? An athlete deficient in carbs is likely going to be a super lethargic athlete. The athlete could also experience moodiness, muscle cramps or hitting a wall during practices and meets. An athlete needs protein spaced throughout the day to aid in things like muscle recovery, building and repair of any little tissue wear and tear that naturally occurs after workouts, or preventing illness. Remember to space the protein in moderate amounts vs trying to get a ton at one meal.

3. Adequate micronutrients

   Next athletes can focus on those smaller but still very important nutrients. I typically focus on calcium, vitamin D and iron in the beginning because research and clinical practice has shown that these aid in performance and bone health in young athletes.

   One reason I tell my athletes to focus on whole foods vs supplements is because if we focus on the protein powders, the shakes, the bars, etc. we could be falling short on these super important micronutrients found in whole foods that keep our bones strong and energy levels up!

4. Timing of meals & snacks

   This top part of the pyramid, in my opinion, is like the icing on the cake. It’s really performance-focused. Once young athletes shows me they understand and can implement the first three tiers, then we get to focus on timing.

   This is where real strategy comes into play and we talk about how to build the meals and snacks and where to put them based on timing of practices, warm-ups, games, meets and performances.

   It’s difficult to talk about timing, though, when you don’t have a strong foundation and understanding of the first three tiers. And, when looking at overall big-picture performance and injury prevention for the child or teen athlete, timing is irrelevant if the athlete is not eating enough each day and therefore deficient in macro or micronutrients.

   Adequate nutrition timing will make the biggest impact in a well fueled athlete!

I hope you find this helpful as your athlete heads into a new school year and another season of sports. As always, please reach out to me with any questions or if you would like to schedule a call to chat about working together.

Happy Fueling!

Taylor

When Your Athlete Is Skipping School Lunch

Ok, guys. I feel like today’s post is a big one, skipping school lunch. So many athletes that come to see me skip school lunch! So. Many.  Maybe they don’t skip every day but they probably skip at least a couple of days a week in the school week. If that is your athlete, then today’s post is for you and feel free to pass this along to your young athlete 🙂.

Today I’m going to discuss (1) why skipping lunch is counterproductive or even harmful to a young athlete’s health and performance, (2) some reasons your athlete may skip lunch (that I have seen most often in my practice), and, then, (3) how we can help our athletes fuel better when they are accustomed to skipping lunch. I hope you find this helpful as we enter a new school year!

Why Skipping School Lunch Is counterproductive or Harmful to a Young Athlete’s Health & Sport Performance:

In many ways kids and teens are resilient.  We know they tend to bounce back faster after illness or injury than adults.  However, nutrition, or I should really say, a lack of proper consistent nutrition, in my pediatric nutrition experience, is not something that their bodies are more resilient with.  Why is this?  It is because:

• Their young bodies may only be able to utilize a certain amount of a nutrient at once, a lesser amount than an adult body. An example would be protein. 40 grams of protein at a meal / snack is not going to be as beneficial for a 13 year old soccer player as it would be for a 27 year old professional soccer player or 45 year old non-athlete.  At that young age the body will use roughly 20 maybe 30 grams of consumed protein to build / maintain muscle. It may use additional protein for other needs of the body but not to build muscle. And the rest may be stored or broken down and gotten rid of by the body.

So, with this being said, why then is skipping the lunchtime meal and often going most of the school day without eating, counterproductive or harmful to a young athlete’s health & sport performance? It is counterproductive because…

1. This extremely long period of time without fueling the body can cause the body to use protein for fuel (ie, break down muscle) because carbohydrate stores have been depleted. This can hinder goals of improved strength and muscle gain.

2. This extremely long period of time without fueling the body puts the athlete at risk of dizziness, fatigue and fainting during practices due to his/her brain and muscles being depleted of energy (in an energy deficit). This can of course lead to possible injury and certainly decreased performance during games and competition. I always say, “If you want to play or perform your best then you have to show up to practice your best”.

3. This extremely long period of time without fueling the body specifically after a practice (for example: an intense morning practice followed by nothing to eat, maybe some goldfish or chips until school gets out that afternoon) can hinder improvements in strength, power or technique because the athlete has failed to consume any recovery fuel to support replenishment of energy (carb) stores, building/rebuilding of muscle (protein) and hydration of the body.

4. On a more health-related note, we all want balanced blood sugars. Getting that mid-day meal helps balance blood sugars. Low blood sugars can cause someone to feel lightheaded and dizzy, it can make it hard to concentrate and it can enhance feelings of anxiety.  So, not only does it help with performance, but eating consistently throughout the day can also be helpful in managing anxiety as well as supporting academic performance.

Most young athletes that I see are (a) trying to improve performance (b) working on recovering from an injury or (c) trying to build lean muscle.  Skipping lunch and going from 7:30 am (breakfast that the athlete is hopefully eating) to about 3:00pm (after school snack), that’s almost 8 hours, is hindering each of the above goals. While some athletes may at least grab a snack, I remind them that having a small bag of pretzles or chips is not sufficient. A missed meal is a missed chance to fuel the brain and the body for a later practice or to help recover the body after an earlier practice and eating a meal twice as big at the end of the day is not going to make up for it. 

4 Potential Reasons Your Athlete Is Skipping School Lunch:

1. They say they don’t have enough time. 

2. They don’t like the food served in the cafeteria.

3. They would rather study, finish an assignment or hang out with their friends during lunch.

4. They are struggling with disordered eating behaviors that limits their ability or desire to eat during lunch.

4 Ways to Fuel Through Lunch / the School Day:

1. They say they don’t have enough time. 

• Trying several hearty, sport-supporitng snacks throughout the day during lunch and between classes.

• I remind athletes, “If you want to be a great athlete, play in college, get the scholarship, etc. you have to do the work and that includes EATING. Eating is just as important as practice, conditioning, cross-training and sleep!

2. They don’t like the food served in the cafeteria.

• If you are able, it’s time to start packing a lunch that the athlete gets to help plan. They can eat school lunch or they can eat a lunch from home, or, in some cases, they can have a bunch of larger snacks throughout the day in place of the one meal, but not eating is not an option. And there is nothing wrong with the classic BP&J!

3. They would rather study, finish an assignment or hang out with their friends during lunch.

• This would be a great reason to start packing a lunch. And pack foods that are easy and convenient to eat while studying, working on an assignment or hanging out with friends. Ideas include: cheese sticks, turkey slices, Greek yogurts, whole grain granola bars, grapes, apple slices, carrot sticks with hummus, homemade trailmix (with cereal, nuts, seeds, dried fruit), milk/chocolate milk, and popcorn.

4. They are struggling with disordered eating behaviors that limits their ability or desire to eat during lunch.

• I am not going to go too much into this topic today because it really is it’s own series of posts for another day. But if your athlete is struggling to eat lunch because of disordered eating thoughts, I highly encourage you to find a dietitian specializing in eating disorders and connect with a counselor that specializes in eating disorders quickly. This is a hard block and can take time to work through.

If your athlete is struggling with eating lunch at school, I hope this post has given you some points of discussion when chatting with your athlete as well as some ideas to break the barrier and start getting your athlete fueled through his/her school day.

Need help fueling your athlete this fall? You can follow me on Instagram at @taylormorrisonRD for more info and tips or you can reach out to me to schedule a call and see if working together would be a good idea!

Happy Fueling!

Taylor

When Your Athlete Has a Super Packed Schedule

Do you feel like you hardly see your athlete?  Like, you get in a quick groggy hello before they are out the door for early morning practice and then you get an exhausted “hi again” or “what’s for dinner?” after school? Maybe you don’t see your athlete until even later - like 8 or 9:30 pm because they have evening practices or had an evening game. Or maybe your athlete is in a sport like gymnastics, dance or figure skating where they could be at the gym/studio/rink for hours at a time with small school breaks in-between and in the evening.

Regardless which sort of schedule your athlete follows, with this time-consuming commitment to sport it can be really really difficult to get a good fueling strategy in place and meet the high nutrition demands of sport. I see this as a roadblock with so many of the athletes that I work with and so today I wanted to take a little time and give you 5 nutrition principles along with actionable strategies that your athletes can start putting into practice now to help them optimize their intake when they have a super packed schedule that makes it hard to fuel well….

5 Nutrition Principles for the Young Athlete

with a Packed Schedule

1. Snacks are their best friend.

• Have your athlete go with you to the store to pick out different snack-type items that he or she can have on-hand in a lunch bag throughout the day for easy fueling. These should be from a variety of food groups so that the athlete is getting a variety of nutrients and energy sources throughout the day.

• Some examples include: granola bars, whole grain crackers, string cheese, chocolate milks, yogurt, goldfish, nuts/seeds, deli turkey, carrot sticks, hummus, cottage cheese cups, dried fruit, fresh fruit.

• Need help strategizing how to mix and match? Grab a copy of my Sports Snack Survival Guide! DM me on Instagram or email me at taylor@taylored-nutrition.com to grab a copy!

2. Because they are snacking, they need to eat more often (than if they sat down for a larger more balanced meal)

• A young athlete should not go 4 + hours between snacks.  

• If the athlete is mostly getting fuel from snacks, he/she likely should be getting a snack about every 2 to 3 hours, depending on the content of the snack and the specifics (age, height, weight, sport played, etc.) of the athlete.

3. Fueling meals and snacks don’t have to be beautiful or look Instagram perfect to fuel the body well. - put away those perfectionistic ideals!

• I help my athletes put together a lot of fueling meals and snacks that they end up doing really well with and feeling really good about.  Many of them are surprised at how simple and basic the meals and snacks are! 

4. Meals & snacks need carbs + a variety of these other foods.

• When it comes down to it, your athlete needs carbs from a variety of food groups to keep those energy stores up. These should be in each snack and meal.  Alongside it, depending on when the snack falls in relation to a practice or training session, there should also be some protein, some fiber and some fat. 

• Have your athlete pick different food sources of carbs, protein, fiber, and fat that they enjoy so that they get a variety of micronutrients (vitamins & minerals) throughout the day as well.

• And while the athlete may have to rely on lots of snacks some days, they should make sure one or two meals is still a part of their day. That could be a great breakfast to start the day or a great dinner with family or friends to end the day.

• Smoothies can be a great way to pack in food group variety and energy that is easy and quick.  I, personally, feel the same way about oatmeal & overnight oats!

5. Don’t forget the water bottle.

• Water is still super important to keep those energy levels up and optimize performance. We want the athlete to be drinking throughout the day.

• Remember, items like milk, sports drink, flavored water, teas, smoothies, fruits, veggies, and applesauce all contribute to an athlete’s hydration goal!
  

I hope today’s post has given you 5 strategies that your athletes can start working on today and take with them into the school year. As always, reach out to me if you have any questions or concerns regarding fueling your young athlete. I would love to chat!

Happy Fueling!

Taylor

Image credit - https://historyofsoccer.info/

Young Athletes: Not Just Little Adults

In today’s post I want to point out some of the differences between adult and child athletes. I’m pretty excited to write about this today because, if you know me or have worked with me, you know that I am super passionate about pediatric nutrition (nutrition for kids and teens) and love to educate on all things pediatric nutrition. I have loved it since the day I started my dietetic internship in Memphis to my first job at a children’s hospital to volunteering to write a kids’ nutrition and fitness curriculum for the Junior League to working with athletes today. I love navigating the extra level of complication that surrounds children and adolescents when it comes to nutrition. I love that you have to take more into consideration when treating and making recommendations for children and teens because the body and brain are still in such rapid phases of growth and development. I love understanding how the bodies of child and teen athletes are different from those of adults and, therefore, cannot be treated and guided as such.

Today I’m going to share with you four factors that I think are important to know that make the needs and recommendations of child and adolescent athletes different than those of adults. I hope you find this helpful as you continue to fuel your young athletes.

4 Ways Child & Adolescent athlete nutrition needs

Differ From Adult athlete needs:

1. Children are more efficient at using fat for energy. It is not until going through puberty that they become more efficient at using carbs like adults. 

• Putting into practice … Young athletes don’t need to do all of that carb-loading before big cross country meets or tournament days. Those pre-race carb-loading dinners are more for camaraderie than actual help with fueling. Keep enjoying the dinners if you love them (I loved these as a cross country runner in middle school & high school) but just know it’s more for fun than for optimizing fueling or giving a performance advantage. Of course, carbs are still a young athlete’s best friend, but the need for “loading” has not been proven to benefit this population of athletes. It does not mean you have to load up on fats either, but it does mean that foods with fat should certainly be present in their meals or snacks.

2. Children / teens do not cool their bodies like adults do. Children/teens predominantly cool their bodies via radiative and conductive cooling (dry heat dissipation) while adults rely on evaporative cooling (sweating). During training, young athletes’ bodies get more efficient at peripheral vasodilation while adults’ bodies alter their sweat rates. All of this means that kids and adolescents do not sweat as much as adults to cool themselves and, therefore, do not lose as many electrolytes as adults do with exercise.

   • Putting into practice … Keep this in mind before buying expensive electrolyte supplements or sports drinks for your athlete.

3. Children & adolescent athletes are going through growth spurts at different times and different seasons. It’s important not to alter food choices or restrict intake too much at the risk of stunting growth, delaying puberty or decreasing performance. What could seem like a harmless small reduction in calories or a shift in food choices to a young athlete could mean a period of unintentional underfueling that decreases performance, puts the athlete at risk of injury, or, if long-term, delays growth and development.

   • Putting into practice … It’s important to encourage all meals and snacks and all forms of carbs, proteins and fats with our young athletes. I like to encourage athletes to listen to their body (unless they are already chronically underfueled but that is a separate post for another day). They may be extremely hungry one week or one month and need a little or a lot more food. Then the following week or month their appetite is lower. That’s ok! They’ve got to allow themselves to fuel through those growth spurts, giving the body what it needs, not only for the growth & development, but also for their sport and class load.

4. Supplement benefits may not apply.  What I mean here is that most supplements related to performance (not talking about vitamins & minerals here) that have been found to be effective are tested on adults, not children and teens. Even if the supplement is third party tested, that does not mean it is proven to be effective or recommended for use in kids and teens.

   • Putting into practice … Always keep this in mind when thinking about protein or other supplements for the young athlete.

Working as a pediatric sports dietitian merges the specialty of pediatrics and the specialty of sports. I know it can be confusing to sort through all of the nutrition information and product recommendations out there, which are mostly geared towards adult athletes. If your athlete needs help with their fueling strategy and you’re not sure where to start or where to go next, reach out to me! I would love to schedule a call and chat to see if working together would be a good next step.  

That’s all for today. Happy Fueling!

Taylor

When the Young Athlete Wants to Build Muscle: 5 Nutrition Practices to Start Now

I have worked with a lot of teen male athletes over the years who have come to me with weight gain and muscle building goals. They are typically football players but have also included athletes in soccer or baseball or a few other sports.  They want to build muscle but either (a) are not sure where to start so have not yet started making changes or (b) have been trying to build muscle for months but without much of a plan or direction and are not seeing the desired gains. They most often get to me at a point of high disappointment when they feel like giving up or they are thinking about turning to supplements. I know that it can be so tough for these athletes! With all of this being said, I thought now was the perfect time for this post. I always recommend making any kind of changes in the athlete’s off season, especially when those changes have to do with the athlete’s meals and snacks and fueling strategy. And for many athletes, summer is the off season, a time when many athletes I talk to are working on changes in preparation for fall and the start of school and their sport.

So, today I want to first give you five reasons your young athlete’s efforts may not be working. Then I want to follow with five key nutrition practices that he can start implementing today that can help him meet his weight gain / muscle building goals! Keep in mind, these are only the nutrition components. Certain exercises, like resistance training, as well as sleep and other good habits are important to seeing gains in muscle. Also, if your athlete has not gone through puberty yet, it’s important to remember that he will only see so much gain. This is because he does not yet have the hormones for those big muscle gains that he may see in his favorite collegiate or professional athlete, or even in an older teammate. It might be hard for some young athletes to hear, but it is always important to set realistic expectations as you get started and take changes and goals step by step and year by year.

Five reasons that your young athlete’s efforts may not be working:

1. He is not consuming enough total calories throughout the day.

2. He is not consuming enough protein throughout the day, spaced out evenly between meals and snacks.

3. He is not consuming enough carbohydrate throughout the day.

4. He is not implementing his food changes consistently every day (instead he focuses on it one day here and one day there - maybe about 3 or 4 days/week)

5. He is not being mindful of how his nutrition fits around his daily resistance training sessions.

So, we see why the athlete’s efforts may not be working. Now let’s take a look at actions he can take to make a change and head in the right direction…

5 key nutrition principles & actions to help your young athlete build muscle:

1. Consume adequate or increased calories each day.  

• The athlete cannot build muscle and gain weight if he is in a calorie deficit

2. Consume adequate / increased protein each day.

• Make sure it is spaced evenly between meals and snacks.

• Your athlete likely only needs about 20 to 30 grams of protein at once to build muscle (but that exact amount is athlete-specific).

3. Consume adequate carbohydrates each day.

• The body does not want to use protein for energy, but it will if it has to because there are not enough carbohydrates available!   Make sure your athlete is getting enough carbs so the body can use that for energy and use the protein to build muscle.

4. Make sure your athlete is fueling around his practices and resistance training sessions.

1. He should be going into a workout energized and implementing a good recovery snack or meal about 45 minutes after the session is over.

5. Consistency is Key! The young athlete should be mindful of these eating practices every day, not just a few times a week.  These small daily changes add up to big results that meet performance and muscle building goals. Stay consistent and don’t give up!

It can be hard for a young male athlete, busy with his school schedule, participating in daily practices for his sports, and going through rapid growth spurts to meet his daily needs to build muscle. It can be tempting to turn to fancy sounding supplements that claim big muscle-building results. However, those supplements can be harmful and may not get the athlete the long-term results he is wanting. It’s always best to choose food first and, with a little planning and by incorporating the five key nutrition principles above, the young athlete’s goal of building muscle can be met!

If your athlete has been trying but struggling to see results or if you want to set out a plan prior to getting started, reach out to me to book a call! We can get on the phone, discuss your athlete’s goals and then see if booking a session together would be a good next step. Don’t give up. You CAN do it. I’ve seen athletes meet their weight gain and muscle building goals before and I know you can do it too.

Happy Fueling!

Taylor

Do You Really Need All of Those Protein Bars and Shakes?

Lately I have been working with athletes to help build meals and snacks that support their intense summer training schedules. I find that while the issue during the school year is maintaining sufficient intake with a busy school and sports schedule, the issue during the summer is maintaining sufficient intake or increasing intake to support the higher volume and intensity of training that occurs for many sports. Athletes that may have higher intensity summer training include distance runners (longer mileage in the summer in preparation for the fall season), dancers (with summer intensives), figure skaters (I went to camp for 6 weeks in the summer growing up and trained off and on ice for about 7 hours a day, whew!), football players with two-a-days in preparation for the fall, and many other club sport athletes that play year-round.

In working with these athletes and assessing intakes, it got me thinking about protein. I realized that, while I have written posts about how to meet protein needs or increase protein to meet needs, I have not written any posts talking about why you may be just fine and why you many NOT need to worry about your protein intake! I think it’s important to talk on this because the reality is that most teen athletes, if they are eating enough to support growth, training and activities of daily life are probably getting enough protein. Why? Well, because as I stated above, teen athletes need a lot of calories, especially during the height of their training! And in order to meet that increased need in a way that fills and satisfies the body, protein is usually increased as a byproduct. It’s hard to increase intake that much (I’m talking 3500 to 4000 calories a day here) and not use any protein-containing foods, especially when part of the goal with the increase is to help the athlete feel satisfied so he / she isn’t hungry ALL. DAY. LONG. Even our carbohydrate sources, like whole grain bread, pasta, milk and yogurt contain protein. And there is 7 grams of protein in just one ounce of meat! I rarely come across a male teen athlete who says he only eats two ounces of meat with his dinner…

So, what’s my point? My point is that many athletes (and many people in general) are consuming more protein than they think, especially when trying to increase their intake. It seems like society is soooo focused on protein these days and getting more protein. I actually had a hard time finding a non-Greek dairy yogurt at the store yesterday. Yes, protein is important and there are many athletes who have trouble meeting there needs but, before going out and buying all of the high protein bars, yogurts, milks, cereals and shakes out there, I would first challenge you to take a look at how much protein you are currently getting in a day . If you love non-Greek yogurts or regular granola bars vs protein bars, great! Chances are those “average products” contain some protein anyway all contributing to your needs at the end of the day.

Want to see an example of what I’m talking about? Let’s take a look!

Let’s say you’re a high school athlete that weights 121 pounds (55 kg) and your sports dietitian says you should be getting about 1.4 grams protein / kg / day, which is appropriate for some young athletes (but I don’t know you so please don’t take this as medical advise or a personal recommendation of what you should be getting in a day). The diagram below is what that would look like. And, y’all, that’s it! That’s all you need! The thing is, you are going to need way more calories (and other nutrients) than what the below chart shows and so my point is, you’re probably getting enough protein to meet your needs. What you should now be focusing on is increasing those carbs to fuel your brain and muscles, getting healthy fat to promote satiety, decrease inflammation and absorb other nutrients and micronutrients like calcium and vitamin D to protect your bones.

So, again, if you worry about your protein intake, I challenge you to take a closer look at what you are eating and drinking. Compare it to my example here and my list of protein-containing foods. If you still worry about your intake, I encourage you to reach out to a sports RD in your area. If you’re interested in working with me, I would love to work with you! You can reach out to me through the link here.

Happy Fueling!

Taylor

A Sample Menu for Injury Recovery

In my last post I talked all about nutrients needed for recovery after injury. I gave you guys some sample meals and sample snacks. Now I want to give you a little more detailed picture of what it looks like to get these nutrients in meals and snacks each day. What does it look like to get leucine every 3 hours? What does it look like to get whey protein before bed? How do you fit this in while also squeezing in the other nutrients to promote the best recovery possible? Below I have outlined a sample day for you. I didn’t get super detailed with portions except for the foods with leucine because every athlete will have different calorie, protein, carbohydrate needs, etc. This, however, is a great place to start and you can tailor portions to what works for you in your sport or phase of recovery. Let me know if you have any questions!

Happy Fueling!

Taylor

LEUCINE CONTENT OF DIFFERENT FOODS

Some recommend about 2.5 grams of leucine per meal for adults

• 1 can of white tuna: 3.3 grams

• 3 ounce chicken breast: 1.8 grams

• 1 scoop whey protein isolate: 2.5 grams

• 3 eggs: 1.5 grams

• 1 Greek yogurt: 1.5 grams

• 8 ounces of chocolate milk: 0.8 grams
  

Ten Important Nutrients For Injury Recovery

I work with a lot of injured athletes. I see athletes with torn ACL’s, history of concussion and a handful of other issues, but I most often see athletes with some type of fracture, typically one or more stress fractures. While rest and physical therapy are essential to optimal recovery, so is the athlete’s nutrition. Unfortunately, nutrition can sometimes get forgotten during the recovery stage but but I’m here to say, “Don’t let it!” What you eat during this period can really speed up your recovery or it can hold you back. If used with purpose, what you eat can decrease inflammation, help rebuild the tissue you have injured, prevent loss of lean muscle and help maintain your strength. These all seem like good reasons to focus on nutrition to me! And, like I say with most of my other tips and ideas, you don’t have to make your nutrition recovery complicated! I’m here to give you the facts and then help you most easily incorporate those facts into something doable each day.

If you are an injured athlete or the parent, coach or caregiver of an injured athlete, I hope you can take some of these ideas below and put them to use for the best recovery possible.

Happy Fueling!

Taylor

Why Should Nutrition Be Part of Your Recovery Plan?

1. Support the continued creation of muscle proteins.

   • Muscle protein synthesis (creation of muscle protein in the body) decreases after injury when activity declines and especially when a limb has to be immobilized (like getting a cast on a leg, arm, etc.)

2. Preserve the lean muscle mass you already have.

   • Nutrition becomes even more important to maintain your muscle mass since you cannot use exercise & your typical workouts to help.

3. Maintain appropriate energy balance.

   • While, yes, your energy needs may decrease some during your recovery phase, it’s important to realize that they may not decrease THAT much. This is especially true if you are on crutches, which require 2 to 3 times more energy than walking! If you decrease calories too much, you can slow down recovery due to the decrease muscle protein synthesis, increased muscle loss and impaired wound healing that this will cause.

4. Decrease Inflammation (not necessarily right after injury and surgery but starting a few days after, as inflammation right after an injury is important to the healing process)

   • Just as anti-inflammatory foods and antioxidants were important for recovery after games and practices, they are also important now as the body is working even harder to heal. Continue to include those foods high in antioxidants and those anti-inflammatory foods.

Ten Nutrients to Include in Your Recovery Plan

1. PROTEIN

   • Focus on foods high in the amino acid leucine, which stimulates the creation of protein.

     • Sources: lean chicken, beef and pork, fish, nuts & seeds, cheese, tempeh, milk, yogurt

   • Include a quality source of protein (ideally with leucine) about every 3 hours, after therapy sessions and before bed.

   • Include a quality source of whey protein before bed. Whey protein is released and digested more slowly so your body can work on maintaining and rebuilding muscle during the fasting state of sleep.

     • Sources: yogurt, milk, and cottage cheese

2. CARBOHYDRATE

   • Your body still needs carbohydrates for energy so it can use the protein you give it for muscle repair and building. You may need less carbohydrate than when you were training and competing but don’t cut them way back or out completely!

   • Focus on complex carbohydrates that take longer to digest. This will keep you fuller longer and prevent spikes and dips in your blood sugar.

     • Sources: whole grain bread, pasta, cereal, & crackers, fruit, yogurt, starchy veggies

3. HEALTHY FAT

   • Make sure to include sources of omega-3’s and some monounsaturated fats to help fight the inflammation and support your immune system.

     • Sources: nuts, seeds, avocado, oily fish (salmon & tuna), flax oil, extra virgin olive oil, nut and seed butter.

4. VITAMIN C

   • An important antioxidant that aids in wound healing , tissue repair, and a healthy immune system.

     • Sources: citrus fruits, bell peppers, tomatoes, cantaloup, potatoes

5. VITAMIN A

   • An important antioxidant that aids in cell growth and development and immune function.

     • Sources: sweet potatoes, spinach, carrots, tomatoes, cantaloupe

6. VITAMIN D

   • Aids in calcium absorption and supports bone health.

   • Sources: sunlight, fatty fish, many dairy products (check the label), fortified foods, egg yolks

7. CALCIUM

   • Important for strong bones.

     • Sources: dairy products, broccoli, kale, chia seeds, almonds, fortified orange juice

8. MAGNESIUM

   • Important for making proteins in the body and aids in the absorption & metabolism of calcium and vitamin D.

     • Sources: almonds, sesame and sunflower seeds, cashews, peanuts, bananas, beans

9. ZINC

   • Aids in wound healing, creation of protein and immune function.

     • Sources: lean beef, crabmeat, chicken, cashews, fortified cereals, beans
       

10. COPPER

    • Helps form red blood cells, helps build a strong immune system and strong bones.

      • Sources: sesame, pumpkin and sunflower seeds, cashews and shiitake mushrooms

My Up & At ‘Em Egg Cups are packed with protein, vitamin D, as well as some vitamin C and calcium, all promoting recovery after injury!

PUTTING IT INTO PRACTICE:

Sample Injury Recovery Meals

• Grilled salmon with seasoned brown rice, roasted broccoli, a baked potato and glass of milk

• Peanut butter & banana sandwich on wheat bread + 8 oz milk + 1 cup diced cantaloupe

• Homemade lean ground beef cheeseburger + whole wheat bun + lettuce, tomato, mustard + homemade oven baked potato fries + kale salad

• Baked chicken + baked sweet potato + oven roasted broccoli + glass of milk

Salmon is an excellent source of omega 3’s. Try my Miso Ginger Glazed Salmon for a tasty twist on your average salmon dinner!

PUTTING IT INTO PRACTICE:

Sample Injury Recovery Snacks

• Greek yogurt + fresh or frozen mixed berries

• Quaker Oatmeal Squares cereal + dry roasted almonds

• Slice of whole grain toast spread with almond butter and sliced bananas

• Cottage cheese + diced cantaloupe

• Hardboiled egg + whole grain granola bar

• Protein bar (like 88 Acres protein, Larabar protein, etc.) + glass of milk

Basic rolled or steel cut oats from the bulk bin at your local grocery store provide great fiber, carbohydrates, some protein (because it’s a whole grain), magnesium, and more. Top with a healthy fat like SunButter or almond butter and some fruit for a balance recovery-enhancing breakfast or snack.

Healthy Weight Gain for the Young Athlete: When It's Indicated and How to Take a Performance & Health-Enhancing Approach

The topic of weight gain has come up a lot in the last couple of months. I’m working with a handful of clients on this very goal and I have some friends who are parents of small children with food allergies who are trying to maintain weight with limited food options.

In a world where we hear so much about weight loss, I wanted to create a post geared towards those working towards the opposite. Just as frustrating as it is for those who are trying to lose weight, it is also frustrating for those trying to gain. For today’s post I’m talking about weight gain and optimizing nutrition for the child and teen athlete. You will hear me say “optimizing nutrition” a lot because, while a client may come to me with the goal of gaining weight, I see this as a chance to optimize his or her nutrition as well. Weight gain can be done in ways that help improve performance or ways that can hinder performance. I think that if we keep the phrase “optimizing nutrition” in mind, it makes sure that that the athlete and we, as the athlete’s support team, approach this goal in a way that doesn’t just lead to weight gain, but also enhances the athlete’s development, health and performance.

So, when might I work with an athlete on weight gain? When might weight gain be indicated?

4 Situations where weight gain is indicated:

1. The athlete needs to gain weight to make a certain position on his or her team.

2. The athlete has experienced sudden, unintentional and continuous weight loss with the start of a new sport, new season, or increased time and intensity of practices.

3. Along with weight loss the athlete has experienced stress fractures or, if a female, lost her period.

4. There is a potential eating disorder to consider (this topic is beyond the scope of this post)

If you fall into these categories, weight gain might be something you are working on. However, as I said initially, weight gain can be done in a way that promotes health and performance and a way that hinders it. Eating 20 chocolate chip cookies every night and a double cheese burger with an extra large french fry and large lemonade may promote weight gain, but it would not promote the building of lean muscle, brain health, speed and agility, and other benefits beneficial to the athlete (I’m not saying the athlete can’t ever have cookies, fries, etc., I’m saying, let’s diversify here). So, what are some key guidelines to follow when trying to achieve performance-enhancing and health-promoting weight gain? Here are 5 initial actions to start getting that weight trending upwards.

5 Tips for Healthy, Performance-Promoting Weight Gain in the Young Athlete:

1. Eat on a consistent meal and snack schedule every day. No skipping meals! Consistency is key. This means consistently eating 3 meals and, for many athletes, 3 snacks a day. It also means sticking to a schedule! An athlete may not feel hungry, but if the schedule says it’s time to eat, it’s important to do so.

2. Include 3 or more different food groups at each meal and at least 2 different food groups at each snack. This ensures the athlete is getting protein, carbohydrate and healthy fats from a variety of sources and a variety of needed micronutrients along with it.

3. Increase portion sizes at each meal and / or make some food swaps, trading out less energy-dense foods (ex: plain popcorn at a snack or regular bread for a sandwich) for more energy-dense foods (ex: a nut & seed granola bar at a snack or a bagel for a sandwich).*

4. Add spreads and sauces to your meals and snacks (ex: Add peanut butter to your granola bar, avocado spread to your sandwich, hummus with your carrots, and cheese with your crackers.*

5. Work with your sports dietitian to get your protein goal and space that protein out evenly throughout the day in your meals and snacks (this is especially important if looking to build lean muscle). Your dietitian will also make sure that you are increasing your energy intake enough and that this increase is coming from the amount of protein, carbs and fat needed to fuel performance and support good health!

   * Notice that most of these additions and swaps offer a degree of nutrition as well as calcium, protein, healthy fats, fiber, magnesium, potassium, and more, all contributing to the athlete’s overall health and performance.

These are some general guidelines. I will always recommend you meet with a sports RD to know that what you are choosing is right for you. Some athletes may need 2 snacks a day, some may need 3 and some may need more! It all depends on you, your sport, and your season of training.

I hope this gets you started in the right directions. Please comment with questions or reach out to me via my contact page with questions or if you would like to work together on weight gain for you or your own young athlete!

Happy Fueling!

Taylor