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! 

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…..

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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.

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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!

A Sample 1300 mg Calcium Meal Plan

Hey there! Hope everyone had a great weekend. If you follow me on my Instagram you know that I got to spend Sunday doing one of my favorite activities with the family, ice skating. It was so much fun to skate but to also get to help my niece and nephew skate.

I just posted my blog post about calcium & vitamin D needs for kids and teens and the young athlete last week. This week, because I’m such an advocate for food first if possible, I want to share with you a couple of examples of what meeting needs through diet alone can look like. For my examples I have chosen the 1300 mg goal because teens are who I most often see with stress fractures and who I most often educate. See previous post for calcium recommended daily amounts for different ages. Remember that I’m really only considering calcium here. This does not reflect any particular energy, protein, carbohydrate or fat intake. Nor does it address other micronutrients. Comment with questions!

Happy Fueling!

Taylor

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1300 mg CALCIUM PER DAY MEAL PLANS (with dairy)

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CALCIUM SAMPLE PLAN 1:

BREAKFAST

• 5 oz yogurt (250 mg)

• 1/2 tsp chia seeds (85 mg)

• fruit

SNACK

• 1 oz raw or dry roasted almonds (75 mg)

LUNCH

• Grilled chicken sandwich

• With 1 slice of cheese (150 mg)

• Side kale salad (2 cups fresh kale) (180 mg)

SNACK

• 8 oz. chocolate milk (300 mg)
  

DINNER

• Pork tenderloin

• 1 baked potato (~30 mg)

  • 1 slice cheese (~150 mg)

  • plain yogurt (~50 mg)

• 1 cup cooked broccoli (62 mg)

TOTAL CALCIUM: ~ 1332 mg

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CALCIUM SAMPLE PLAN 2

BREAKFAST

• 1 cup cooked oatmeal (1/2 cup dry oats + 1 cup milk) (~328 mg)

• 2 tsp almond butter (~28 mg)

• 1/2 banana
  
  

SNACK

• 1 yogurt, not Greek (~ 5 oz.) (~250 mg)
  
  

LUNCH

• Grilled salmon salad

  • 3 cups chopped fresh kale (270 mg)

  • 4 oz grilled Coho salmon (50 mg)

  • diced veggies of choice

  • 2 tbsp feta (~90 mg)

  • dressing of choice

• fruit / crackers on the side

SNACK

• 5 figs (~135 mg)

DINNER

• Grilled chicken breast

  • 1 slice melted mozzarella cheese (~150 mg)

  • fresh sliced tomatoes + basil

• 1 cup cooked broccoli (~60 mg)

• 1/2 cup cooked brown rice

• 8 oz. milk (300 mg)

TOTAL CALCIUM: ~1500 mg

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If your athlete is really struggling with their fueling for sport and you’re looking for a place to start to help them start improving their nutrition, I invite you to download my FREE Getting Started Guide to a Well-Fueled Young Athlete! It has some of the basic info to know and think about when it comes to getting the young athlete well-fueled for their sport. Enjoy!

Calcium for the Young Athlete

Calcium and Vitamin D are big topics for me as I continue working with young athletes.  I see many stress fractures commonly caused by a combination of overuse, under-resting, and suboptimal nutrition intake, specifically of calcium and vitamin D.  I have also had a number of friends ask me specific information regarding calcium and vitamin D and so, while not going into specific recommendations, I am dedicating a full post to these two nutrients. This and other posts will talk about general information. If you have real concerns that you or your athlete are not getting enough calcium, you should formally talk with your doctor or sports dietitian. Stay tuned for posts focused specifically on recipes and sample meal plans to come!

WHAT IS THE BIG DEAL WITH CALCIUM & VITAMIN D?

Calcium and vitamin D are two nutrients with an important role in bone health.  While calcium plays an essential role in bone development, vitamin D is a nutrient that aids in the absorption and regulation of the calcium.  Therefore, these two nutrients work together to protect against the loss of bone mass and maintain strong bones, which is especially important during the teen years when bones tend to grow at a more rapid rate. Calcium is also used for things like muscle contractions and heart function. The body uses the calcium in the blood for these functions. If not getting enough calcium to keep blood levels normal, the body will pull that needed calcium from the bones. Thus the reason we need to be getting calcium in what we eat and drink!

HOW MUCH CALCIUM DO YOUNG Kids & Teens NEED?

• 4 - 8 years old: 1,000 mg / day

• 9 - 13 years old: 1300 mg / day

• 14 - 18 years old: 1300 mg / day

HOW MUCH VITAMIN D DO KIDS NEED?

• 1 - 18 years old: 600 IU / day

WHAT ARE GOOD SOURCES OF CALCIUM?

Calcium doesn’t have to come from just dairy. There are non-dairy sources too. Just remember that if you choose to get it from non-dairy sources, you are going to need bigger portions of those calcium-containing foods!

• Leafy greens (kale, bok choy and collards)

• Chia & sesame seeds

• Figs

• White beans

• Almonds

• Broccoli (small amounts)

• Milk (any %. They all have the same amount of calcium per serving)

• Yogurt

• Cheese

• Cottage cheese

• Canned salmon

• Calcium - fortified tofu

WHAT ARE GOOD SOURCES OF VITAMIN D?

• UV exposed mushrooms

• Fortified milk substitutes & yogurts

• Egg (yolks)

• Salmon & tuna

• Ready-to-eat cereals

SIMPLE WAYS TO BUMP UP YOUR CALCIUM INTAKE:

• Make oatmeal with milk or calcium-fortified milk substitutes

• Fruit smoothie made with milk or yogurt

• Add cheese to eggs and sandwiches

• Drink a glass of milk or chocolate milk with meals or as your after practice snack (love these Horizon milk boxes that can be thrown in a lunchbox or sports bag!)

• Pack string cheese as snacks

• Add dry milk powder to oatmeal, soups, stews and baked goods

• Include a yogurt & fruit parfait for breakfast or as an after-dinner snack

• Top a baked potato with steamed broccoli, 1/4 cup shredded cheese and plain yogurt

• Add 1/2 cup of cooked calcium-rich greens to meals

• Snack on 1/2 cup cooked soybeans or 5 dried figs or toss over salads

• Make a breakfast shake with calcium-fortified beverage, fruit & greens

• Add chia seeds to oatmeal, yogurt, smoothies and salads

• Include a glass of calcium - fortified orange juice with breakfast or a snack
  
  

NUTRIENTS TO NOTE

Foods containing oxalates can inhibit calcium absorption.

Higher oxalate - containing foods = beans, nuts, soy beans, and some dark leafy greens like spinach.

Lower oxalate - containing foods = kale and Bok choy

This doesn’t mean you need to cut the higher oxalate - containing foods out of the diet, but try to incorporate some of the lower oxalate and non-oxalate - containing foods more often.

Meal Planning for the Young Athlete

I started meal planning and prepping in high school. I had begun to find myself giving the same effort as always but with less gains and improvements. I then experienced 2 individual events, one in my running and one in my skating. I first discovered that chicken fingers and fries from the school cafeteria was not the meal that was going to give me my best afternoon run or skate. Then I discovered that, on the flip side, not eating enough before events and not being prepared with snacks at away competitions would leave me tired and underfueled for practices and competitions. Both scenarios led to poor performances and, realizing this, I started to spend more time taking an interest in what I was putting onto my body and when.

I love working with athletes who have discovered this connection between food / nutrition and their sport and energy levels and are ready to take action. What I find they need the most is simply a starting point. Where to begin? How do you think about it? What is a framework for figuring this out?

Today I’m walking through some basic steps to meal planning and prepping for the young athlete. I’m focusing on lunch here but I can talk more about including breakfast and dinners if you guys want - just comment below! I hope you find this helpful. Please share with a friend or teammate who would also find this helpful!

Happy Fueling!

Taylor

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6 STEPS TO SIMPLIFIED MEAL PLANNING FOR THE YOUNG ATHLETE

1. Look at Your School Schedule

Before you can plan anything you have to know what you are planning for! How many lunches will you need? How many breakfasts? Are you factoring dinner into the equation or just breakfast, lunch and snacks?? I like to use my personal calendar for this so that it is visible in my busy daily schedule.

2. Look at How Much Time You Have for Meals

How much time do you actually have for meals? Are you scarfing down breakfast as you run out the door in the morning? Do you eat breakfast at school after morning practice? Do you get a fast fifteen minutes for lunch that you squeeze in between last minute homework? Or do you have a full thirty minutes to an hour? ( IF your answer is none of the above, “I skip lunch”, then please resubmit your answer as either A or B, because, attention, you need all of your meals! Skipping a meal is not an option in the meal planning or prepping process! )

How much time you have for meals will also help you determine what you should plan for and bring. If you only have 15 minutes, bringing something that needs to be microwaved, is, realistically, probably not your best option. Write down lunch in your planner and how much time you think you will realistically have for it.

3. Know What Your Nutrition Needs Are

All athletes have different macro and micronutrient needs depending on their own unique body and the sport that they play. An endurance runner will have different needs than a volleyball player who will have different needs than a football player who will have different needs than a figure skater. I talk with lots of athletes who are working on increasing their calcium intake, protein intake and overall energy intake. If this is also you, then it’s something you need to be considering! Are you a vegetarian? If so, then it’s really important to make sure you are getting enough protein, iron, zinc and B12 from plant and dairy sources (if you include dairy).

4. List Foods You Like In Each Food Group

While the new MyPlate does a good job of showcasing and simplifying the foods groups and how to incorporate them into meals, it only shows 5 food groups, failing to showcase fat, which I believe is a very important part of a healthy young athlete’s nutrition plan. Now that you have in mind your time-frame and nutrition needs, take a look at the Six Food Groups and the foods that you most commonly include within these groups:

• Meat or Meat Equivalent (for those that don’t eat meat)

• Fruits

• Vegetables

• Whole Grains

• Dairy

• Fat

I like to put these categories in columns like the picture below so that it leaves room to brainstorm all of the possible foods you can include in each category.

5. Choose at Least 3 Food Groups Per Meal

Now, think about what foods you want to include in your meals that week. Say you are planning lunch and you know that you are trying to get more calcium in your meals, you have cross country practice in 3 hours and you will have about 20 minutes for lunch today. That means you should probably bring something that can (A) be served cold, (B) contains calcium, (C) will offer a good portion of carbohydrate to fuel your run but (D) be lower in fat so that digesting the meal will not interfere with your run. For me, I might pick a MEAT (or “MEAT EQUIVALENT”), some GRAINS/STARCH and some DAIRY at a minimum (this could look like chicken, whole grain crackers & yogurt). Young athletes will most likely need much more food than this, but this is an example of the minimum from different categories.

6. Vary the Foods within Each of These Food Groups Weekly

To keep it easy, you could plan to stick with a meat, starch and dairy food in each of your lunches. However, try to choose two or three foods within each of those food groups to get a variety of nutrients throughout the week and to prevent getting bored. For example, I might focus on the following three food groups and then choose the following foods within each food group to mix and match for the week. I’ll also throw in a few foods from other groups to complement meals as needed. Something I might choose would be:

• MEAT = chicken, beans, eggs

• STARCH = whole grain bread, sweet potatoes, whole grain crackers

• DAIRY = low-fat yogurt and cheese

• FRUITS = apples, grapes, bananas

• VEGGIES = spinach, cucumbers, bell peppers, mushrooms

What meals could I make from this? Examples might be:

• A chicken sandwich on whole - wheat bread with spinach, cheese and mustard + an apple + a yogurt

• A spinach salad topped with hard boiled eggs, garbanzo beans, cucumbers and bell peppers + an olive oil - based dressing + a low-fat yogurt (a Greek or high protein yogurt if I need more protein and it digests in time for my run) + a bunch of grapes

• You can also keep it super basic and make what I like to call a “grab bag”. There is certainly nothing wrong with this! Bring a ziplock baggie of chicken + a baggie of grapes + whole grain crackers + a low-fat yogurt and whatever else you might need to keep you fueled!

Remember that my examples here are not personalized. You may need less or a lot more food than this. These examples are just to give you a basic visual.

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Summer Sports Camp Fuel

Just because it's summer doesn't mean the madness stops.  It seems to simply shift to a different routine of crazy as you juggle your own regular work schedule plus your athlete's morning practices, two-a-days, sports camps, and other summer activities, all while making sure you and your young athlete are fueled enough to get you both through the day.  Special attention is needed for young athletes who, depending on their sport, may have gone from a one to two-hour practice before school and / or a 2 to 3 hour practice after school to all-day sports camps consisting of breaks here and there throughout the day, but not much time for rest and recovery and often times out in the heat of the day.

So, let's talk SPORTS CAMP FUEL.  The goal here is to energize and to hydrate.  To provide quick fuel and also provide sustained energy.  "Quick", "totable", "simple" are the criteria for these meals and snacks - items that can be made before bed or assembled quickly in the morning before heading out for the day.

To hopefully make life a bit easier, below, I have compiled a list of snack ideas for camp with a little explanation of why they make great sports snacks.  For more ideas keep up with the blog, which will be featuring healthy fueling snacks throughout the months to come!

QUICK ENERGY WHEN YOUR CAMPER HAS A COOLER

• Water

• Smoothies (fluid, antioxidants, and carbohydrate from fruits and water / ice)

• Fresh fruits (such as: grapes, tangerines, pineapple, watermelon, apple slices)

• Mini bottles of a sports drink (like Gatorade)

QUICK ENERGY WITHOUT A COOLER

• Water

• Pretzels or other salty crackers (quick carbohydrates + salt to replace sodium lost in sweat and help retain fluid)

• Dried fruit (quick carbohydrate + antioxidants + some iron, depending on the dried fruit)

• Whole grain cereal (low in fat and fiber)

• Fresh fruit

• Granola bars (low in fat and fiber)

• Jam Sandwich on white bread (very quick carbohydrate)

 LONG-TERM ENERGY WHEN YOU OR YOUR CAMPER HAS A COOLER

• String Cheese

• Turkey & Cheese Pita

• Turkey & Hummus Wrap

• Bowl of whole grain cereal with low-fat milk

• Nonfat Greek yogurt topped with fruit and a little low-fat granola

• DIY Blackberry Burst yogurt (a Taylored Recipe)

• Hummus & whole grain crackers (healthy fat, protein, fiber + a little iron)

• Low-fat milk or chocolate milk (carbohydrate, potassium & protein - great snack to refuel)

• Smoothies made with milk / yogurt

• Fig & Cheddar Turkey Sandwich (a Taylored Recipe)

• Sliced tomato or pineapple & cottage cheese

• Pasta salad with sliced cucumbers, tomatoes and Italian dressing

• Quinoa / rice bowl with bell peppers, avocado, chopped grilled chicken & salsa

SUSTAINED ENERGY WITHOUT A COOLER

• Peanut butter and banana sandwich

• Graham crackers with peanut butter topped with strawberry or banana slice

• homemade trail mix (nuts, whole grain cereal & dried fruit)

• Hearty whole grain granola bars with at least 6 grams of protein

• Peanut Butter Banana Oat Bites

• Popcorn

• Pre-packaged oatmeal packets (if a microwave will be available)

• Carrot sticks, sliced cucumbers, bell peppers, baby tomatoes (as a side)

SNACKS THAT HYDRATE

• Water

• Nonfat yogurts

• Nonfat or low-fat cottage cheese

• Smoothies

• Fresh or frozen fruit

• Fresh vegetable slices (such as: carrots, celery, bell peppers, cucumber)

• Sports drinks

• Apple sauce

• Chocolate milk (great recovery drink after a long intense practice)

• Vegetable juice (such as V8 or tomato juice)

Feel free to comment below with any questions or suggestions of things you do that work for you and your young athlete!

Happy Fueling! 

Taylor