Snack Strategies for Athletes
Have you realized the role that snacking can play in helping you achieve your goals??
Keep reading to learn some key strategies for optimizing your snacks as an athlete!
As a high school athlete participating in almost daily practices and games, you are burning a lot of calories. Depending on sport and activity level, male and female athletes may need to consume upwards of 3,000 calories per day to keep up with the demands of their bodies! It can be very challenging to fit that many calories into only three meals each day. This is why snacking is so important for athletes!
Adding well-rounded snacks into your diet is an easy way to make sure you meet your calorie needs! But you may have a few questions about snacks for athletes. Do any of these questions sound familiar?
What should I eat before a workout?
What are some healthy snacks for athletes?
What snacks should I eat to gain weight and muscle?
What snacks can help me lose weight?
In this post, I’m going to help answer all four of these snack-related questions.
1. Snacks to Consume Before a Workout
The snacks you consume in the pre-exercise window should aim to be high in carbohydrates and low in fat. This snack should contain carbohydrates that will digest quickly in your gut and deliver glucose to your blood for quick energy.
The timing of this snack matters too! When thinking about what to eat before a workout, use this sentence as a guide: “Shorter digestion time = simpler snack.” All this means is, if you have about 30 minutes from when that food hits your lips to when your feet hit the field, keep it simple.
If you want some great examples of pre-workout snacks for athletes, check out this Instagram post with pre-workout snack examples.
2. Healthy Snack Options for Athletes
Snacks that are marketed to athletes tend to be highly processed and loaded with sugar. If you want to avoid eating too many processed foods in your diet, I have some tips for you!
Energy bites are a cheap, easy snack that you can make at home! They’re budget-friendly and customizable. If you have a picky eater in your house, these are perfect for you! Check out the recipe here.
If you’re not looking to make your own healthy snack, most of the whole foods that make perfect pre-workout snacks come in their own packaging! Bananas and cuties are some great options.
3. Snacks for Weight Gain
If you’re struggling to gain weight as a high school athlete, including some high-calorie snacks between meals is a must!
Obviously, the best option for weight gain is to work one-on-one with a dietitian to establish your optimal daily caloric intake. A dietitian can help you form a nutrition plan to help you reach your goals even if you are struggling to gain weight.
But one quick trick for building a snack for weight gain is to make sure that you’re “rounding out” all of your snacks. “Rounding out” means making sure that your snacks contain all three macronutrients: carbohydrates, protein, and fat.
4. Snacks for Weight Loss
Just like with weight gain, weight loss is best achieved with a personalized plan to ensure that you are experiencing healthy weight loss at an appropriate rate for your body.
However, if weight loss is your goal, avoiding empty calories is a good rule of thumb. Swapping high-calorie bars that contain high-fructose corn syrup for whole foods and homemade snacks is key!
For example, fruit gummies make an amazing pre-workout snack for athletes. But if you’re trying to opt for whole-food options, try dried fruit with less added sugar instead!
I’m a firm believer that optimizing your snacks is one of the best ways to achieve your goals as an athlete. Creating individualized snack strategies and examples is something I love to do for my clients. If you’re interested in learning more about my one-on-one program, apply here!!
