A Shred Girls (Very Simple) Guide to Sports Nutrition: Part 1

I realized recently that there aren’t many decent guides to nutrition — especially nutrition for athletes — available for a younger, teen audience. Most of the books and articles out there are written for adults, and honestly, they’re confusing, since one day, we’re told that all fat is bad, and the next, we’re told to skip carbs. Huh??? As young female cyclists, there are a few general nutritional principles that you’re going to want to keep in mind, especially as you’re hitting puberty and developing as a human and as an athlete: the rules that might help an adult get to her ideal weight ARE NOT necessarily going to be healthy for you to do.

So, I’m breaking down some basic sports nutrition guidelines into pretty bite-sized (pun intended) chunks for the local cross-country team where I live, and the teens on the team saw really great race results after starting to focus on generally healthier eating habits outside of racing, plus better race day eating habits. I’m going to post these as a 4-part series, starting with what I think is the most important: Everyday eating.

When I wrote Fuel Your Ride, the majority of the book was about what people should be focusing on off the bike, because that’s what really matters. You can’t make up for a diet of only donuts and pizza on a race day! (And yes, this is exactly what I find myself telling cyclists of all ages, this is not a teen problem!)

OK, so what should you be thinking about every day? Here are my best tips — and I’m keeping it super, super simple because this info can be hard to digest (sorry, the puns keep coming) and I think if you pile on too much info all at once, you end up completely confused and only absorbing a small amount of the info anyway!

The basic equation: Breakfast + Lunch + Dinner (or any meal, really) = Carbs + Protein + Fat

We need all of the macronutrients (carbohydrate, protein + fat) for a balanced diet. For breakfast and lunch, you want to include each of the following:

Simple carbs: This is your rice, bread, pasta, that will start being burned for fuel right away—I know a lot of you have probably heard that simple carbs are bad, but they’re important for us hungry girls, especially before school and before and after practice! Just make sure you’re balancing these with protein, fat and plenty of complex carbs.

Ex: White rice

Complex carbs/fiber: Add tons of veggies for fiber + nutrients. They also take longer to digest so you feel full for longer

Ex: Sautéed peppers and onions + fresh tomato

Protein: You need protein to build/maintain/aid in muscle recovery. Easy options are lean meats (For vegetarians, beans, tofu, eggs)

Ex: Chicken

Fat: Healthy fats high in Omega-3s are critical to a healthy diet and feeling full longer

Ex: Avocado

(Notice that the example foods built a delicious burrito bowl?)

Hydration: We’ll dig into this more later, but for now, the easiest piece of advice is to skip the soft drinks in favor of water. Carry a water bottle with you throughout the school day and try to fill it at least once over the course of the day, so that when you get to practice, you’re not already dehydrated!

Now, we can get waaaaaay more in-depth about this stuff, so let me know in the comments if you have any questions about everyday nutrition! Next time, we’ll tackle the issue of how to eat for training. And yes, we’re going to talk about ‘junk food,’ because let’s be honest, it’s hard to avoid!