Often times athletes are uneducated in their nutritional needs. There are many fad diets, athletic supplements, and overall nutritional controversies. So, it is no wonder that many athletes have no clue what, when, or how they should eat. For example, some trainers will put their athlete on a high fat diet or high protein diet to boost endurance. Meanwhile, other trainers restrict fats and carbohydrates; claiming sluggishness. Most experts will advise the average athlete to avoid high fat diets. There has been a growing prevalence in health problems with retired athletes. They ingest tremendous amounts of fats and the body becomes accustom to eating these foods. Once retired, the athlete decreases exercise, but never decreases the high fat diet. Without the rapid excretion of the fats, they clog arteries and attribute to heart disease.

Some of the controversy around balanced diets for athletes may be attributed to the tendency for a one size fits all mentality. An athletic diet can not be all inclusive, because no two sports have the same requirements. For example, a golfer is not going to burn the calories that a basketball player will. Individual athletes are going to vary in size, metabolism, sex, height, excretion habits, and weight. These individualized factors mean that there can not be an all inclusive diet. Climate, weather conditions, and yearly seasons play a role in dietary needs. In the winter time or cold climates, athletes will not sweat as much. thereby they will not need as many calories. A dietician or nutritional expert is the best way to provide individualized balanced diets for athletes. A nutritional expert can measure how many calories are being burned per day and how much fluid is lost per day. They will also take age, weight, height, injury, etc.. into account. Many of the above misconceptions come from a layman (like trainers) providing rudimentary nutritional advice, without taking in account all athletes and sports are not the same.

If you’re thirsty, it’s already too late. Dehydration is the number one nutritional killer of most athletes’ performance, because they don’t drink enough water through the day. Not drinking enough water will leave you feeling sluggish and sleepy, and when you’re an athlete involved in a sport where every second counts you know that a few minutes of feeling sluggish and sleepy can completely ruin your performance. Although most doctors recommend you drink six to eight glasses of water a day, that amount actually varies from person to person. The best thing you can do is cut other drinks out of your diet and drink water all day long. Remember, if your body is so dehydrated that you feel thirsty, it’s already too late.

Take your vitamins. Vitamin and mineral supplements are a key element in athlete nutrition, since the constant demands placed on their body burn those vitamins up faster than the average individual. Talk with your coach and your physician to see what supplements are right for you. Enjoy your carbs! Although the Atkins diet has instilled a deathly fear of carbs into a huge percentage of the population, the bottom line is that your body gets its energy from its carbohydrates. As an athlete, you need that energy to keep going; as an individual, you need those carbs to replace what you burn throughout the day.

Keep your meat lean. There’s nothing wrong with a nice, juicy steak every once in a while, but good athlete nutrition hinges on keeping the body at a cutting edge. Lean meats are much more effective for that purpose. Remember, however, that your body craves protein as well. As an athlete your daily protein requirements may be higher than many other individuals who live more sedentary lives.

Avoid sweets. Sweets and sugary drinks will dehydrate you and slow you down. That’s the last thing you need! If you can, cut these sweets out of your diet completely. If you can’t, indulge in moderation. Remember, there’s a vast difference between a small slice of cake at your cousin’s wedding reception and an entire apple pie devoured in front of “I Love Lucy” re-runs! Good athlete nutrition is a vital part of staying on top of your game. Sit down with your coach and your physician as soon as possible to work out a detailed diet plan just for you to have you at your peak athletic performance. You’ll be surprised at the difference a little change can make