By Kimberly King
Staff Writer
You may not be a professional athlete, but you can eat like an “all-star.”
Professional athletes know what their bodies need to perform, and they make eating choices to maximize their abilities. To get the most out of your body, give it all-star nutrition. Next time you sit down and watch our men and women at their games, think about your eating and activity routine.
Do you exercise —- walk, run, bike, skate or swim — for 20 minutes most days of the week?
Do you choose a wide variety of foods with whole grains, fruits and vegetables making up the majority?
Do you choose lean meat, fish and poultry in moderate portions?
Do you include two or more servings of low-fat dairy products every day?
If you answered yes to most of these questions, you’re training your body for health. More no than yes answers? This might be the time to develop a game plan for healthful eating and activity. The first strategy –– make better food choices. Don’t foul out because of no exercise. Start slowly to get moving and before you know it you’ll have a training routine you can enjoy to score big for life.
For the athlete, the desire to be bigger needs to be tempered with leaner, not just bigger.
Getting bigger for the athlete means adding on pounds, but the healthy way to add pounds is by building muscle. Muscle development takes time and a good training program.
To get the extra energy needed to support exercise and muscle building:
• Eat frequent mini-meals;
• Increase portions at mealtime;
• Snack between meals;
• Get most of your extra energy from nutrient-dense, high-carb foods;
• And for extra meals or snacks, try high-carb liquid meal supplements for convenience.
What to do with limited resources? Get creative. If you’re eating in the Waves Café, you’re able to pick courses from all of the lines, and you’re not just forced into having food from just one station. For breakfast, get some O.J., a waffle covered in yogurt and some fruit. For lunch, grab a sandwich with vegetables and a bottle of water. Stock up on great energy for dinner with a tasty and well-balanced meal. You’re set for a great day!
Think about it
Extra energy for exercise and muscle building requires:
1. Eating frequent mini-meals
2. Increased portions at mealtimes
3. Snacking between meals
4. Eat nutrient-dense, high-carb foods
5. Try high-carb liquid meals to supplement your diet
— Kimberly King is the public relations officer for the Student Dietic Association. E-mail her at kimberly.r.king@pepperdine.edu.
March 20, 2003
