Examining the Caloric Needs of the Youth Athlete Part 2

Last week we took a look at a mock diet of a 5 foot, 8 inch, 120lb 15 year old basketball player. It was easy to see that the boy was not consuming enough calories during the day. I didn't even talk about the fact that a good portion of the calories were not quality calories. Pizza, ice cream and soda are examples of what are called empty calories. Yes, skinny kids can eat those foods and not get fat. But, a diet that consists of mostly empty calories will leave you sluggish, malnourished and unfocused. Continue to make those food choices as you get older and you will be the dreaded SKINNY FAT GUY. Nobody wants to be the skinny fat guy!

With school going back in session next week, I figured this would be a good time to give you some ways to increase QUALITY caloric intake.

1. Eat a bigger breakfast. If you have a mom that makes you an omlet every morning, then you are very lucky. We need to find some quick options because most kids eat breakfast on the go. Look back to the mock diet and we saw that the kid ate a bowl of cereal. Not bad, especially if it is oatmeal or some kind of organic cereal. Let's try to add some more too this. Adding a protein shake or bar will add about 150 - 200 calories and about 25 grams of protein. Ideally, I would like to see a glass of OJ or some fruit added to the cereal.


2. Bigger snacks. This is where high calorie shakes are great. We have sold Universal Nutrition Real Gains for 8 years with great success. It tastes great and you can make serving sizes ranging from 200 - 600 calories - all of them from good carbs, protein and fat. Just scoop the powder out of the tub, throw it in a shaker cup with milk or water and pound it! Consume this as a snack instead of a granola bar or hoho and you just tripled your quality calories in one snack.

3. A fruit or vegetable should be part of every snack and meal. Find the ones you like and eat the heck out of them. I recommend eating at least 3 servings of fruits and 5 servings of vegetables a day. Again, skinny guys can get away with eating french fries every now and then, but let's make sure that is not your only vegetable for the day.

4. Avoid the school lunch blow up! If you go to a public school these days, there is a good chance that you have a lot of options such as subs, salads and wraps. However, there is no shame in packing your lunch, or at least part of it. If you are going to go the pizza or hot dog route, let's try to offset the bad calories by packing a bag full of healthy sides. All kinds of fruit, whole grain crackers, almonds, and greek yogurt are easily packable side items. The key is not to make your lunch a fat and bad carb bomb - i. e. pizza and fries.

5. Dinner should be lean meat, veggies and some sort of grain. Stir fry or kabob skewers with meat and veggies are a simple way to kill two birds with one stone. If you are on the run all day and eating out is the only option, separate true fast food from healthier alternatives like Panera Bread. Jason's Deli just opened in the Lewis Center area and I highly recommend it for healthy family eating.

6. Before bed calories. This is where the shake comes in handy. Avoid the ice cream and cookies and turn to something that finishes off your day the right way. It is also the last chance to meet your fruit and vegetable goals.

Next blog we will look at a revised mock diet.