How athletes’ diets can affect their sports performance

Athletes often have the advantage of being able to eat as much as they want as they burn off loads of calories training for games and meets.

Physical Education teacher Nathan Whitney recommends athletes replenish those lost calories with higher levels of carbohydrates and protein levels than the average student.

Whitney recommends that athletes eat more often throughout the day so they are constantly taking in nutrients.

“Instead of three square meals, I recommend five or six little mini meals,” Whitney said.

Sophomore Julie Huang practices gymnastics five days a week for four and a half hours a day.

Huang assumes that she eats around 3,000 calories a day. “Because I get really hungry, I eat breakfast, two lunches, and two dinners,” Huang said.

Similarly Freshman Jasen Mansfield, who plays tennis four to five days a week for two hours a day, predicts that his daily calorie intake is also around 3,000.

Huang tries to balance out her meals to accommodate her athletic performance. “Bubble tea and Girl Scout cookies are a part of my diet but I always try to eat a lot of meat for the protein,” Huang said.

Despite trying to eat as much protein as she can, Huang has never believed in using protein powders.

“I think protein powders are a scam because you actually have to put in the work to get the results that you want,” Huang said.

Sophomore Jack Katzman plays tennis for three to four hours a day and tries to eat as much protein as possible in order to grow stronger.

Katzman knows that when he eats better, he plays better during a workout or match.

“I usually run faster and play better when I have eaten clean that day,” Katzman said.

Whitney believes that protein powders can be an effective way to add protein to an athlete’s diet. “When I lifted weights a lot, I used to add additional protein to my diet in protein shakes,” Whitney said.

Katzman isn’t a huge fan of protein powders and prefers to eat foods high in protein as opposed to drinking or eating protein powders.

Certain sports drinks and snacks can supposedly excel your athletic performance at a meet or competition.

Whitney feels that sports drinks, such as Gatorade should not be had all the time.

“Drinks like Gatorade are fine before and during a workout, but they shouldn’t be consumed on a regular basis outside of a workout,” Whitney said.

Huang has tried electrolyte infused drinks and Gatorade Shot Bloks for extra energy before a gymnastics meet. “It either didn’t work or I just didn’t notice or see any difference,” Huang said.

Katzman finds that drinking water during a match benefits his performance more than Gatorade or any other sports drinks.

“Water is much better for me because it doesn’t have any sugar which usually slows me down during a match,” Katzman said.

You want to go pro? Protein is your key!

By: Jen Wen