What to Eat after a Practice/Game; Post Practice/Game Nutrition; Recovering Right By Brittany Saxton
After practices and games, athletes are hungry! I find they often go for the quickest, easiest food which means they’re not getting a ton of nutrients. Can you talk about refueling post-practice/game?
- Practice, games, and training take a lot out of us, so it’s important we refuel ourselves and give back what we lost
- During training were expending energy, breaking down our muscles, and losing fluid through sweat
- Fueling your body after training is important to give it the proper recovery and allow the athlete to come back energized and stronger the next day
You talk about how fueling our bodies for recovery is so important. What exactly is happening during recovery?
- Recovery includes
- Replacing energy lost
- Build/Repair/Grow muscles
- Rehydrating due to fluid lost (sweat)
Great, so what types of food are going to support each of those recovery pieces?
- Nutrition to support recovery
- Carbs will replace the energy lost (reloading glycogen stores)
- Protein will help build, repair, and increase muscle
- Water & electrolytes (specifically sodium as it is lost in sweat)
What are electrolytes?
- Electrolytes are essential minerals known as:
- sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, chloride phosphate
- They are so important for proper hydration because they are what direct water to the areas of your body that need it most (cells)
- I can touch on where to get electrolytes from shortly!
How soon after training should the athlete get some food and hydration in them?
- Refueling post-practice with a snack within 45 mins is very helpful
Great! You mentioned protein & carbs help with recovery. About how much of each of these do you suggest to consume in this snack?
- As mentioned, you’ll want to consume a protein and carb-focused snack
- About 10-20g of protein
- 30-60g of carbs
- Note: this could be more for larger athletes – think the more muscle, the more recovery they require
Water is also important for recovery. Can you touch on the best way to rehydrate?
- Rehydration comes from drinking water and replenishing the electrolytes, specifically sodium
- 16-24oz per pound of body weight lost during exercise (this would require weighing in) so drinking enough water that your urine is pale yellow
- Sodium (an electrolyte) could come from:
- fruits like apples, bananas, pineapple, and mango (won’t have as much as the below)
- coconut water
- add a pinch of high-quality sea salt or an electrolyte supplement like a Nuun tab to your water
