Diet Guidelines

Water
One of the most important things you need to do as an athlete is to STAY HYDRATED. Being dehydrated can lead to cramps, headaches, and effects on you performance, both physically and mentally. There is no specific amount of water that you absolutely need to have everyday, but most experts advise that you drink a lot of water before and after you exercise, as well as every 15-20 minutes while you exercise. Don't wait until you're thirsty to drink water, because thirst is an indicator of being dehydrated. You also don't want to force your fluid intake and drink too much water,because it makes exercising difficult if there is a lot of water sloshing around in your stomach. A good idea is to take a reusable water bottle to school, and drink a little bit in your classes. That way you can refill it when you run out, and you won't have to constantly have to bug your teacher about leaving class to get a sip of water.

Limited Foods
This is going to sound very cliche, but that is because it is the truth, foods that you should try to stay away from are ones that contain a lot of sugar, salt, and trans or saturated fats. Too much of these will make you feel very sluggish and slow causing your performance to suffer. They can also cause many, many health problems like heart attacks, strokes, diabetes and other illnesses. Foods that are high in sugar include: many sports drinks, canned juice, soda, candy, many desserts, energy bars, doughnuts, muffins etc. High salt include: french fries, packaged meals, processed meats, pizza etc. And finally high in fat: french fries, anything fried, many baked goods, ice cream, etc. I'm not saying that these foods will kill you or that you can NEVER eat them again, but you have to eat them in moderation and be smart about what you decide to eat before times when you need to perform at your highest level. So next time you decide to order the value meal at McDonald's think twice about the nutritional value and how it can affect your day.

The Truth About Supplements
Another thing that you should try to limit as much as possible is protein bars. Unless you have the need for a very, very high caloric diet, most people can get enough protein from eating regularly with whole foods. For most, protein bars just add extra calories that you may not really need if you just eat enough dairy, meat, or beans. In fact, 3oz of grilled chicken breast provides about 26 grams of protein. The recommended intake is about 60-70 grams of protein. Since most of us eat more around 6 oz per serving, we intake about 50-52 grams of protein, that is over half of the recommended intake of protein. Also, protein bars tend to include many "mystery" ingredients. For example, PowerBars include : POWERBAR TRISOURCE PROTEIN BLEND..whatever that is. SOY LECITHIN, (NATURAL VANILLA FLAVOR), GLUCOSE SYRUP, CANOLA OIL, FRUCTOSE, WATER, ALKALIZED COCOA, GELATIN (BEEF), NONFAT MILK, L-LEUCINE, NATURAL FLAVORS. What in the world is L-Leucine? Salmon however may only contain a little dash of salt and some bones when bought fresh. It also provides 39 grams of protien for about 6 oz and is rich with vitamins, minerals, and omega-3's. So,occasionally protein bars are good and provide a good source of energy, but it is better to eat whole foods, and usually the results will be the same.

We all have our favorite sports drinks, and after a tough game, it tastes better to drink a fruit punch flavored drink than water. But you should know, that unless you have been exercising for 60-90 minutes in hot weather, a sports drink is no better than drinking regular water, but with sugar and calories. In extreme situations, the extra electrolytes can improve your performance, but otherwise, save yourself the calories and just grab a bottle of water. Caution: Many sports drinks come in bottles with 2.5 or more servings. When you're tired, it's easy to chug the entire drink, not realizing all the extra calories and sugar you are also consuming at the same time.