Creating Healthy Meals for the Active Athlete

Creating healthy meals and meal plans for people is one thing. But if you’re trying to do this same thing for an active athlete, that opens up another set of variables that you have to take into consideration when you’re picking your ingredients and recipes.

Some options that you’ll have to look into include: what frozen packages are available if you should use the plate instead of the pyramid, the benefits of talking to a athlete personal trainer about nutrition, and why you should stay seasonably reasonable about your meal planning. Active athletes require a different amount of calories in a separate type of diet than the average person. Without that focus in mind, nutritional needs are not going to be met.

Frozen Options

Especially if you and your athlete in question are busy, you may want to purchase frozen meals. You can plan all of your nutritional needs in advance, and do as much freezing as you need to. As long as you know how long it takes to thaw different meals, or how long it would take to microwave them to completion as necessary, you can have full meals ready at the snap of your fingers.

Using the Plate Instead of the Pyramid

When it comes to feeding an athlete, you still want to use the plate instead of the pyramid, but you may want to up the number of calories holistically. More protein is probably going to help. But making sure that you keep the amount of sugary calories in check is going to be just as important. The proportion of food for athletes is going to stay the same, but you’re going to have to tweak the numbers to satisfy the caloric needs. Especially in extreme sports, you need to think in terms of a massive plate!

Asking a Personal Trainer

Talking to a personal trainer about nutrition is going to be a huge benefit. Especially if you’ve been working with this trainer on your event that you’re participating in, he or she should be aware of any specific supplemental issues you need to take into consideration. A personal trainer may even have a meal plan set up for you in advance, especially in the weeks leading up to a competition.

Staying Seasonably Reasonable

Athletes don’t necessarily have to be at the same peak performance level all year round. And that means meal plans are going to change seasonally. You can’t keep the same intake when you have more or less activity, so make sure to have cyclical adjustments in the food that you’re preparing. There are even smaller cycles during a week, or before a particular event, so you can plan several days in advance to increase or decrease specific nutritional needs.

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