Nutritionally, “fat” sounds like a bad word! In fact, fats are a necessary part of an athlete’s diet. They are an important energy source for sustained exercise and they are crucial to many functions of the human machine. Even some cholesterol is necessary to build the walls of your body’s cells.

Ten to twenty percent of your daily calories should be in the form of fats. It is important to remember that fat sources are high in calories so it “doesn’t take much”. Most Americans consume too much fat…it’s easy to do, so be careful.

Like proteins, not all fats are created equal. My rule of thumb is to stick with natural sources. Vegetable oils, egg yolks and dairy are all good sources. The fat (oil) in fish is very good for you. Look for fats that come with other “good stuff”. For example, egg whites have great complete protein while the yolk is a good source of healthy fat and cholesterol. Another example is a peanut butter sandwich. The peanuts (legumes) combined with wheat bread provide complete protein while the peanut oil is a nutritious fat source.

Un-used calories are stored as fat. We all know what too much “stored fat” looks like on our bodies. While some is necessary, excess fat is NOT useful on the wrestling mat and is detrimental on the weigh in scale! The wrestler’s goal should be to compete at the weight where they carry only the necessary amount of body fat to be healthy. My opinion is that 7 to 15 percent body fat is optimal for the high school wrestler. The number should be a bit higher for females than males.

Please share this information with your families!

TRAIN SMART TRAIN TOUGH
WRESTLE SMART WRESTLE TOUGH…AND HAVE FUN!

Doc Jarrett

Athletes need building blocks to grow and repair tissues, just like bricks and mortar are needed to build a wall. An athletes diet must supply these building blocks in the form of proteins.

20 to 30% of your daily calories should be in the form of proteins.

Not all protein foods are “created equal”.
Protein is made from a variety of different amino acids. For a food source to be considered a “complete protein” it must contain all of these amino acids. Incomplete proteins can provide energy but complete proteins are required to build tissues like muscle. Also, some protein sources are also high in fat, so be aware of what you are eating!

Examples of foods that contain complete proteins:
Meat
Fish
Dairy products (milk and eggs)

Another important way to get complete proteins in your diet is to combine incomplete proteins that “compliment” each other…for example:
Whole grains and legumes (peanut butter on wheat bread)
Corn and beans (a staple on much of planet earth)
Rice and beans

Many vegetables contain amino acids.

Proteins can be rich in vitamins, minerals and other important dietary elements!

Please share this information with your families!

TRAIN SMART TRAIN TOUGH
WRESTLE SMART WRESTLE TOUGH…AND HAVE FUN!

Doc Jarrett

Athletes require energy…obviously
Energy requires a fuel source…obviously

Just like a racecar, the type of fuel an athlete uses matters a great deal!

Our bodies can utilize three sources of fuel for energy: carbohydrates, fats and proteins. Calories are the unit of measure for nutritional energy just like gallons of gasoline for a car.

For the training athlete, carbohydrates should provide 60 to 70% of your daily caloric intake. Carbohydrate is converted to glucose and glycogen to be used by working muscle and the brain. Muscle actually stores glycogen for “easy access”.

There are many sources of carbohydrate and not all are equivalent. Complex carbohydrates need to be broken down by your digestive system into usable carbon units while simple carbohydrates do not. Both types of “carbs” are important to athletes.

Good sources of carbohydrate:
Grains (cereal, bread, pasta)
Fruits of all types
Milk and legumes (beans) and some vegetables are also good sources of carbohydrate

In my opinion, some energy drinks are also good sources of readily available carbs especially during competition and when recovering from exercise or making weight. There is also a time and place for “sweet stuff” such as honey.

Look for sources of carbohydrate that also contain important vitamins and minerals. This is where candy (which does contain simple carbohydrates) falls down as a source of nutrition…empty calories so to speak.

Don’t be fooled by recent “diet advertising” that makes carbohydrates sound like the evil enemy. This type of diet does not apply to training athletes!

Please share this information with your families, and watch the web site for the next nutrition article.

TRAIN SMART TRAIN TOUGH
WRESTLE SMART WRESTLE TOUGH…AND HAVE FUN

Doc