diet for training

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Hi! My name is Jennifer and I have been on this board for a long time, but didn't post much. Because of that, I lost my password and couldn't get the reset to work so I needed to start another account. Anyway...

I have 2 girls, Sarah (10) and Emily (8). They used to do gymnastics, but now do allstar cheer. they recently have started a pretty intense conditioning program at cheer with work to do at home, and it got me started thinking about their diet bc they are most likely going to be building a lot of core strength and I want to make it as easy on their bodies to do so.

They will have an approximate 4 hours per week in practice, 2.5 hours per week tumbling, 30 minutes 4x a week stretch class, and conditioning at home for an hour (most likely will split this up into a few days), not to mention swimming in the pool, playing outside with friends, etc. I want to make sure their diet is protein rich and very healthy!

Any advice, tips, etc? Thanks!
 
I love love love fruit. Not only is it light calorie wise, but it's hydrating and filling too! For breakfast, I usually do a banana or strawberries. Lunch is usually a whole-wheat pita stuffed with turkey and low fat shredded mozzarella cheese and some sort of fruit (grapes are fantastic!). Again, oven-roasted turkey is great. Another option I'd use for lunch is a variation on a PBnJ that I actually found in Seventeen magazine! For this one, take two slices of wheat bread and spread both with peanut butter. Once you do that, slice up a banana and about 4 strawberries. Put the slices of banana on one slice, and the strawberries on another. Put the two pieces together and you have a killer sandwich. This is my favorite. It sounds a little weird, but its actually REALLY tasty. For dinner, I'm a pasta fanatic. I'll just throw some macaroni on the stove, use some spray butter, and I'm ready to go.

And water water water! Pop is useless. Juice is good too. But water is the way to go... I love bottled water. :)

Good luck! Eating healthy is the hardest part of any sport, in my opinion. :p
 
Here are some links for you.

Feeding Your Child Athlete
http://www.coach.ca/admin/pdf_admin/pdf/fueling.pdf (this one is really great!)

I just really make sure my kids (the gymnast and the little one, too) eat healthy, balanced meals and have plenty of healthy snacks to eat around the house. They don't have junk food snacks available at home, so they don't eat that. They have lots of fruit choices, whole wheat bagels w/ cream cheese, whole wheat toast/peanut butter, hard boiled eggs, string cheese and yogurt for snacks.

I also make special popsicles. I put milk, a whey protein powder and fresh fruit (usually strawberries, bananas or blueberries) in the blender and then freeze in a popsicle mold. I also do a chocolate protein one with just milk and sometimes add in bananas. It is a nice, yummy snack, they think it is just a popsicle, but it gets them some extra fruit and protein and milk, too! I make them milk shakes like that as well, same recipe, milk, protein powder, fruit. I also make the same shakes and popsicles without the protein powder if I don't have any, still yummy and healthy! I just add a little honey to sweeten it or chocolate syrup for the chocolate/banana one.

She drinks lots of water at home and at the gym as well. No juice around our house unless I make it from some fruit we have lying around. (Watermelon and canteloupe make YUMMY drinks!! Fill blender with cut up watermelon or canteloupe, add water half way and blend. Pour through strainer (or not if you like pulpy juice), add water and sugar or honey to taste. Yum!!!!! We also do this with strawberries and mango. Serve over ice.) Milk or water is the choice at meals. Sometimes we have iced tea for dinner, too. They get soda if they want when we eat out.

We still eat junk food sometimes, everything in moderation. I also always make my gymmie eats a good lunch on gym days especially and a snack an hour before she goes, usually something with carbs and protein. I talk with her about diet, just like I do anything. I explain how her body needs to eat well to be able to do those cool tricks, that she needs a balanced diet with lots of fresh fruit and veggies and protein so that she can stay strong, healthy and keep growing!
 
shoot for 1 g of protein per pound of BW. make sure she eats lots of fruit ( she'll need plenty of carbs for that much activity and i'd rather see kids eating lots of fruit and veggies than starches ) for glycogen and energy. throw in some cheese and milk and nuts and she should have enough fat besides maybe avocados, eggs. PB&J is easy but id probably rather see them eat it with veggies ( carrots and celery ) than bread. grains and starches arent a huge deal for someone really active.
 
BlairBob reminded me of more ideas. Celery and cream cheese or peanut butter. Apples and peanut butter. Peanut butter and banana sandwich with a little honey on wheat bread. Egg salad sandwiches are popular around our house, too.

I used this calculator to estimate how much I needed to make sure my gymmie was getting, especially since she has never been great at eating. I was shocked to see how many calories it said she needed a day given her age, height, weight, sex and how much she exercises. I am not sure she gets that every day since I don't count out her calories, but she is healthy and growing, so it must be okay. It did help me to realize that I needed to pack in wherever I could the extra calories for her.

Healthy Eating Calculator

These links explain the calculator some.
New Children's Energy Needs Calculator
Interactive Healthy Eating Calculator
 
I was wondering if you ever ran across a website for soy flour? My local health food store does not carry it. My daughter is allergic to wheat, so whole grain and wheat products are out for us.
 
Need a gluten-free diet?

I was wondering if you ever ran across a website for soy flour? My local health food store does not carry it. My daughter is allergic to wheat, so whole grain and wheat products are out for us.
Soy flour? Are you looking for a gluten-free diet? There are other grains like rice and quinoa, both of which are available at Costco. Here's a list of gluten-free items:

Gluten-Free Diet: Grains and Flours
 

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