06/01/2024
The Backstory:
I recently saw that a friend was looking to help increase her son’s caloric intake as their sports dietician recommended 3000-3500 calories. As most of my clients are either looking to lose weight or are runners looking to ensure they are eating enough, I wanted to help.
This is super important as proper nutrition is crucial for athletes to maintain energy, support growth, & enhance performance. It’s common for athletes not to eat enough. Here’s how you can help your young athlete or yourself eat more healthy calories.
Other Calorie Dense Food Examples:
➡️ Nuts & Seeds: very calorically-dense. A one-ounce serving of almonds has about 170 calories.
➡️ Fatty Meat & Fish: You can opt for fattier meat options to increase calories versus a leaner meat that will be less calories. A 3-ounce serving of 85% ground beef has 220 calories and 24 grams of protein vs 99% which will be lesser in calories.
➡️ Whole Milk: cost-effective & calorie-dense. An 8-ounce serving provides 150 calories & 8 grams of protein.
➡️ Granola: Swapping cereal for or adding one cup of granola to something like yogurt can contain an additional 200-500 calories, providing fiber & micronutrients. Shop in search of more calories.
➡️ Oils, Sauces, & Condiments: Dress your food up with calorie-dense cooking oils & full-fat dressings. One tablespoon of oil has 120 calories, & two tablespoons of ranch dressing has about 130 calories that can be added to your meal.
➡️ Avoid “Fat-Free” foods as these options reduce the fat intake within the food, thus, reducing calories.
Notes:
➡️ I wanted to provide snack ideas as you can toss these in your bag before & after workouts, or for a quick source of energy.
➡️This isn't the end all be all & there are so many ways to increase an athlete’s calorie intake.
➡️ Do be mindful when discussing as weight management is a sensitive conversation for many.
➡️ Remember, this should be a learning opportunity.
➡️ If an individual is trying to manage weight (gain or loss), this should be done in the off-season so as not to impair performance & when training is less demanding on the body.
If this was helpful, please feel free to share!