Recovery and Clean Eating for Athletes

 There are many supplements that are good for athletic performance and help enhance recovery. I will be listing some of the recommended supplements here and listing some of their benefits. Creatine Monohydrate- Increases performance by allowing more water to flow into muscles and allows for a steady supply of muscle energy. (May make you gain water weight because it makes you retain more water) Beta Alanine- Improves athletic performance by buffering lactic acid in the muscles. It is very beneficial in managing muscle fatigue and soreness after training. Allows you to perform more intense workouts for a longer amount of time.  Vitamin D and C- Vitamin D decreases bloating and Vitamin C increases immune system health which is especially important for athletes who are prone to getting sick.  Nitrates (Beetroot or L-Arganine)- Increase efficiency of muscle contraction and supports blood flow and energy production. Electrolytes (Salt/Sports Drinks)- Electrolytes are essential...

 There is a wide range of healthy dinners out there and most of them all achieve the same goal, to have healthy fats and carbs as well as an abundance of protein and vitamins. I will only be listing a few healthy dinner ideas here as a baseline of what to strive for in a dinner. Dinner Ideas Grilled Chicken -Vegetable of Choice or Salad - Baked Potatoes or Bread Stir Fry Vegetables -Cooked Beef or Pork -Noodles or Rice Chicken Parm -Noodles -Vegetables on the Side Lettuce Wraps -Ground Turkey or Chicken - Cut up carrots, scallions, and water chestnuts -Peanuts I left out fish dishes in this blog but they are also an extremely good source of protein and healthy fats to make for dinner and are very healthy. Dinner is very important to refuel your body after a long day of activity and training. It is important to properly hydrate yourself during this meal as well and it is not recommended to eat within two hours of going to bed as to let yourself properly digest the food before trying...

 Lunch is the meal that balances out and fuels you mid-day. It is extremely important especially if you have some sort of athletic endeavor in the afternoon because it is what will provide you fuel until dinner. I will be listing some healthy lunch ideas here.  Lunch Suggestions- PB&J- -Peanut butter and jelly on rye or whole wheat bread Meat Sandwich- -Turkey/Chicken  -Whole wheat or rye bread. - Cheese -Condiment of Choice Rice Bowl- -Rice of Choice (Brown Rice Suggested) -Chunks of Chicken/Turkey/Beef -Cheese -Corn and Tomatoes/Salsa Salad -Greens -Chicken or Turkey -Cheese All of these meals can also be put with a small snack of something like chips, greek yogurt, or a fruit of choice.

 It is said that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Studies and research show that this is true, if you are an athlete and do not eat a nutritious breakfast then I highly recommend you start. There are so many breakfast foods out there and the main issue that most people have with breakfast is their lack of time, so I will be listing some quick and healthy breakfast ideas.  Quick Breakfast Ideas -  Greek Yogurt Parfait -Greek Yogurt -Fruits of your choice (bananas, apples, strawberries, blueberries, etc) -Granola or Protein Granola  -Peanut Butter Whole Grain Cereal or Protein Cereal- -Cereal -Any kind of milk -Fruits of choice (Optional) Protein Oatmeal -Oatmeal and a scoop of protein powder. -Fruit of Choice (Optional) Breakfast Burrito - 2 to 4 eggs -Cook peppers and onions into eggs (optional -Cut up pork roll or turkey sausage links -Shredded Cheese - Whole Grain or Protein Tortilla Peanut Butter Toast -Whole wheat bread with peanut or almond butte...

 Whether you are trying to gain, lose, or maintain weight as an athlete is extremely important. It is the basis of your entire diet, although I do not believe in tracking calories because it is time expensive and a lot of work, there are easy ways to know how much you need to eat in order to gain, lose, or maintain weight. The basic principles apply, if you are trying to lose weight, then you must be in a caloric deficit (eating less calories then you burn daily). To gain you must be in a caloric surplus (eating more calories then you burn daily). To maintain you have to eat close to the amount of calories you burn daily.  To first decide what you want to eat and what kind of diet you would like to go on, you must first define your goals. Gaining weight is usually associated with an increase in muscle mass and strength for athletes that desire to get stronger. Losing weight is usually associated with losing or cutting fat in order to make an athlete more explosive, fast, and a...

 H i, my name is Chase Brown and I am a senior at Egg Harbor Township high school!  Many athletes in many different sports and programs train extremely hard and make little progress. The biggest thing they are missing in their training is proper recovery and diet. It is extremely difficult to plateau and wonder why you cannot continue to make progress in your sport or with your physical fitness and most people overlook the simple part that is nutrition. As an athlete myself, I try to take care of my own recovery and my diet to the best of my ability but it is very difficult trying to find out where you should start. There are many different beliefs and methods and there is not necessarily a “one size fits all” approach to recovery and diet.  For my genius project I will be trying to put together a format on how athletes should eat and recover to maximise their performance.