Best Meal Plan for Teenage Athletes (FREE Download)

Finding and creating a balance meal design can be difficult for a develop, athirst adolescent, and particularly for an active adolescent athlete. My FREE meal plan for teenage athletes can help you get started and give your athlete the fuel they need to compete and train at their top potential. A teen athlete’s diet should consist of a balance of foods from the food groups including healthy grains, a variety of fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, low-fat dairy products, and healthy fats. Sugary and fatty foods and beverages should be limited in an athlete’s diet. Get a more specific plan below. Keep read for the detached menu plan plus more meal tips created for active teenagers .

Contents

1 What is the Best Diet for a Teen Athlete?
2 What an Athlete Should Eat in a Day
3 FREE Sample Meal Plan for Teenage Athletes
4 See Also:
5 Related Questions:
- 5.1 References

What is the Best Diet for a Teen Athlete?

“ not alone do [ young athletes ] need optimum nutriment for fueling and convalescence from train, but they besides must meet energy demands of emergence and growth ”
Reading: Best Meal Plan for Teenage Athletes (FREE Download) – Fueling Teens
Jill Castle, MS, RDN and childhood nutrition expert

This international relations and security network ’ t the time for teenagers to go on diets. Teenagers shouldn ’ metric ton be on a restrictive diet, particularly young athletes. The adolescent years are a fourth dimension of much emergence, growth, and development. A set of energy is needed to fuel the growing body, particularly the growing body of a young athlete. Adequate nutriment is so important ! This is the age to build healthy eating habits and positive body image. Teenagers should be learning to choose nutrient-rich foods for fuel and enjoy the “ sometimes ” foods in temperance. They should learn to listen to their body for crave and fullness cues, alternatively of focusing on a calorie number or how much other people say they should eat. Here are some important habits for a teen athlete:

Do not skip meals
Focus on carbohydrates for energy. Sports is not the time to worry about low-carb diets.
Limit fatty and sugary foods, especially fast food and packaged foods
Always eat something before exercising (within 30 minutes to 3 hours before)
Stay hydrated with water. Save sports drinks for training sessions or sports lasting more than an hour with heavy sweating.
Choose an eating plan that focuses on fruits and vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy products, and lean protein foods

Check out my newest eBook : Nutrition Game Plan for Teenage Athletes for even more particular tips plus a one-month meal plan for your best sports season always .

What an Athlete Should Eat in a Day

A adolescent athlete needs about 3,000 calories per day depending on several factors such as long time, gender, body size, and activeness level. Check out my stake How Many Calories Should A Teenage Athlete Eat? To get more specific details for individual calorie recommendations. Broken down, if your active adolescent needs 3,000 calories per day, that ’ sulfur about 800 calories at each of 3 meals, and 200-300 calories during 2-3 snacks per day. A balance and variety of foods is the best way to give your adolescent all the important nutrients needed to fuel and support growth, development, and exercise. The food groups are a bang-up manner to look at a proportion of nutrients. Using the food groups, here ’ randomness about how many servings from each food group per day will equal 3,000 calories. Serving Recommendations : Examples : Grains 10 ounces per dayChoose healthy grains such as whole grain bread, tortilla, pasta, crackers, cereal, rice, quinoa, oats. Dairy Products 3 cups per dayChoose low-fat products such as milk, yogurt, bungalow tall mallow, tall mallow, etc. Dairy-free products can be a big choice ampere well for teenagers. Read my Dairy-Free Teens post here ! Fruit 2 1/2 cups per dayChoose a diverseness of colors, textures, and forms such as fresh, frozen, dry, canned, cooked. Vegetables 4 cups per dayChoose a variety of colors and forms such as fresh, freeze, canned, dried, cooked, juice. Protein foods 7 ounces per dayChoose a diverseness of list meats, domestic fowl, fish, beans, nuts, seeds, eggs. Foods to Limit- Athletes should focus on fueling their bodies with nutrient-rich foods and limiting foods that are high in impregnate fat, sodium, or sugar. here ’ mho where to find accurate serving sizes for each of the food groups : Fruit, Vegetables, Grains, Protein, Dairy. ( On the ChooseMyPlate web site, click on the summation sign to expand the bed equivalents table ) .

FREE Sample Meal Plan for Teenage Athletes

My meal plans are written for males and females at 3,000 calories per day. This may need to be adjusted based on personal recommendations for more or less calories. Again, check here for your specific calorie needs : How Many Calories Should a Teenage Athlete Eat? This meal design contains 3 meals at about 800 calories each and 3 snacks between 200-300 calories. Use this meal plan for ideas then experiment to find what works best for your personal style, permissiveness, and exercise goals. I hope you find this helpful ! It can be a great start topographic point for high school athletes. I like to include a variety of favorite foods with goodly spins in an appropriate balance. You don ’ t need to “ diet ” during your sports season, merely eat smart and have a nutriment plan. Enter Your Email Address To Receive the Free Meal Plan:
Email Address* Your name Your e-mail address is only used to send you our newsletter and information about the activities of Fueling Teens. You can always use the unsubscribe link included in each newsletter .© 2020 Copyright Fueling Teens. This Teen Athlete Meal Plan is property of FuelingTeens.com
For personal use only. No part of this may be reproduced, sold, copied, or distributed. This is slightly alike to some of my other meal plans. It can easily be adapted based on the sport and character of athlete and individual recommendations. Looking for more particular help ? Check out my newest ebook : Nutrition Game Plan for Teenage Athletes for a 28-day meal plan, weight tips, supplement tips, bite list, and much a lot more. Check out some of my other sport-specific meal plans:

What Should a Teen Athlete Eat?

My meal design covers a week of meals, so you ’ ll indigence to brainstorm more ideas to get you through the season. here are some more of my favorite foods for each meal and bite. I didn ’ thyroxine number specific amounts because not all athletes will need 3,000 calories per day with 800 calories per meal .

What is a Good Breakfast for a Teenage Athlete?

Teenager athletes should fuel up on breakfasts that focus on healthy carbohydrates, protein, and other nutrient-rich foods. Some of my favorite breakfasts can be simple, quick, and perfect for a adolescent to prepare and grab on-the-go. Don ’ t let your adolescent athlete skip breakfast due to a miss of time before school. Help prepare something the night before that is grab-and-go if needed. here are some great breakfast examples :

Greek yogurt, granola, and berries or bananas
Protein smoothie, banana, and toast
Overnight oatmeal with peanut butter, seeds, and fruit
Green smoothie and a hard-boiled egg and toast
Whole grain cereal with milk, fruit, and a yogurt
Eggs, toast, fruit, and milk
Avocado toast with eggs and fruit
Whole wheat pancakes/waffles, nut butter, milk or 100% fruit juice
Omelette with veggies, cheese, and toast
Whole wheat muffin, slice of ham, fruit
Whole wheat bagel breakfast sandwich with eggs and ham
Peanut butter toast, banana, and a glass of milk.

What is a Good Lunch for a Teenage Athlete?

A lunch that focuses on goodly carbohydrates, lean protein, vegetables, and some healthy fats will adequately fuel a adolescent athlete. lunch is best if it is prepared at home and brought to school. School lunch is an option, but may not supply adequate calories or other nutrients for high school athletes. If school lunch is the best option for a adolescent, review the menu ahead of time and choose foods that are not fried. You may need to supplement school lunch with extra foods and snacks. here are my favorite lunch ideas :

Sandwich with deli meat, fruit, pretzels, celery
Chicken and veggie tortilla wrap, fruit
Grilled chicken sandwich with coleslaw and cucumbers
Salad with chicken, feta cheese, veggies, dressing, apples, crackers
Rice bowl with lean beef, beans, mixed veggies
Meatballs and pasta with sauce, mixed veggies
Pita with hummus and veggies
Pasta with meatballs, bread, veggies
Bean and beef burrito with tomatoes and avocado, veggies
Veggie pizza, celery, carrots, fruit

What is a Good Dinner for a Teenage Athlete?

Dinner is typically eat after workouts or rival so it needs to refuel the adolescent with carbohydrates, protein, fluent, and early important vitamins and minerals. Dinner should be prepared by the parents with aid from the athlete. Dinner ideas for adolescent athletes :

Whole wheat pasta with meat sauce, veggies, italian bread
Taco salad with lots of veggies
Fish, brown rice, broccoli
Wraps with shredded meat, beans, salsa, and veggies
Chicken, sweet potato, and black bean skillet
Turkey burger and steamed mixed veggies
Homemade fish tacos and fruit
Chicken and veggie pizza with side salad
Pitas with chicken, pesto or hummus, and veggies
Vegetable and potato soup with breadsticks
Shredded chicken or pork burritos
Turkey meatballs, sweet potato mashed potatoes, sauerkraut, snap peas

What are Healthy Snacks for an Athlete?

Snacks should be brought to school and eaten during class breaks and before commit. Depending on the individual, some do better than others with certain foods right before exercise. Be attentive to what makes you feel best before commit. here are some darling bite ideas :

Almonds and fruit
Banana, celery, or apples with peanut butter
String cheese and an apple or crackers
Cheese and whole-wheat crackers
Dried fruit and trail mix
Fruit puree pouches and Fig bars
Pretzels or crackers and peanut butter
Greek yogurt with granola or fruit
Energy bar (look for brands low in added sugar and saturated fat)
Protein shake or smoothie
Peanut Butter & Jam Sandwich
Turkey sandwich
Cottage cheese and fruit
Cold cereal and milk
Hummus with whole wheat crackers and veggies (hummus and veggies could bother some individuals during a workout)
Chocolate milk or low-fat milk
Banana and a handful of trail mix
Protein bar
Check out my post: The Best Pre-Workout Snacks for a Teen Athlete for more ideas

What are Good Snacks for Sports? The best snacks for sports are focused on healthy carbohydrates, some protein, and fluid. They should besides be gloomy in fiber ( which could cause digest discomfort during a game ), low in fatten, and low in carbohydrate. Some great ideas are listed above .

How Many Snacks Should A Teen Athlete Eat Per Day?

Teen athletes need extra calories and nutrients each day to support forcible natural process. A capital time to fit in this extra fuel is during 1-3 snacks per day, normally a mid-morning, afternoon/pre-workout, and post-workout nosh. Teens should have snacks that are around 100-300 calories each. Packaged, highly processed foods from school, restaurants, or vending machines aren ’ triiodothyronine normally the best options for snacks. Try to bring some dear options to school that are ready-to-go .

What Foods Should Athletes Avoid?

adolescent athletes should avoid fatty foods, sugary foods, alcohol, artificial sweeteners, and energy drinks, specially during their season, if not always. The sidereal day of competition or right before practice, adolescent athletes should avoid carbonate beverages, gassy foods ( beans, broccoli, cauliflower ), blue foods, high character foods, highly processed snacks, excessive caffeine, excessive supplements, and possibly even dairy products ( some individuals may be medium ). many of these foods are avoided to limit stomach discomfort during exercise. Know your personal limits by practicing throughout the season and finding your best pre-workout meals and snacks. Check out my mail : The Worst Foods to Eat Before Football for some more specific details that can apply to all sports and athletes .

What are the Best Fruits for Teen Athletes?

Fruit is healthy and provides many crucial nutrients to fuel physical bodily process and provide major performance benefits. here ’ s the list of the best fruits for athletes and recommendations for fruit intake before and after physical action. Fruit provides fiber, water, B vitamins, vitamin bc, magnesium, vitamin C, potassium, antioxidants, and more micronutrients which are important for extremum forcible natural process and for growing teens. Some of the best fruits for adolescent athletes are berries, tart cherries, oranges, watermelon, banana, and dried fruits, but any fruit can be beneficial. Teenagers need about 2-3 servings of yield per day. Great ways to fit in fruit during the day is fruit smoothies, cut up fruit for snacks, whole yield, canned fruit in juice, dried fruit, etc. Check out my post : Best Fruits for Teenage Athletes for more information and ideas for the best fruits pre-workout and post-workout .

What are the Best Vegetables for Teen Athletes?

Some of the best vegetables that contain important nutrients for adolescent athletes include spinach, kale, broccoli, bell peppers, sweetly potatoes, and celery. Some early big choices that can frequently count as vegetables are beans and legumes such as chickpeas, lentils, and black beans .

What are the Best Supplements for Teen Athletes?

The most coarse supplements for high school athletes are whey protein, creatine, and caffeine. however, most high schoolers do not need supplements as they are still growing and developing and supplements could be harmful. Do not take supplements unless you are working with an have high educate flight simulator and your doctor. Check out my posts for more details on who would benefit, when, and what supplements to take : Is Whey Protein Safe for Teenage Athletes? and Is Creatine Safe for High School Athletes?