Wrestlers
Diet
With the
start of every season, there is always renewed interest in nutrition. Whether
the focus is on dropping to a lower weight or staying strong through a proper
diet, wrestlers always have many questions on what they should
eat.
Judy
Nelson, Nutrition Coordinator for the United States Olympic Committee helps
Americas elite athletes achieve success at the highest levels of competition.
USA Wrestling’s coaching staff relies on her expertise on a regular basis. Her
suggestions should be high priorities for wrestlers and coaches trying to
establish proper nutrition in a daily diet.
Step
one: Switch to skim
Switching
to skim milk can make a dramatic difference in caloric and
fat intake for any individual. In
an eight ounce glass of reduced fat 2% milk there is 122 calories with 4.7 grams
of fat. In low fat 1% milk, there is 102 calories and 2.5 grams of fat. A
wrestler that switches to skim milk takes in 86 calories and .4 grams of fat per
eight ounce glass.
Clearly
there is a benefit in switching over to skim milk. An eight ounce glass is
generally smaller than what most people consume in a sitting these days. So, the
benefit can be even further magnified.
Step
two: Lots of fruit
In
speaking to Ms Nelson about the importance of fruit in a diet, she sees benefits
varying from fruit to fruit. “Bananas and
oranges are very important
because of the Vitamin C they
provide. Melons are high in Vitamin A and blueberries
are also great” So, when adding fruit to a diet variety can be an
important factor to consider.
Step
three: Juice over pop
Pop
provides nothing of value to
for
a wrestler’s body to run off of. There are no nutrients to digest. Further,
youthful consumers have gotten hooked on oversized drinks. A wrestler should
definitely consider the numbers before they grab a soda. Eight ounces of pop has
about 140 calories. The “average” pop serving has increased in size, with many
people drinking as much as 24 ounces of pop in one sitting. Using a caloric
intake of 4200 calories a day, 24 ounces of pop would be 420 calories or nearly
20 percent of the energy intake for the day. Throw in the fact that it has no
nutritional value, coaches and wrestlers should see that fruit juice is a much
better beverage to reach for.
Step
four: Baked Potatoes
Baked
potatoes are an easily
prepared food that
should become a staple in a wrestlers
diet. Don’t
forget to eat the skin though. According to Nelson, the baked
potato has almost no fat
and a minimal
amount of sodium with a good
supply of complex
carbohydrates
Of
course a wrestlers nutritional
training can run afoul
if the potato is
loaded down with condiments like butter
and sour cream.
A wrestling secret in eating a potato is adding water to the potato.
Wrestlers know that baked potatoes can be dry, so the best thing to do is
re-hydrate it. After breaking it open and smashing it with a fork pour a little
more water on it and it wont taste as dry.
Step
five: Maintain Variety.
Once
again Judy Nelson’s nutritional point is very simple. “No one food has
everything a wrestler needs:’ Variety in food, even in a specific food group is
important. Don’t rely on one food, to supply all of the vitamins and nutrients
needed for day to day health. Remove the junk from the diet, but maintain
variety.
Step
six: Lots of water.
Staying
properly hydrated is difficult for the average person. For an active athlete it
can be very hard to stay hydrated without a conscious effort. Nelson offers that
fluid needs can be estimated at 1 milliliter per calorie. So in a 3000
calorie a day diet an
individual would need
to three liters of
fluid
Generally
speaking water is overlooked as
an important part of
good nutrition One old standard is
64 ounces of water consumption a day. Although Nelson states that this is not
very scientific, it is probably well above what most wrestlers are consuming
daily. Clearly wrestlers work hard and perspire significantly so wrestlers
should work to replace the lost fluid. Water
replacement is a critical
part of a
nutritional plan for a
wrestler.
Step
seven: The secret of egg whites
Wrestlers
need to understand where hunger pains come from
Foods that are high in sugar, for example, a~ broken down quickly after
consumption. So, while a candy bar might taste good, its satisfaction is limited
because it is broken down before other foods that contain higher amounts of
protein.
If
wrestlers want to maintain a fuller
feeling for a longer
duration they need to
look to having a diet with good
protein. Egg whites are
a common source of quality
protein. Additionally, egg whites contain no fat. Throw the
yolk away, that’s a whole other topic.
Wrestlers
can prepare egg whites easily by boiling up a dozen eggs and storing them in the
refrigerator. Egg whites
contain about 3.5 grams of
protein each Encourage wrestlers to make use of this
source of protein.
Step
eight: High fiber is highly important
Again
variety is certainly important for wrestlers focusing on proper nutrition. Fiber
is one part of a good daily diet. Judy Nelson encourages wrestlers to make a
high fiber cereal
part of their
daily food consumption
Cereals like All Bran and breads can
be good sources of fiber: In checking the
nutrition panel on cereal or bread try to find
a product that
has at least three grams
of fiber per
serving Don’t be deceived by the packaging or
the name, make sure to check the nutritional outline.
Step
Nine: Don’t rely on meat
Protein
is a highly important element for good nutrition for athletes. But a
person does not have to rely
only on meat to get
good sources of
protein There are many
soy -based
products and
dairy products
that can work
just as well as
red meat does for
protein Wrestlers should consider trying legumes such
as black beans and pinto beans as protein sources.
Again variety can help in nutrition and make it easier to maintain a positive
outlook when a person watches what they eat.
Step
Ten: Plan for after the weigh-in
Wrestlers
after making weight
need to focus on foods that will
help recover and won’t
adversely effect performance.
Foods with fat are definitely slower digesting. Carbohydrates can be easier
on a wrestlers stomach. Foods like applesauce, crackers, and
cereal can be easily
digested and aid
in recovery After making weight don’t let a lapse in
judgement effect your performance ,plan ahead
and shoot for
smaller portions spread
throughout the tournament
day
Reaching
a high level of achievement requires mental focus on all aspects of a wrestlers
performance.
Proper
nutrition can be an area that
can really
help a
wrestler attain their
goals Of course being a wrestler, in
a junk food culture will hold anyone back. So, please take the ten simple
suggestions to heart.
Make use
of the same nutritional training that
athletes in the Olympics rely
on