By: by Matthew Farhadi
KENNESAW, Ga. – The Kennesaw State athletics program, along with Brittany Slotten and the NCAA Champs Program, gave a one hour presentation on Monday afternoon educating its athletes on how to eat healthier on the road.
Slotten was the main speaker at the event. She is a licensed dietitian for the university as she currently works at the Health and Wellness Center. She got her Bachelor degree in dietetics from the University of Georgia and her Masters degree in nutrition from Georgia State University.
The NCAA Champs Program is designed to challenge athletes’ minds for personal success and to educate athletes on how to eat healthier while on road trips throughout the athletic season.
Slotten gave a lot of useful facts, and information, throughout the session that several athletes can learn and benefit from as it can give them an edge over their opponents just by eating right.
“Student athletes should view nutrition and hydration as another form of training, just like lifting weights and going to practice,” Slotten said. “Making healthier choices can give them that extra advantage over the competition.”
Some basic things that she told the athletes is that an average athlete’s body loses a half pound of fat per week, and in return your body gains one pound of muscle per week.
Also, athletes can lose more than a gallon of sweat during practices and games so it is very important to stay hydrated. A dehydrated athlete can lose speed, stamina and muscle strength. The best choices for rehydration are water, powerade, 100 percent juice and low fat skim milk.
Slotten outlined a healthy hydration schedule that allows athletes to perform at their best. In the morning, drink two cups of water when you wake up. Two hours before practice, drink two more cups of water. Before practice, drink one cup of water or sports drink. During practice, drink a half cup of water or sports drink every 15 minutes. After practice, drink three cups of water for every pound lost within two hours or practice. At nighttime, drink two cups of water before bed.
In terms of eating, athletes should try to have a healthy mix of carbohydrates, protein and fat containing food in every meal. Carbohydrates provide fuel for your brain and muscles, protein normalizes blood sugar and raises alertness and healthy fat foods gives your body energy.
Some basic sources of carbohydrates that athletes can eat on the run are granola bars, bagels, fruit, pretzels and muffins.
A couple easy sources of protein that an athlete should try to get in every meal are yogurt, chicken, eggs, peanut butter, cheese and milk.
Lastly, some foods that include all three macronutrients include a bagel with peanut butter, low fat yogurt with granola, vegetables with hummus and a smoothie with low fat yogurt, frozen fruit and ice.
If you are an athlete and have any other questions about eating healthier contact Brittany Slotten at
bslotten@kennesaw.edu.
