Download Complete Hockey Nutrition and Supplementation “It must be the

Complete Hockey Nutrition and Supplementation
“It must be the body. It’s chiseled out of marshmallows.”
-Tony Amonte, on holding the second-longest active playing streak.
Proper nutrition is by far the most widely acknowledged and LEAST
practiced area of sports performance (and healthy living for that
matter). As a society, our perception of healthy eating is so skewed
that the word “diet” has come to mean some short-term change in
eating habits used to achieve some immediate body composition goal.
Diets have become synonymous with the removal of foods from regular
eating. Swing and a miss! In reality, everyone is on a diet. How so?
Simply, your diet consists of all the foods that you do eat. Your diet is
not a short-term alteration in eating habits; it is an on-going descriptor
of your food choices. Diets should be altered in the interest of longterm
health. I can’t emphasize that enough. Diets should be altered
in the interest of long-term health.
I have some bad news. The role of educating our youth about proper
dietary habits is on your shoulders. Despite horrifying child obesity
rates, nutrition is still barely skimmed over in our education system.
Worse yet, the information is rarely presented in a “you should eat this
because” fashion, but more frequently phrased something like “the
government recommends eating this.” Our youth are similar to our
adults. If the connection isn’t made between proper eating and the
associated benefits, or probably more importantly, between improper
eating and the associated consequences, we default to what is most
readily available and what tastes best. It shouldn’t be hard to see that
this is not a recipe for success.
Some of you may be skeptical of my viewpoint on our current state of
nutritional know-how. I always encourage skepticism; it means you’re
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paying attention! I would never ask you to take my word on anything.
That wouldn’t be fair. Go to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention website (www.cdc.gov). Spend an hour perusing through the
site. They have all the government collected data on disease rates
across the nation. If you’re crunched for time, just check out the
information on diabetes, obesity, and heart disease.
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Some notable facts from the CDC:
Incidence of diabetes has doubled across all age groups over the last 25
years.
The number of new cases of diabetes in 2005 was triple that of the new
cases in 1980.
The top 3 risk factors for diabetes are physical inactivity, being
overweight, and being obese.
In 2003-04, 17.1% of children and adolescents 2-19 years of age (over
12 and a half million) were overweight, and 32.2% of adults (over 66
million) were obese. Almost 5% of adults were extremely obese.
Between 1999 and 2004, there was a significant increase in the
prevalence of overweight among girls (13.8% in 1999 to 16.0% in 2004).
Similarly, among boys, the prevalence increased significantly from
14.0% in 1999 to 18.2% in 2004.The prevalence of obesity among men
also increased significantly from 27.5% to 31.1%. There was no change
in obesity among women (33.4% in 1999 to 33.2% in 2004).
In 2006, only four states had a prevalence of obesity less than 20%.
Twenty two states had a prevalence equal or greater than 25%; two of
these states (Mississippi and West Virginia) had a prevalence of obesity
equal to or greater than 30%.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in men and women in the
U.S., accounting for 29% of all U.S. deaths in 2002.
In 2006, heart disease is projected to cost more than $258 billion,
including health care services, medications, and lost productivity.
In 2003, approximately 37% of adults reported having two or more of
six risk factors for heart disease and stroke (high blood pressure, high
cholesterol, diabetes, current smoking, physical inactivity, and obesity).
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These three conditions are among the most serious threats to life in
our country, and they all have something in common. They are all
preventable through lifestyle modifications. That’s right, preventable.
It means that it is YOUR responsibility to actively prevent these
conditions through leading a healthy lifestyle, notably through proper
nutrition and exercise. Relevant to your role as the coach, it means it
is your responsibility to educate your athletes on proper eating habits,
as sufficient high-intensity exercise is a non-issue if they are playing
ice hockey. The take home message is that as a society we have failed
to grasp the importance of nutrition with regards to optimal health and
performance.
A quick side note on genetics. Genetics is often thrown around as a
reason for certain conditions. I want to make it clear that genetics
does play a role. There are genetic links with diabetes, obesity, and
heart disease, meaning that if someone in your family has it, you are
more likely to have it. HOWEVER, genetics should never be used as a
justification for not trying. Environment is the largest predictor of
success in any arena (eating, exercising, business, etc.). A great
expression to illustrate this point is “you are the average of the five
people you spend the most time with.” Think about it. If the five
people you spend the most time with are obese, it is likely you’re obese.
If the five people you spend the most time with never exercise, it is
likely you do not exercise.
Tying this in with genetics, it means that the eating decisions people
are making are largely influenced by the five people they spend the
most time with. For adolescents, this is their family. In my opinion, a
lot of the genetic-related connection between diseases is due to
similar behavior patterns, that are a result of a lifetime of
developmental conditioning. Most kids will eat what their parents eat.
When they are confused about what food choices to make, they will
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default to what they were exposed to at home. You can alter this
aspect of “genetics” by teaching your kids how to eat properly and by
eating properly yourself. Lead by example, your kids will follow. As a
coach, it is probably wise to educate the parents, as they will be
responsible for the majority of the food provisions for your athletes.
I understand that this role of “nutrition educator” may not suit you
well. Most coaches probably have minimal background in nutrition.
Indeed, nutrition can be a complex and intimidating topic. But the
application of proper eating habits doesn’t need to be complex or
intimidating. The rest of this course will teach you basic, important
information on macronutrients, micronutrients, putting on weight, pre
and post-competition eating, and proper supplementation. If you read
through this whole section and want to learn more about nutrition, I
recommend purchasing Dr. John Berardi’s Precision Nutrition (http://
www.precisionnutrition.com). I want to make it clear that I have no
ulterior motive in recommending his book; I don’t see a dime if you buy
it. Quite simply, it is the best nutrition resource I have ever come
across and think everyone can benefit from reading it.
Macronutrients
There are three macronutrients: carbohydrates, fats, and proteins.
These are the only sources of calories in your diet.
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates should comprise no more than 55-65% of your daily
caloric intake. I emphasize “no more than” because carbohydrates are
typically an over-consumed macronutrient in athletes. Interestingly,
carbohydrates are the only non-essential macronutrient, as the body is
able to convert broken down fat and protein into glucose. Having said
that, I typically don’t recommend that athletes (especially young,
developing athletes) consume less than 45% of their total caloric
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intake from carbohydrates. Each gram of carbs provides about four
calories, so if you eat a slice of bread with 10 grams of carbs, and 60
calories, 40 of those calories come from carbs. Carbs are stored as
glycogen in the body and are broken down into glucose to be used as
energy. As you may already know, carbs are the primary energy source
for most activities, including winning hockey games (and losing, but I’m
an optimist). Complex carbs are a more advisable source than simple
carbs. When trying to distinguish between the two, I think the
simplest thing to do is look at the fiber and sugar content of the food.
Lots of fiber = good. Lots of sugar = bad. Although glucose (broken
down carbs) is not the only fuel used by the brain as commonly thought,
adequate carbohydrate intake is important for both physical and
mental performance in athletes, as carbohydrates provide an efficient
energy source for replenishing depleted energy stores and providing
“brain food.”
Some examples of appropriate food sources:
O Fruits and vegetables
o Whole grain pasta
o Whole grain bread
o Low sugar, high fiber cereals (Grape Nuts, Total, Cheerios,
etc…)
Some examples of inappropriate food sources
o Soda
o French fries
o Candy
o White pasta
o White bread
o Powder drinks and other artificially flavored fruit juices (with
the exception of sports drinks-more on this later)
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Fats
Fats should comprise no less than 25-30% of your daily caloric intake.
Each gram of fat provides about nine calories. Fats are a supplemental
source of energy that are especially used in long duration, low-intensity
activities. An effort should be made to not exceed the daily limit, as
excess fat is stored as adipose (fat) tissue, which is performance
inhibiting in ice hockey players. Having said that, fat gets an
undeservedly bad reputation. It is true that excessively high amounts
of saturated fat can be related to some to health problems. That
doesn’t mean that all fats are bad! It is likely that the related health
problems are due more to excessive caloric (total energy) intake than
to excessive fat intake. In fact, a proper balance of mono- and
polyunsaturated and saturated fats is essential for proper health, and
consuming the right kinds of fats can actually help in shedding fat! I
know it’s counterintuitive, but eating fat does NOT always mean
getting fat. Over-consuming ANY macronutrient will result in fat gain.
Some examples of appropriate food sources
o Olive oil
o Mixed nuts and natural nut butters
o Fatty Fish (e.g. salmon) and Fish Oils
o Flax Seed Oil/Milled Flax Seed
o Avocado
o Sunflower seeds
o Low-fat cheese, yogurt, and milk
Recommendations for not exceeding daily limit
o Make an effort to read all food labels
o Avoid foods with trans-fatty acids
o Minimize consumption of fast food- hamburgers, hotdogs,
French fries, bacon, etc…
o Avoid processed lunch meats such as bologna, salami,
pepperoni, etc…
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Proteins
Protein should comprise no less than 15-20% of your daily caloric
intake. Each gram of protein provides about four calories. Protein is
utilized by the body to promote growth and repair of tissue (including
muscle!). In general, female athletes should consume ~ 0.8 grams/lb
bodyweight and male athletes should consume ~ 1.0 grams/lb
bodyweight. Males need slightly more protein because they have more
muscle mass. These protein recommendations may seem high by some
standards. However, it is important to remember that athletes break
down more muscle tissue than less-active people, and consequently need
slightly more protein. Too much protein is not beneficial however, as
excess protein cannot be stored in the body and is excreted in the
urine and/or stored as fat.
Examples of appropriate food sources
o Poultry- chicken and turkey
o Beef-LEAN beef
o Fish- salmon and tuna
o Nuts and nut products- peanuts, cashews, almonds, walnuts,
pecans, peanut butter, etc…
o Dairy- 1% milk, whole eggs and egg whites, Greek yogurt,
etc…
o Beans and lentils
Examples of inappropriate food sources
o Foods high in both protein AND fat
• Cheeseburgers/hamburgers, meatloaf, whole milk,
etc…
o While some of these foods are okay to eat, they should not be
consumed in excess
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Micronutrients
Micronutrients include vitamins and minerals. Although micronutrients
do not provide any calories, they are essential for proper functioning
of the body.
Vitamins
Vitamins can be further divided into water-soluble or fat-soluble
categories. Water soluble vitamins include the B-complex vitamins and
vitamin C. Excess intake of water-soluble vitamins is excreted in the
urine.
Vitamin C
o Primary Function: Antioxidant and collagen formation
o Sources
 Fruits- oranges, apples, cranberries, strawberries, etc…
 Vegetables- broccoli, tomatoes, green peppers, etc…
B-Complex
o Primary Function: Assist in energy metabolism
o Sources
Fat soluble vitamins include vitamins A, D, E, and K. Excess intake of
fat-soluble vitamins is stored in fat.
 Meat- beef and poultry
 Milk
 Eggs
 Fish
 Whole grain products
Vitamin A
o Primary Function: Essential for vision, tissue health and growth
o Sources
 Fruits- peaches and cantaloupe
 Vegetables- carrots, spinach, broccoli
 Fortified milk
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Vitamin D
o Primary Function: Bone growth
o Sources
 Sunlight
 Milk
 Eggs
 Fish
Vitamin E
o Primary Function: Antioxidant
o Sources
 Leafy vegetables
 Vegetable oil
 Cereal
Vitamin K
o Primary Function: Blood clotting and healthy bone growth
o Sources
 Leafy vegetables
 Milk
 Meat
 Cereal
Minerals
Minerals serve many vital purposes in the body, including maintaining
fluid balance, playing a role in muscle contraction, and assisting in
healthy bone growth. Some minerals (sodium, potassium, and chloride)
are better known for their function as electrolytes. These minerals
can be found in sports drinks, bananas, meat, and whole grain bread.
Other notable minerals include calcium, phosphorous, magnesium, iron,
zinc, and chromium. Sources of these minerals include dairy products
(milk, eggs, cheese, etc.), poultry, grains and grain products, beef, fish,
nuts and beans. Since most of these mineral sources are animal
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products, vegetarians should pay special attention to their food choices
to ensure that they do not develop any deficiencies. If you are unsure of
whether or not the foods you eat have the nutrients you need, plug your
meals into www.Fitday.com which is a FREE service that allows you to
log the foods you eat and see the macro and micronutrient breakdown of
those foods.
Water
Water is an essential part of an athlete’s diet. About 75% of Americans are
chronically dehydrated. It is impossible to perform optimally, mentally or
physically, in a dehydrated state. In general, athletes should drink 12-16
cups or !-1 gallon of water everyday. Water consumption should be
increased with an increase in protein or total caloric intake.
It is important to note that only the sweat that evaporates off the body
functions to cool off the body. This means that all the sweat that drips off
is non-functional water loss. Water lost through sweat during a workout
should be replaced afterwards. It may be worth teaching your athletes a
simple trick to monitor the amount of water lost through activity. Have
them weigh in before practice. Have them weigh out afterwards. For each
pound lost, they should drink two cups of water.
Sports drinks are a great beverage choice during or after activity. The
electrolytes help replace minerals lost through sweat and improve water
retention, and the simple sugars help to replenish depleted carb (glycogen)
stores. However, many athletes over-consume these products. Sports
drinks should NOT be consumed during periods of
inactivity because they are so high in sugar. If you aren’t currently
active or just completed some form of activity, this sugar provides a
quick energy rush, followed by a crash, and the sugar is stored in your
body as fat. Basically this means that you feel awful and get fatter.
It shouldn’t be hard to see why this is not an advantageous situation
for an athlete (or coach for that matter!).
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Weight Gain
The primary goal of putting on weight is to increase lean muscle mass.
Athletes use a variety of methods to accomplish this feat, including
protein and creatine supplementation. Athletes wishing to increase
lean muscle mass should follow the subsequent guidelines:
 Eat every 2-3 hours, or about 6-8 meals a day
 Increase total caloric intake
 Increase carbohydrate intake, especially immediately following
activity
o Diabetic athletes should follow instructions from a
physician
 Maintain protein intake to about 1g/pound of body weight
 Minimal increase in fat intake with increase in total calories
 Try to sneak in calories by adding low-fat toppings to foods
o Examples- parmesan cheese, apple butter, etc…
 Adhere to a strict eating schedule
o NEVER skip meals
o Do not wait for sensation of hunger to eat
 Increase water consumption with concomitant increase in caloric
intake
I’ve consulted with a lot of athletes that claim they can’t put on weight
no matter what they do. The first suggestion I make is that they try
eating more calories. Almost invariably the response I get is, “Yea I
know, but it’s just so hard. I never have time and...” If you do not
increase your caloric intake you will not put on weight. It’s that simple.
Find a way to sneak calories in throughout the day. Pack baggies with
sliced fruits and vegetables into your pockets and munch on them
throughout the day. There is always a way to get things done. Find it!
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Pre- and Post-Competition Meals
An athlete should consume a pre-competition meal roughly four hours
prior to the beginning of the competition, allowing time for complete
digestion. The meal should consist of a high-quality, lean protein source
(such as chicken breast), a couple servings of fruits and vegetables, and
a small side of complex carbohydrates (such as whole grain pasta) and
not contain any unfamiliar foods. Heavy proteins (i.e. steak) take about
eight hours to digest, which could cause gastrointestinal distress during
competition. For some reason athletes have this idea that the best pregame meal is a mountain of pasta. If you’re preparing for a marathon the
next day and haven’t been eating carbs for the last week, maybe that’d
make sense. Maybe. Most athletes’ carb stores aren’t nearly depleted
enough to warrant that amount of carbohydrates in one sitting. Some of
that pasta may go to fill up your carb stores. The rest is stored as fat and
makes you feel sleepy! I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t want my
athletes feeling sleepy going into a game! A well-balanced meal, as
described above, will provide all the nutrients the body needs and keep
the athlete physically and mentally alert.
The post-competition meal should contain a good amount of both
carbohydrates and protein, serving to replenish depleted carb (glycogen)
stores and provide enough protein to cease the protein degradation or
breakdown initiated during the competition. A quick source of
carbohydrates and protein should be consumed immediately postcompetition, and a complete, well-balanced meal consumed about an
hour later. To maximize performance and recovery, these guidelines can
be applied to on- and off-ice practices, in addition to competitions.
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Supplements
I frequently get questions from athletes about what to do to put on
muscle or lose fat. The answers I give these athletes are disappointingly
simple. It is true that there are many advanced nutritional strategies that
include a coordinated pattern of macronutrient (explained later) cycling
and supplementation. Many athletes mistakingly think that’s what they
need. The truth is that if athletes haven’t committed to basic, healthy
dietary habits, none of the other stuff will help them. Only after athletes
have established consistent, proper eating habits are these advanced
strategies useful. Having said that, there may be some instances when
supplements can be used to fill a void in an athletes diet.
Many don’t share my view on supplements. An ongoing debate exists on
whether or not supplements are necessary or effective. The truth is that
scientific research on many supplements has shown conflicting results.
Admittedly, in an ideal world, athletes would consume enough fruits and
vegetables, complete protein, and quality fat sources to meet all their
macro- and micronutrient needs. Whole food sources are always a better
option than supplements. Unfortunately, it’s been my experience that
most athletes eat few fruits and vegetables, a decent amount of lean
meat, no quality fat sources, and an astronomical amount of sugary
cereal, pasta, and white bread. In other words, most athletes are deficient
in everything except carbohydrates, which they consume an abundance
of, from poor sources. Also, the results from recent studies suggests that
the amounts of micronutrients found in fruits and vegetables has
significantly decreased over the last several decades. This means that an
apparently healthy, well-rounded diet still may not be providing all the
nutrients the body needs. In reality, there are a handful of supplements
that may benefit a number of athletes.
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Athletes may benefit from:
1. Protein: A fast-digesting protein drink should be consumed
during and immediately after all training sessions. Research in this
area has consistently shown the benefit of consuming a rapidly
digesting carbohydrate and protein drink before or during, and
immediately following training. I understand that many people are
against taking protein supplements. Fine. I can deal with that. But
in my opinion, protein supplements make for a more appealing
option than chicken smoothies! The protein supplements offered
by Biotest (https://www.tmuscle.com/free_online_store) are of the
highest quality and are the most effective. SurgeTM, a protein and
carbohydrate mix, is a great recovery drink to consume during and
immediately after workouts. Metabolic DriveTM is ideal for any
time throughout the day when the athlete cannot eat a quality
protein source from food. Some of these supplements may seem a
bit pricey. There are TONS of cheaper supplements available, but
they don’t produce the results that Biotest’s do. I look at it like
this: I could pay $35 for a supplement that will work, or $20 for a
supplement that won’t. If I’m spending money at all, I want it to
help. I choose the $35 option. If chicken smoothies don’t appeal
to you, low-fat chocolate milk is probably just as effective. I’ve
calculated the costs of using chocolate milk versus buying a
protein supplement and the protein supplement is cheaper every
time. Of course, the decision is yours.
2. Greens: Many companies offer a greens supplement to help make
up for a lack of fruits and vegetables in the diet. One
supplement specifically, Greens+, has undergone numerous
scientific studies documenting its safety and positive benefits.
The powder mixes easily into any smoothie. SuperfoodTM by
Biotest is another great option, and tastes much better!
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3.Fish Oils: The benefits of fish oils are well-established and almost
overwhelming. I sum them all up with an umbrella statement of “fish
oils help facilitate everything that is good and prevent everything that
is bad.” For a more detailed and specific summary, check out Eric
Cressey’s website www.ericcressey.com. He did a great job going
through all the scientific research and compiling it into brief, easy to
understand paragraphs in his two articles entitled “Fishy Advice.”
Since Eric wrote those articles, some research has been showing that
fish oils supplementation may also lead to increases in lean muscles
mass! Again, Biotest’s FlameoutTM is one of the best available.
When purchasing a fish oil supplement, you want to look for AT
LEAST 50% potency. This means that for every gram of total fish
oil, the combined EPA and DHA (two specific omega-3 fatty acids)
should comprise at least 500 mg.
4.Creatine: Creatine gets a bad reputation because the media portrays
it in the same light as steroids. Even worse, people on steroids say
they only take creatine. The scientific literature has revealed that
creatine is both safe and effective, serving to increase lean muscle
mass and strength. There are a lot of creatine supplements out there
that have a lot of other junk in them. A simple creatine monohydrate
supplement will do. Biotest has a good one. The loading phases
recommended by many people may not be necessary. If you take
creatine, consume about 5g per day immediately after activity,
preferably with a simple carbohydrate source, which will help
facilitate absorption.
5.Multi-vitamin: If you’re already taking a greens supplement, a
multi-vitamin probably isn’t necessary. However, if you aren’t, you
may want to consider taking a multi-vitamin. I like the vitamin and
mineral supplements from Isotonix®, specifically, MultiTechTM.
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Athletes are advised to consult with a physician prior to taking any
supplements. Athletes should increase the amount of water they drink
while taking any supplement.
That concludes our nutrition discussion. I understand that conveying all
of that to your athletes and their parents may be difficult, but it is well
worth the effort. Try scheduling a meeting at the beginning of the season
to go over this information, and another mid-way through the season just
to review it. It usually helps to provide a simple checklist with the most
important recommendations on it. For your convenience, I have
provided the general nutritional recommendations sheet that I give to all
of my clients. Feel free to distribute this to your athletes. I usually
recommend that my clients read through it and identify 1-2 things that
they need the most work on and to focus on those. Most people can’t
effectively completely overhaul their eating habits, and are frustrated
and discouraged by any attempts to do so.
By having them focus on one or two things, they can start to take steps
toward a healthier lifestyle without feeling overwhelmed.
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General Nutritional Recommendations
1. Eat every 2-3 hours.
2. Eat a fruit and/or vegetable with EVERY meal.
3. Drink 10+ cups of water everyday.
4. Eat QUALITY carbohydrates from fruits, vegetables, and whole
grain products.
5. Eat QUALITY fat from flaxseeds, sunflower seeds, natural
peanut butter, olive oil, and fish oils.
6. Eat complete proteins from lean meats, and low-fat dairy
sources.
7. Minimize calorie-containing drinks, such as sodas, energy
drinks, and fruit juices. Drink more water and green tea.
8. Don’t consume a large amount of fats and carbohydrates in the
same meal.
9. Make sure fat comprises about 30% of your total diet.
10. Cheat! 10% of your meals should be cheat meals, so eat
whatever you want! Make sure to not overdo it!
On training days
Eat a protein and carbohydrate-based meal for breakfast, pre/postworkout, and two hours post-workout. The rest of your meals
should be protein and fat-based.
On non-training days
Eat a protein and carbohydrate-based meal for the first half of your
day’s meals (1-3 or 1-4). Eat a protein and fat based meal for the
second half of your day’s meals (4-6 or 5-8).
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