Good nutrition key for athletes

On a recent Sunday afternoon at the D1 fitness center, Jill Lane revealed the latest, most state-of-the-art fitness equipment to a group of high school athletes and their parents.

On the opening slide of her PowerPoint presentation was a picture of a dinner fork.

“Nutrition is the most overlooked part of training, but that’s changing,” said Lane, a certified nutrition consultant and health fitness specialist in Dallas.

If the role that nutrition plays in athletic performance is trending up, Lane has much to do with that. In the last 10 years, her clients have included such professional luminaries as recently retired football star Demarcus Ware and former Texas Rangers star Josh Hamilton. If we are what we eat, then Lane believes we should be putting only the best into our bodies.

“To me, it’s the No. 1 training tool,” she said. “It’s the gas, it’s the oil, it’s the tires.”

Lane’s presentation was geared toward athletes, whom she defined as people who work out at least an hour a day three to four times a week and participate in at least one athletic event a week. One of her first points was to dispel the myth that their kids could eat anything and that their metabolism would burn it off. She said the proper diet could not only increase performance, but also help them recover quicker and improve focus for school work.

Among the foods she recommended were walnuts and pumpkin seeds, grass-fed beef, free-range chicken, sweet potatoes, broccoli and Brussels sprouts, berries and coconut oil, and unsweetened coconut milk.

She said to avoid partially hydrogenated and hydrogenated oils, high fructose corn syrup, MSG, artificial sweeteners and artificial food colorings.

When it comes to hydration, she said to start with water and begin drinking the day before an event to maintain focus. Sports drinks have their place, she said, but also contain a lot of sugar.

Lane recommended organic foods, but suggested that people work them into their diets, especially if they are just starting to change the types of foods that they eat.

Another part of the equation is when to eat. For young athletes, she said, that’s fairly easy to figure out.

“I call that the puppy dog phase,” she said. “They’re fueling growth. Start at age 8 and don’t stop until they’re 18.”

Specifically, she said young athletes should eat breakfast within an hour of waking up, a snack within an hour of practice and eat periodically throughout the day, particularly proteins.

Another important aspect of conditioning is sleep. She said it’s recommended that young athletes get 10 hours of sleep.

“I haven’t seen anyone who gets 10 hours of sleep,” she admitted. “But you’ll see professional athletes like LeBron James get 10 hours of sleep. Professional athletes have a little more control over their time because they don’t have to go to class.”

Lane said that the young athletes should learn to prepare their breakfasts and snacks, calling it a life lesson that will help them when they leave home and continue to play sports.

Lane, a former college soccer player, has been advising athletes on nutrition for more than a decade and she says she runs across athletes whose diets make her wonder how they can perform.

She recounted the story of how NFL running back Marshawn Lynch would eat Skittles candy at halftime.

“I wish he hadn’t told that,” she said. “At some point, your genetics run out.”

For a more positive example, Lane pointed to Tom Brady of the New England Patriots.

“When someone is 39 and they win the Super Bowl and they’re talking about playing five more years, that should get your attention,” she said.

However, the most powerful influences on a child’s nutrition don’t come from professional athletes, but from parents.

“Modeling is a big thing,” said Lane. “Our kids have to see us doing healthy things.”