Nutritional Advice Start The Day With Breakfast! BY SUSIE PARKER SIMMONS, U.S. OLYMPIC TEAM SPORT NUTRITION BREAKFAST IS IMPORTANT for perfor-
mance and health. After 8-12 hours of fasting, breakfast provides the fi rst refu- eling and rehydrating stop for the body. Athletes who eat breakfast tend to have improved physical capacity, mood state, concentration, and motivation to- wards their training. Breakfast also im- proves daily food choices, prevents unwanted snacking and helps prevent illness- es and injuries.
What’s for Breakfast? The table below lists a variety of foods suit- able for breakfast. Ensure you select at least one from each column. Breakfast is to be enjoyed and variety of
meal options should be eaten. Examples could include:
• Breakfast cereal with fruit and milk/yogurt
Grains Bread
Breakfast cereals Oats
Gluten free grains Waffl es
Pancakes
Fruits/Vegetables Fresh fruit
Dried fruit
100% fruit juice Vegetables
Vegetable juices • • • • • • •
Bread, deli meat, cheese, fruit and marga- rine/butter
Waffl es with maple syrup, fresh fruit and a glass of milk
Oatmeal/porridge made with milk, sugar and dried fruit and nuts
Eggs (not fried) and toast with margarine and vegetable juice
Smoothie (milk, fruit, yogurt, honey) and bread/toast
Gluten free muesli with dried/fresh fruit and soy milk
Pancakes with fruit, maple syrup and pea- nut butter
• Bagel with peanut butter and banana •
•
English muffi ns topped with melted cheese and tomato
Omelet made with ham, cheese and veg- etables and bread/toast with jam
Breakfast provides a jump start to gaining the necessities of nutrition and sport!
Meat/Dairy/Eggs Milk and alternatives
Yogurt
Cheese Meats
Nuts & Butters Smoothie Eggs
Other
Margarine or Butter Jam
Honey, Maple syrup Olive oil Sugar
Sarah Benjamin (@SBenjamin10) “Continental hotel breakfasts never fail to have an apple and peanut butter for me.”
Matt Emmons (@MattEmmonsUSA) Depends on how I feel, but typically, eggs, wheat toast, juice, maybe a touch of coffee.
Jacob Turner (@jacobturner25) “assuming I do eat....there’s nothing like a big bowl of cinnamon toast crunch!” #breakfastofchampions
Sarah Beard (@Sarah_beard10x) ”Oatmeal and peanut butter!”
Chuck Mahon (@ChuckMahon) “Coffee, Oatmeal, and an energy bar! Pack bananas in my shooting bag.”
Thomas Cameron (@thomasdcameron) ”High protein, like eggs and sausage, plus some quick energy unprocessed food like orange juice with no added sugar.”