New here :)

[NWmom]

Hello all,
I found this site yesterday while looking for some info about gymnastics and nutrition. My daughter is starting L4 (she just completed her first competitive season at L3) and is 8 yrs old. She loves her gymnastics and we really enjoyed watching her do her thing during the L3 season. It was a lot of fun. She was going for just a couple hours a week and will now be going for 7 hrs per week. I have concerns about making sure she is getting enough of the proper nutrition to sustain her during those long workouts (over 3 hrs). She is the kind of kid that burns out fast, physically and mentally, when she is hungry. I'm looking for any tips or suggestions regarding this transition and how to handle the nutrition aspect of it, as I am sure this will really need to be amped up to keep her going strong. Thanks and looking forward to "meeting" you all.

 

[emorymom]

Does your gym do a snack break during practice? Ours does even for 2 hour practices. The kids bring their snacks of course.

Welcome!

 

[Azgymmiemom]

Hey, there. Welcome to the Chalk Bucket and congrats to your dd on her move-up! My kids' gym doesn't allow eating during practice, and I have a tiny bird eater in my dd. It IS a challenge when they are so small to get them to eat well. We make sure she eats a good portion of protein (eggs, nuts, peanut butter, lean meats, cheese, yogurt, etc) before she does her work out(usually 1/2 hr before). Then she eats afterward, too. I find that mostly her problem is not taking in enough fluids. Make sure your gymmie is actually DRINKING during water breaks. (mine tends to sip quick and then chit chat...we had to change that when she started getting headaches from dehydration). When my dd moved up to level 4 from preteam, she increased her hours from 6 to 9 per week. It took a good month before she adjusted to the difference. She just moved to level 5 about 6 weeks ago,, jumping from the 9 hrs to 15, and this time I noticed no adjustment time was needed...she handled it right from the start.

You might try protein bars, if she will eat them...They are smaller, but carry a lot of nutrients. Some kids don't like the way they taste, though. (mine hate them)
Also, making sure that they eat their breakfast and lunch earlier in the day will help. Once they've already missed a meal there is that vicious circle of "I'm sick because I didn't eat, but now I can't eat because I'm sick"

Good luck to your dd, and again, welcome!