WAG Nutrition component of coaching

[twinmomma]

That is my son's go to snack. whole wheat bread, natural pb with a little jelly. I think it is fine.

PB&J is my daughter's go to for everything. Snack. Lunch. Dinner sometimes. If not for PB&J she'd starve. LOL

 

[Iwannabemargo]

you see the cultural divide hits again, the whole PB&J thing tends to be viewed with horror and disgust here

 

[Sari]

Urgh, yes! I can't stand peanut butter. Now cashew butter, on the other hand...

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

you see the cultural divide hits again, the whole PB&J thing tends to be viewed with horror and disgust here

What sort of strange backward foreign land do you come from where people don't like PB&J?

 

[Iwannabemargo]

Peanut butter yes, preferably on toast

Jam (jelly) yes, especially home made blackberry

Together - ugh !

Now marmite, that is a whole different story............

 

[Sari]

I used to like peanut butter and honey sandwiches. But I think I mainly liked the texture of crunchy PB and the taste of the honey.

 

[BachFlyer]

My dd will home from practice and eats 2 PB&Js as a pre-dinner snack. Whole wheat bread, natural PB and jelly. And SO disgusting! But, look who's a bit chunky sitting around on the couch, and look who has Abs of Steel...what do I know?

Our coach occasionally sends home nutritional sheets, more to make sure they are eating enough than to offer firm recommendations. I don't prefer this communication because I don't think it's their place, but I have the luxury of being able to either take from it what I find useful or ignore it as I see fit because my dd is healthy and overall makes pretty good choices. I would be quite a bit more upset if we had extenuating circumstances. I think that the coaches at minimum should be saying "these are my recommendations. Please discuss with your parents at home".

IMHO teaching our kids to listen to their own bodies and feed it accordingly is the number one goal. Everyone has different paths to help their kids get there.

 

[Canadian_gym_mom]

I used to like peanut butter and honey sandwiches. But I think I mainly liked the texture of crunchy PB and the taste of the honey.

PBS and honey is what I lived on as a kid for a while. But NNNOOOOOOOO. Crunchy PB&J is bleach!

 

[Redford]

I used to like peanut butter and honey sandwiches.

No good day starts without a peanut butter-honey-sandwich and a big cappuccino.

 

[Anna's_Mom]

It's not really a good snack option either.

Really? Why ever not? Assuming, of course, no allergy issues for either gymnast or those around her. I can see the difference between highly processed PB with little-fruit jelly on white bread vs. natural PB, all-fruit spread and whole wheat bread -- there are definitely PB&J sandwiches that are better (nutritionally, take stand-alone) than others (assuming no extenuating circumstances, of course). But to condemn them entirely makes no sense to me.

 

[Sari]

PB&J sandwiches definitely seem more nutritious than Oreos to me. Though if I had a choice, and still ate grains, I'd choose the Oreos. Cause yumm!

 

[Aero]

I have wanted to jump in on this thread with some strong opinions, but I resisted and just kept quietly reading.

What I will say, is that I have learned so much from this thread. Awesome.

 

[Sari]

I have wanted to jump in on this thread with some strong opinions, but I resisted and just kept quietly reading.

What I will say, is that I have learned so much from this thread. Awesome.

Craving Oreos yet?

 

[sce]

Our building owner just kicked out the "healthy" vendor because they didn't pay their rent. Now we are stuck with a vending machine full of junk.

Then how can you criticize the kids eating the junk? Think about it, family is running late to practice and didn't pack a snack. Child is hungry and buys a treat form the vending machine. What's the alternative? Would you prefer a hungry kid working out, or a kid who ate a couple Oreos to maintain their energy through their workout?

 

[sce]

It's not really a good snack option either.

So what is?

 

[z2akids]

It's not really a good snack option either.

What do you consider to be an appropriate snack? I am surprised that your gymnasts are only allowed a snack at practices > 4 hours. That is a long time to train without fuel.

You said you have a medical background. I am curious what thst background is. Nutrition is really it's own field. While doctors and nurses receive some education on nutrition (I had a full year -2 courses- for my nursing degree) but would not consider that to make me anywhere close to versed in nutrition.

 

[twinmomma]

What do you consider to be an appropriate snack? I am surprised that your gymnasts are only allowed a snack at practices > 4 hours. That is a long time to train without fuel.

I think this is a really salient point. We don't expect marathon runners to run a full marathon without fuel options. I'm not necessarily saying our kids' workouts are as intense as marathons, but they are active and working out essentially the whole time. My daughter's group has very little down time. They are allowed to stop for water whenever they want, but they usually also get at least a five minute break mid workout for the bathroom, snack, whatever they need. I think you have to be REALLY careful about restricting kids' access to fuel. DD is borderline hypoglycemic, and if she gets to that point of having gone too long without food she goes into meltdown. Does she have an "official" diagnosis that would allow her extra consideration? No. But I would expect that someone in a position of authority over children expending that level of energy would understand the need to be properly fueled.

 

[duyetanh]

Peanut butter yes, preferably on toast

Jam (jelly) yes, especially home made blackberry

Together - ugh !

Now marmite, that is a whole different story............

Ok I am a pb and j lover, I live on it. And I can do vegemite, from my days living over seas. But I just can't do the marmite thing...

 

[buttercup]

What is marmite? Or Vegemite?

 

[saddlupasb]

For one thing, we do not practice over 4 hours and my kids have ample access to a snack. If it has to be Oreos because someone forgot, then so be it. It is just not a preferred snack. Not sure why that opinion is SO wrong.