WAG Nutrition component of coaching

[z2akids]

While some of us here as individuals may be well versed in good nutrition, Americans as a group are not. If we were, Taco Bell wouldn't have recently made the decision to open a breakfast menu. We wouldn't drive past multiple fast food restaurants every day packed with people.

I have not advocated for coaches to tell children what they can or cannot eat. But, having an expert come in is something our gym does for a variety of topics. And a registered nutritionist is one of them. An RD specializing in sports nutrition has WAY more knowledge after 6+ years of education than I can get from trying to become a Google nutritionist. Speaking to percentages of nutrients that these kids need and at what times of the day/workout is excellent information that DD and I can then use to tailor her diet. And, as I have said, those experts have never told the girls what to eat or not eat, but how to differentiate between choices and make sure they understand the unique needs of a serious athlete.

 

[raenndrops]

And as Sari said, not everyone can eat whole grains (or milkfat for that matter). I think venturing into these territories with kids and/or their families is a major overstep. I'll add I don't want the school weighing my kid and commenting on their BMI and I'm incredibly irritated I have to fill out a "physical activity log" for school as well.

If you stick a bowl of ice cream and a bowl of carrots in front of us (or our kids for that matter) we know what we SHOULD choose.

I can barely tolerate skim milk... and it is starting to taste too "thick" to me. 2% has been too thick for a while - think of someone used to 2% drinking unsweetened condensed milk... that is the thickness feeling... and I can't even choke down whole milk.

My doctor keeps telling me to cut out an entire food group (breads and cereals) but I am not ready to go paleo... especially since I don't eat a lot of meat.

I don't like schools weighing or doing BMI... but back in the 70's my kindergarten teacher put on my grade card that I needed to lose weight.
Physical activity logs are ok in my book if the child is taking a gym or health class. They don't have enough time in school to get enough activity. I kind of wish we had them back when I was in k - 9th grades, lol... I know I was getting at least 2 hours of physical activity a day (not including any sports I may have been in at any given time).

Oh... and I choose Ice Cream... as long as it is vanilla and I can cut the thickness with root beer or pepsi . If not, I will choose the carrots, as long as they are raw

 

[z2akids]

I'd take it as an indication the coaches don't have a clue what they're talking about when it comes to nutrition. There is a LOT of pseudoscientific BS out there where nutrition is concerned, to the point where finding legitimate, scientifically-accurate nutritional advice is like searching for a needle in a haystack. Avoid hippy-dippy pseudoscience and fad diets.

Carbs are fine, GMOs are fine, and your body doesn't know or care whether your food is "organic."

Exactly. An expert can speak to percents of micro and macro nutrients a young athlete needs. They should be able to help kids and parents make choices within those broad guidelines as parents and kids want. I would question someone who came in and talked about GMOs, organic, gluten, etc.

 

[leotardmakermum]

If you want nutrition information for your gymnast, take them to the best sports nutritionist/dietitian you can find. If you can find one who understands the nature of gymnastics training (hours on end, but short explosive bursts within that) then all the better. Before you go, spend a week or two writing a food and training diary - what they ate when, and what their hours of training were during the period. If you go armed with all this information, the nutritionist should be able to advise you on a suitable eating plan for your gymnast.

If the plan works for your child, then you know you have good value, and you can choose to ignore all other food recommendations by coaches, society, the media, people on this board etc. as you see fit.

Choose your source of information - your own expert - yourself. You're the one in control of your child's eating.

 

[Turk]

Having heard many coaches and dance teachers over the years saying everything from the pointless to the downright dangerous when it comes to nutrition, I'm very wary of anyone in those sorts of positions trying to talk to me about food - and that's as an adult with a great interest in nutrition from a sport point of view, able to discern the applicable advice from what I should discard. I certainly wouldn't trust most of those people talking to kids about it!

And I don't know about other countries, but the only protected term in the UK is "dietitian". Anyone can call themselves a nutritionist or nutrition expert or whatever, because those terms aren't protected by the law, so people often use those terms when they don't have the proper education to back up what they're saying...

 

[z2akids]

In the US, the professional with a license is called a Registered Dietician. It is a Masters level degree and requires that the individual pass a licensing exam

 

[Anna's_Mom]

See, even something that someone sees as obvious -- ice cream vs. carrots -- isn't always. For an underweight gymnast who has trouble getting enough calories, the ice cream might be a better choice at that moment. Not that she should eat nothing but ice cream, but some kids need those extra calories in their day. And it completely ignores the fact that what you eat throughout the day/week/month matters more than what you choose for that one moment.

I think the coaches should stick to gymnastics. They aren't nutrition experts, nor are they experts on their gymnasts, not matter what they think I don't see anything wrong with reminding kids that they are athletes and need to care for their bodies but no specifics. And since they don't see every minute of the day, no judgement on what they do see the child eating. I might be OK with a nutritionist coming in, but only if they confirmed that they were speaking in generalities and that some kids had different situations that might contradict what the nutritionist was saying.

I was really annoyed at our coach a couple of years ago for sending out a "snack shaming" letter, mostly complaining bitterly about the girls coming in to practice with things they had purchased from the vending machine in the gym lobby. Um... then sell something other than candy bars in the machine! Because sometimes, if the only option you have is nothing vs. a Snickers bar, the Snickers is a better choice. And sometimes, home to school to gym via non-parent transportation means that the choice is vending or nothing.

 

[twinmomma]

While some of us here as individuals may be well versed in good nutrition, Americans as a group are not. If we were, Taco Bell wouldn't have recently made the decision to open a breakfast menu. We wouldn't drive past multiple fast food restaurants every day packed with people.

I have not advocated for coaches to tell children what they can or cannot eat. But, having an expert come in is something our gym does for a variety of topics. And a registered nutritionist is one of them. An RD specializing in sports nutrition has WAY more knowledge after 6+ years of education than I can get from trying to become a Google nutritionist. Speaking to percentages of nutrients that these kids need and at what times of the day/workout is excellent information that DD and I can then use to tailor her diet. And, as I have said, those experts have never told the girls what to eat or not eat, but how to differentiate between choices and make sure they understand the unique needs of a serious athlete.

I disagree. People KNOW taco bell isn't healthy. Nobody hits the taco bell drive through and goes "right on! I am eating healthy today!" Fact is, it tastes good, it's cheap, and it's quick. Even the kids know that.

I completely disagree having a dietitian or a nutritionist come to talk to the kids is appropriate. Unless the dietitian is specifically working with MY child and knows the issues that she is dealing with and her specific health profile, this still crosses a huge line.

As for the ice cream/carrots argument - you're totally right. My daughter would fall into the ice cream camp based on her needs. It was a bit of hyperbole designed to make a point, but you're absolutely right.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

The most important thing I have learned about nutrition is it is not what you eat meal to meal.

It is how you eat over a matter of weeks.

A couple of meals is really doesn't provide a true picture.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

Given our schedules this coming week. I can tell you we will be hitting a drive through on Wed.

Ubber healthy the rest of the week, but Wed it will be drive through or nothing for one of our 3 meals/2snacks, that is the kind of day it will be.

Given the hours my kid puts in, its breakfast, lunch, snack at school, mini meal before gym, mini meal after gym (this will be the drive through). I am good with 4 of 5, not being FF/processed.

 

[flippinam]

As a gymnast, I honestly wish my coaches would seriously talk to the parents about nutrition. Maybe I'm in the minority, but I have tried to eat healthy in the past. Really tried hard. But, my parents always buy junk food and get upset when I don't eat it because it's a "waste". For example, this week, my dad bought a dozen doughnuts for the week for breakfast. If I do not eat them, he will get upset, and I will feel bad. I have told them that I want to eat healthy, and they just say "That'll last for 5 minutes" and continue to only provide me with junk food. And with a schedule like mine, I don't have time or funds to buy alternative choices. So yes, I do wish my coaches would talk to my parents about food.

 

[munchkin3]

Not organic, but as clean as possible.....

 

[z2akids]

Unfortunately, I think that you hold the general population in too high a regard. It is unfortunate, but people really don't know that Taco Bell is a poor choice. They see eggs, cheese, meat and don't have the education to recognize that they are not prepared in a healthy manner.

 

[B.Gold]

In the US, the professional with a license is called a Registered Dietician. It is a Masters level degree and requires that the individual pass a licensing exam

And I guess have a real problem, because I wouldn't even trust this person. :\

 

[z2akids]

And I guess have a real problem, because I wouldn't even trust this person. :\

Who do you trust for nutritional advice?

 

[twinmomma]

Not organic, but as clean as possible.....

Not arguing with what you mean , because I used to use this phrase. But "eating clean" implies that there's "eating dirty" which as you can imagine comes with a major value judgement.

 

[Sari]

I can barely tolerate skim milk... and it is starting to taste too "thick" to me. 2% has been too thick for a while - think of someone used to 2% drinking unsweetened condensed milk... that is the thickness feeling... and I can't even choke down whole milk.

My doctor keeps telling me to cut out an entire food group (breads and cereals) but I am not ready to go paleo... especially since I don't eat a lot of meat.

I don't like schools weighing or doing BMI... but back in the 70's my kindergarten teacher put on my grade card that I needed to lose weight.
Physical activity logs are ok in my book if the child is taking a gym or health class. They don't have enough time in school to get enough activity. I kind of wish we had them back when I was in k - 9th grades, lol... I know I was getting at least 2 hours of physical activity a day (not including any sports I may have been in at any given time).

Oh... and I choose Ice Cream... as long as it is vanilla and I can cut the thickness with root beer or pepsi . If not, I will choose the carrots, as long as they are raw

Sort of off topic, sorry, but I just wanted to quickly mention that paleo doesn't equal eating a ton of meat. I eat way more vegetables than animal products.

As somewhat of a food geek, I love reading the conversation on here. Now if everyone put this much thought into nutrition, whatever route they may then choose to go, we wouldn't need all those fast food restaurants.

 

[B.Gold]

Who do you trust for nutritional advice?

I grew up in the eighties when the low fat craze reached its heights. In college, I read book after book screaming the dangers of fat and cholesterol. I took a nutrition class that was required within my curriculum and it supported all this nutritional science.

At some point, I read over and over, the benefits of whole grains, and the value of supplements. So, I made sure to have my fair share of both. I calculated the fruit I ate making sure I had a wide variety to support good nutrition. For years, I resisted the urge to eat the way I wanted and that my body desired. I followed all the rules of the food pyramid. I ate breakfast, because we've been taught it's the most important meal of the day, this was followed by 5 more low fat "healthy" meals everyday, because science told us if we didn't feed our face 6 times a day we would screw up our metabolisms.

I.followed.all.the."good.science"..I followed all the rules.

I got fat, and fatter, and fatter....

Oh sure, there were periods of time when I was lean, but I was deprived, miserable and the weight came back two-fold. Leaving me feeling like a failure and wondering what was wrong with me....

As I pushed dangerously close to 200 lbs at the beginning of this year I knew something had to give. It's been a journey too long for a post.... But let's just say... I now break EVERY.single.rule listed above. And when I started... I had no intention of giving up gluten.

A couple key things I've learned along the way..... Whether you buy into it or not, the science of "low fat, high carbs" was terribly flawed. Our government created the food pyramid based on this flawed science.

Our brains require cholesterol to function.

To a great majority of the population wheat causes many serious maladies that tend be masked by drugs.

I have never been the person to question our Government, and, being a good Republican I support business...so I've never questioned the motives of Big Pharmaceutical... However.... They've both failed me.

In 6 short months of "breaking the rules" the following things have changed for me:

My anxiety is gone
Brain fog gone
I'm more focused
I no longer use alcohol to relieve anxiety
No sugar cravings
No.more.insomnia.... Gone!!
I have just an overall feeling of "happy"..something I had just recently started seeking

Oh....and consequently, I've lost 30 lbs, but it's no longer about the weight loss. I couldn't care less about the weight. That'll come... The above is way more important to me.

So, Z2akids.... Who do I trust? Nobody, I've gotten good at listening to my own body. Do I understand my gymmie's needs are different than mine? Of course. She's thriving as I put into play a lot of the concepts I've learned along the way. In fact, her mystery head aches have cleared up, she's building muscle, and she's more focused at school and gym, her energy has improved. And believe me I keep a close eye.
And to those of you struggling with your weight....its not your fault. The way I see it, your results are from what I see to be a flawed system.

 

[raenndrops]

Sort of off topic, sorry, but I just wanted to quickly mention that paleo doesnt mean eating a ton of meat. I eat way more vegetables than animal products.

As somewhat of a food geek, I love reading the conversation on here. Now if everyone put this much thought into nutrition, whatever route they may then choose to go, we wouldn't need all those fast food restaurants.

I know paleo doesn't have to be a lot of meat... but I meant both quantity and variety. I eat hamburger occasionally, bacon or ham less often, and (if chopped super small) i can tolerate a bit of chicken breast anout once a month or so. lol, i am also limited on my veggie choices due to allergies. Pretty much lettuce, carrots, celery, onions with the occasional green beans or peas. That's why i can't leave out an entire food group. Plus, i would never consume enough calories without my bread

 

[Anna's_Mom]

Now if everyone put this much thought into nutrition, whatever route they may then choose to go, we wouldn't need all those fast food restaurants.

But even that isn't true. I'm a great scratch cook and I love to cook. I have a child with dietary restrictions that really limits options. I have an underweight child (not the same one as the dietary issues). I also have a gymnast, a theater kid, and we are all singers. Add two employed parents and presto -- you get fast food meals at least once a week. Its either that or nothing and I'm pretty sure that fast food is better than nothing given the above. Now, it is the "best" fast food that we can manage given restrictions/location/timing, but still... I know it would be better to be eating a home-cooked balanced meal with nice lean protein, two veggies, some sort of starch (especially for underweight) and drinking milk. (Well, for the kids. I like wine ) But it's not always possible. And so, given the lives of many of our families, fast food will always be with us.