Vitamins etc

[Jumeriah]

My daughter is 9yrs old, in level 2 and training to go into level 3. She is doing 17hrs a week of gym and loving it.

I am wondering with all the training she is doing if she needs a multi vitamin? or other supplements.

We only have a 15min gap between getting home from school and having to leave from gym. She won't eat dinner before she leaves and sometimes doesn't want it when she gets home. I make her a shake (berries, yoghurt, milk and ice) if she wont' eat dinner.

Does your child take supplements?

Do you have any advise on feeding her?

Thanks
Jumeriah

 

[Ari97]

Having her take a vitamin everyday would be good, why does she train 17 hrs when shes a level 2/3

 

[Quadqueen]

Consult your child's physician before talking any supplements. Usually, they are only considered necessary if your child's diet is severely limited, or does not eat anything from a certain food group. I am also wondering why she does so many hours at that level. ??

 

[Iwannabemargo]

purely from a calorific point of view she has to eat before training.

say she burns 250 cals per hour, for a three hour session - thats 750 additional calories on top of her normal daily requirement.

Mine has a large snack at home or in the car (pasta/pizza/jacket potato) and then a sandwich and cake on the way home and then a hot chocolate before she goes to bed.

 

[Little Mo]

We go straight from school to gym and usually have pasta/ sandwich and fruit on the way in the car. The only dietary advice given from the coach (passed on to us from other parents) up to now is for her to have a 'yazoo' milkshake on the way home, within 30 mins of the session ending. My daughter has a hot meal in school every lunchtime so I don't feel as guilty then for the packed lunch after school.

I'm interested in the responses for vitamin supplements too as she trains similar hours.

 

[Jumeriah]

Thanks ladies, i was just going to give her a multi vitamin.

She is doing the long hours as due to her age, she needs to work hard to stay in the development group, or she has to go back to recreational.

 

[kandkfunk]

One question. What is a jacket potato and a 'yazoo' shake? They sound interesting.

 

[Iwannabemargo]

Jacket potato - whole baked potato in its skin (hence "jacket", often referred to as Jacket spud here) Yazoo - branded milk drink http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yazoo_(drink)

 

[Kiwi]

Is she in IDP? If my kids get run-down or not eating that well I sometimes give them Thompsons Animals (chewable multi-vitamin). I don't think it does any harm and I don't do it all the time. My DD likes to have Up-n-Go before training, it is light but sustaining.

 

[Flossyduck]

I give my dd a daily multi-vitamin, but I used to do that in winter, even before she did gymnastics.

I do make sure she has eaten before she does gym though. I agree with Margo - it's taking too much out of their bodies to do on an empty stomach. We have a rule - she doesn't eat, she doesn't do gym. I have to be satisfied she's got fuel. We've never had to turn round and go home (not that I recall), but it's been close on a couple of occasions.

I give her a flask of Nesquik or milkshake afterwards.

 

[Jumeriah]

For the ladies that feed their child before gym, what do you give them? My daughter will have 3 rice crackers with vegemite, but want her eating a proper meal

What do you feed your child, any recipe ideas?

 

[Iwannabemargo]

mac and cheese is a good one, in fact my daughter would gladly live on pasta. Scrambled egg, baked beans on toast, Cornish Pasty, pizza, jacket with prawns, the proviso is that it takes less than 20 minutes to prepare and it can be eaten quickly or in the car on the way. I also pack fruit, yoghurt (full fat low sugar) cereal bars and cakes - she eats a lot !

 

[Flossyduck]

Pasta. Pasta with vegetables and cheese, pasta with tuna and tomato, pasta with sausages and as many other combinations as you can think of. Rice and chicken and vegetables. Noodles. Baked potato with cheese and beans. Mashed potato with pork chops and vegies and gravy. All of those can be on a plate or in a wide necked flask for in the car. Home made pizza with fresh tomato sauce, cheese, ham etc. And sometimes just a decent ham or peanut butter sandwich, a smoothie or yoghurt and fruit.

Someone once put a recipe on here for energy balls, which I make in all sorts of different combinations for when tea isn't too substantial.

 

[skschlag]

A multivitamin will not give her the calories she needs to train well. My son will eat peanut butter and banana sandwiches, chocolate milk, nuts and raisins, bananas, beef jerky, etc. We also only have 15 minutes between school/gym and that has to include getting out of school uniform and into gym clothes!

Good luck! my ds does take a Multivitamin, but recent studies show that they don't do a lot for you unless you are lacking something to begin with.