Eating Right on Game Day and Why It’s Important

Hey y’all! To help get your year off right, I’ll be sharing some tips for a great start with Team Kellogg’s! The brand is regular in our home and I’m proud to be part of their family!

As a mom of three boys, there’s no doubt that some sort of sport will play a role in our every day life.  Just as football is big in Texas, it’s big in our small, sixman school too.  Both my older boys have played and while the season here is over and done, there are plenty of other sports to fill up our days.  My son is currently preparing his body for track season. While he doesn’t do much of the running events, he does participate in shotput and discus.  Regardless of the sport, there are ways to prepare and fuel your body for game day, and I’m here to share some of the tips I’ve learned from my own boys as they prepare and play.  By the way, I was very lucky to get photos of my son, Toby.  He’s usually very camera shy but was happy to oblige this particular morning!

KNOW YOUR SPORT

What I mean by knowing your sport, is it’s important to understand what your body will be going through to train and perform for that particular sport.   There will be so much that varies from say, swimming vs shotput, but there will also be much that is the same.

STAY HYDRATED

Staying hydrated is important anyways y’all.  You know those plants and flowers that won’t thrive and start dying when they don’t get watered?  Well how do you think your body feels when it’s not hydrated enough?  It’s the same!  And to boot, you add on the rigorous routines of game day?  Come on now y’all.  My son, Toby, always has water. We’ll buy a case of water just so he can have it in his car, duffel bag, gym locker, bus, etc.

WHAT and WHEN TO EAT

It’s so important to always eat healthy right?  But the truth is,  a lot of teenagers don’t.  So, if you’re gonna prepare for game day, you need to at least start eating healthy a week in advance.   Our kids have long days, especially if you live out in the country.  It makes for early bus arrivals and long drives to school.  You absolutely have to fuel your body with a filling, healthy breakfast.  Toby loves to have Kellogg’s Raisin Bran.  It has become a staple in our home because he loves it, I love it, and my 7yr old son loves it.  And since our mornings begin much earlier than some kiddos, Toby will usually take a Nutri-Grain Cereal Bar with him to school and eat it mid-morning.  That will help fuel him because it’s soon after that he has athletics and will need plenty of energy for that, and the rest of his day.

Click here to get even more Great Start Tips!

On game day, your athlete needs to be fueling up on healthy carbs before the game and protein after.   Packing a small cooler with some fruit & vegetables for the in-between moments will also help them stay ready for game day.   They also need to make sure they're not eating too much or binging on LOTS of sugar because that will ultimately make them sleepy.  I've seen kiddos shoving their faces with tons of candy in their mouths on game day and then when they get ready to perform, you can clearly tell they are sluggish.  Gotta be smarter than that to beat the competition!

So whether it's football, golf, or track y'all, you've got to eat right on game day so that you can perform at your very best! What tips do you guys have for eating right on game day? Please share because while I have one already graduated and one graduating this year, I still have an active 7 year old who will be participating in many sports throughout the next several years! And don't forget to check out these great start tips 'cause I have found some good'uns there that I hadn't thought of!

Kellogg’s® believes that From Great Starts Come Great Things®. So we’re helping Moms start every day with a tip from the top athletes of Team Kellogg’sâ„¢ and Team USA dietitians. The thirty days leading up to the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games will each feature fun pieces of advice to help families fuel just like the athletes of Team Kellogg’s. To see all 30 tips, visit Kelloggs.com/GreatStartsTips.

Compensation was provided by Kellogg’s via Glam Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Kellogg’s.