50 for 50 Ideas 8 & 9: Nutrition!

posted on: March 1, 2018
author: Brian Lomax, Ed.D.

In my playing career, I have come to learn the hard way that what I eat and when I eat have a profound effect on my energy. I can recall several matches in which I felt light-headed and low-energy in the warm-up because of my lack of attention to nutrition and its timing. These were not good performances and I lost every single one of those matches.

An athlete’s level of physical energy drives performance in a number of areas that are critical to producing good results. If you don’t have good energy, you won’t be able to focus well, regulate your emotions, be as motivated to persevere, and have the confidence you need to compete. One of the primary drivers of your physical energy is nutrition, and that is why 50 for 50 ideas 8 and 9 are about this important topic.

Here is an example of what not to do with respect to nutrition on game day. A few years ago, I was working with a 16 year-old tennis player who had a lot of talent, but inconsistent results. I remember this one meeting we had in which we were discussing his performance at a tournament in Nashua, NH. He had a good win in the first round, and from our discussion, it sounded like he competed very well. However, his second round match appeared to be a disappointment, so I was curious as to what transpired in between.

Brian: So what did you do between matches?

Player: Well, I only had an hour break and it was 11:30 so I went to get lunch.

Brian: OK, what did you eat?

Player: We went to Quizno’s and I got a large spicy chicken chipotle sub with onions and peppers.

Brian: Wait…what?? You ate a large spicy chicken chipotle sub with onions and peppers less than an hour before your next match???

Player: Yeah.

Brian (OMG! Shaking head and laughing): So how did you feel while you were playing?

Player (laughing): Not very good!

After that conversation, it became clear to me as to why his second match was such a disappointment. If I had eaten that, I would have gone into a coma on the court. Fortunately, he had a great sense of humor so we were able to laugh about this incident, but it was also instructive. What you eat and when you eat it really matter.

Idea 8 – Consult with a sports nutritionist

If you’re serious about taking your competitive game to the next level, you absolutely should talk to a sports nutritionist, if you haven’t done so already. You’ll get a ton of great information on the effects of nutrition on athletic performance, along with changes you can make so you can realize energy levels that perhaps you’ve never experienced before. Check out my good friend Julie Nicoletti’s website kineticfuel.net for more information on what a sports nutritionist can do for you. As well as being an awesome person, Julie is one of the best in the business so it would be worth your time to contact her.

Idea 9 – Eat more whole foods

While I’m not a sports nutritionist, I’m reasonably confident that Julie and other nutritionists would agree with me on this point. In fact, I think they would recommend the same. However, with our lives being so hectic nowadays, we don’t always have time to prepare meals the way we would like. Instead, we eat food from a box, or a can, or a package of some kind. And with that packaging comes a whole lot of stuff we probably shouldn’t be ingesting. By going back to a whole foods diet (when possible), you’ll see improvements in your energy as well as other health benefits.

For those of you who have already implemented these two ideas into your life, I’d love to hear about your experiences. Leave a comment here or send me an email.