These days the demands of high school put a lot of pressure on kids, not the least of which affects their ability to eat properly. This is a plan that can help you to help your kids so that they can meet the challenges of their day and be at their best.
THE SCHEDULE PROBLEMS
As a high school coach I am totally aware that kids do not eat properly. Not only do kids make the wrong food choices most of the time, but the eating schedule that kids have - especially if they are involved in athletics or other after school activities – makes it harder for kids to eat well. And even if your kid isn’t involved in athletics, he or she is still growing and needs to eat properly.
I coach in a school where lunch for the high school starts as early as 10:30 in the morning. This early lunch hour – combined with an early start to the school day – makes it very tough for kids to eat enough and to eat the right foods. By the time an after-school activity, practice or game starts – which can be any time from 3:30 in the afternoon until 7:00 at night – kids can be starving…sometimes literally. After about 8 hours without food the body goes into starvation mode and starts breaking down muscle to use as fuel…this is bad.
This 8-hour period is very important to be aware of and is the main reason that everyone – not just your kid – needs to eat breakfast. If you eat dinner at 7:00 at night – and don’t have a snack before you turn in for the evening - you are technically in starvation mode before you wake up.
Remember, breakfast is not the first meal that you eat during the day but it’s the meal that you eat first thing after you wake up. Big difference.
HOW MUCH FOOD IS NEEDED?
So, do you know how many calories your active kid needs in a day? I’ll bet that you will be surprised when you find out.
You can use a basic formula of 18 calories per pound of kid. So if you have a 150-pound point guard, a 150-pound running back, a 150-softball pitcher or a 150-pound oboe player they need to get about 2700 calories every day. And to breakdown this total, you can go 60% carbohydrates (maximum) and 20% each of protein (minimum) and fat.
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