NUTRITION
How To Become A Sport Nutrition Intuitive Tennis Player In The New Year BY PAGE LOVE, MS, RDN, LD, CSSD, USPTA
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body to peak to play your best tennis? The answer is to learn how to be more a fuel-based eater, sensing when your body needs fuel and honoring that, not depriving yourself of needed nutrients as a sacrifice to lose weight in the New Year! Here are my top 5 screening questions to consider as you enter your path to a healthier, more nutritionally intuitive top tennis shape in 2022:
hat is normal fueling for tennis? As a sport dietitian working with both the ATP and WTA Tours, I have had a chance to observe the eating habits of some of the best players in the world. Many, but not all of them, do a very good job being intuitive with their sport nutrition fueling. This holiday season, how can you approach your eating in a less judgmental way, still enjoy the celebrations, and still help your
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Do you feel you eat in response to your tennis training needs, pre- and postfueling and hydrating for your tennis and additional tennis training workouts?
Are you open to all foods, trying not to categorize foods as good or bad, and eating a full variety of foods that your tennis body needs from all major nutrient categories?
Are you struggling with any physical symptoms from any nutrient deficiencies or excesses, for example, low iron or high lipids or blood sugar?
Do you feel you have established normal tennis training sport fueling behavior (eating regular meals, not skipping meals, eating every 3-4 hours, open to snacking when hungry)?
Are you able to partake normally in social eating events around tennis — snacking from the ALTA food tables at matches, as well as able to celebrate with your teammates on occasion such as holiday and end-of-season celebratory events?
So, lets back this up with a few reminders from previous articles that have hopefully laid the groundwork for being able to answer “yes” to each of the self-care fueling for tennis questions above. It is necessary to allow both a high carbohydrate pre-fueling snack before matches and practices such as: salty, grainy snacks like pretzels or a high-carb energy bar with 20-24 oz. of hydrating liquids one hour before you play. If it is breakfast, toast and dab of peanut butter with a glass of juice can work too. Allow a quickly digestible food for recovery, such as chocolate milk or a smoothie with protein, within 30 minutes after your match. Don’t avoid important food groups that are critical for maintaining your muscle mass and helping you to recover. For example, allow dairy nutrition to help your bone health, if not 56
NETNEWS NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021
