In our last article we talked about the importance of eating a good breakfast to start your day. Let’s now focus on the other meals of the day. It goes without saying that your body will perform much better if you use premium fuel to keep it going. There is a lot of information out there about proper nutrition and what we should or shouldn’t eat. We will review those concepts here.

Lunch and dinner should consist of balanced and high quality nutrition. Fresh produce, whole grain carbs, healthy fats and lean protein/meat comprise the foundation of what hockey players should be eating. Thinking ahead and preparing “take along” meals helps to alleviate the temptation to eat food that could be detrimental to nutritional needs, thus negatively affecting performance.

Eating every 3-4 hours will prevent your body from burning muscle for energy. If you skip meals, the body will preferentially burn lean tissue, which will ultimately affect performance. Always plan to have healthy snacks to eat between meals if needed.

Eating soon after a workout can also help to rebuild muscle. It is ideal to eat within an hour after dry-land training or games to refuel the body. This keeps the body from breaking down more protein than it can rebuild. Again focus on lean protein and high quality carbs. You should eat 2-3x more carbs than protein in this meal. Information on quality carbs and lean proteins are plentiful in the literature.

So, make sure you listen to your mom! Eat a good breakfast, eat your veggies, and make sure you fuel your body with high octane energy!

Along with working with HockeyOT.com, Mike Beckman is a physical therapist and founder of Valley Rehabilitation Services.  He has been in practice since 1986.  He has worked with athletes at all levels and sports in both rehab and performance training.