Hydration and Nutrition

As summer heats up and the fall sports season gets set to begin, it provides a great opportunity to speak briefly about the importance of proper hydration and nutrition. Because our body weight is approximately 60% water and water is involved in almost every process that’s essential for life, we must keep fluids in our system throughout each day. Water serves many functions, like lubricating joints, aiding in transport of oxygen and nutrients to cells, flushing toxins out of vital organs, and regulating body temperature.

So how much water should you drink? Well, there’s no easy answer and quit honestly, it differs for many reasons, but a simple rule is to drink 8 - 8oz. glasses of water each day, or the equivalent of a half-gallon carton of milk. Students that exercise or are Rider athletes need to compensate for the extra water loss during activity, an extra 1.5 to 2.5 cups of water while competing (note other fluids such as milk and sports drinks count towards total volume of fluids consumed, in fact, for activity lasting over an hour, a sport drink helps provide calories and aids in sodium replacement).

Here’s what some students do to stay hydrated, and if you don’t, you should certainly start! Carry a water bottle with you to class. Take a drink as the bell rings at the start of class, again in the middle class, and as the dismissal bell rings on your way to your next class. The bell serves as your reminder to hydrate. Also, it’s important to note that when you start to feel thirsty, the process of dehydration has already begun! As mentioned earlier, the key is to drink water throughout the day to prevent this from happening. For more information on hydration, visit http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/water/NU00283

As for nutrition, let’s keep it simple, food is fuel, so eat! Start with breakfast! Pack some nutritious snacks from the night before to have with you during the course of the day. Have a snack by mid morning. Follow lunch with a pre-practice snack, and then dinner as soon as possible after you get home. If you have trouble falling asleep at night, try another snack (fruit and yogurt, a glass of milk, or a bowl of cereal that’s low in high-fructose corn syrup).

Like the cost of fuel for cars these days, quality food is expensive, but, it should not be conserved if you want to develop and perform to your maximum potential! Despite the low cost of “lethal foods,” as discussed in our conditioning class, you should still avoid these. They are as follows in no particular order, donuts, French fries, chips, candy, cartoon cereals, and carbonated soft drinks. As with water, don’t wait until you’re hungry to eat. Supply your body with calories from food throughout the day.

A few breakfast and snack ideas are:
• Whole wheat bagel with cream cheese or peanut butter and jelly/honey
• Cereal with milk
• Hard boiled eggs
• Yogurt
• Trail mix
• Energy bars (I prefer Cliff bars or Zone bars)

Enjoy the rest of your summer!

Yours in strength,

Coach Katinas

PS I’m interested in your feedback on the snack that was provided in the class this past spring. Here are some questions for you to comment on:

What did you like best about the post workout snack?
Do you feel it helped you? How?
Feel free to add any additional comments.

Please comment below, or email responses to mnkatinas@seattleschools.org