{"id":111156,"date":"2024-11-22T12:38:58","date_gmt":"2024-11-22T18:38:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/snapraise.com\/?p=111156"},"modified":"2025-05-20T15:08:28","modified_gmt":"2025-05-20T20:08:28","slug":"student-nutrition-basics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.snapraise.com\/blog\/student-nutrition-basics\/","title":{"rendered":"Understanding the Basics of Student Nutrition"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Student Nutrition Basics from a Director of Football Performance Nutrition.<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>While exact needs vary by person, there is a base level of student nutrition that everyone can build off of. Building a successful program requires a multi-faceted approach.<\/li>\n<li>As a coach, having a well-formulated game plan is essential to get the most out of any diet regimen.<\/li>\n<li>There are a variety of healthy options available at every price point, so students can take steps to start eating better.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<p>One of the fundamental challenges of leading students is understanding that each of them has different needs \u2014 different learning styles, motivational techniques, and nutritional requirements. University of North Carolina\u2019s director of football performance nutrition, Ema Thake, agrees, saying, \u201cThere is no blanket nutrition prescription,\u201d even if it\u2019s not a student-athlete. <\/p>\n<p>Still, there are four basic pillars of student nutrition that Ms. Thake shared with us that can help leaders and their high school students become the best versions of themselves. <\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>1. Understanding macronutrients<\/h3>\n<p>Macronutrient education is an essential building block of any student nutrition program. By learning what foods do what inside of our bodies, it makes it easy to plan out an effective diet. <\/p>\n<p>Thake suggests what is called the \u201c80\/20 Rule,\u201d which means ensuring at least 80% of your diet is composed of unprocessed foods like:  <\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Whole grains<\/li>\n<li>Fruits<\/li>\n<li>Vegetables<\/li>\n<li>Lean protein sources (including plant-based proteins such as beans, soy, and edamame)<\/li>\n<li>Healthy fats (such as from avocados or olive oil)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Barring allergy or illness, Thake argues that growing students should be able to get all the nutrition they need from food \u2013\u2013 no supplements needed. <\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>2. Creating a student nutrition plan<\/h3>\n<p>A personal nutrition plan is the key to many athletes\u2019 success at all levels \u2014 NBA players have a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/nba-all-star-health-rules-2022-2#steph-curry-eats-meat-and-dairy-in-the-morning-but-has-a-plant-based-lunch-and-dinner-4\">variety of custom diets<\/a> that they stick to during the season. However, there are three factors that you will need to understand to create one: your students\u2019 goals, their day-to-day routine, and their learning process. <\/p>\n<p>Understanding each student\u2019s goals as they relate to their nutrition will help you create a nutrition plan that works for them while also keeping them invested in continuing to participate in the process. <\/p>\n<p>Second, taking inventory of your students\u2019 routines will allow you to consider things like their day-to-day nutrition, hydration, sleep, mental health, and financial situation. All of this will help you and them create realistic plans that work with their lifestyles while beginning to change bad habits. <\/p>\n<p>Finally, understanding each student\u2019s individual learning process will allow you to help them build toward larger goals through designing small steps they can implement on a daily basis. <\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>3. Collaborating with parents<\/h3>\n<p>Thake says that, from her experience, educating parents is as important as educating the students themselves. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cIncluding parents in your discussions about nutrition will give them a common language they can use in communicating with their children about what to eat.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>While some aspects of development can be done individually by just the student, nutrition plans work best when all parties are involved and working on a feasible, actionable plan. <\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>4. Be thrifty<\/h3>\n<p>According to Thake, while healthy eating may be perceived as being too expensive, this is not always the case. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cMore expensive does not always mean better,\u201d she notes. Look for sales, utilize coupons, and don\u2019t be afraid to grab items located at the bottom of the shelf, which are usually lower in price but similar in quality. <\/p>\n<p>Shop for produce seasonally, or pick up either frozen or canned fruits and vegetables, which are preserved at the peak of freshness and still offer all the same nutritional value <\/p>\n<p>Helping your students along the road to peak nutrition will not only benefit their performance, but it will set them up for a healthy lifestyle for the rest of their lives. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cYour relationship with food is the longest relationship you\u2019ll ever have,\u201d Thake reminds us, so it shouldn\u2019t be too much to ask to make it your healthiest one. <\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><em>Share this article with your peers so that they can also learn the basic tenets of student nutrition, and start helping their own programs. Or, better yet, maybe you\u2019ll be able to bounce ideas off of each other and learn something new.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Student Nutrition Basics from a Director of Football Performance Nutrition. While exact needs vary by person, there is a base level of student nutrition that everyone can build off of. Building a successful program requires a multi-faceted approach. As a coach, having a well-formulated game plan is essential to get the most out of any&#8230;","protected":false},"author":400,"featured_media":113013,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[145],"tags":[74,141,142,152],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Understanding the Basics of Student Nutrition | Snap! 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