10 Nutritional Guidelines for Teenage Athletes and Exercising Non-athletes

1. Reduce the proportion of fats in your diet to 20 to 25 percent of your daily caloric intake.
2. Reduce consumption of protein, especially red meat, to 15 to 20 percent of your daily caloric intake.
3. Reduce intake of sugar.
4. Increase consumption of complex carbohydrates (grains, cereals, potatoes, pasta) to 65 percent of your daily caloric intake.
5. Never eat a high-fat, high-protein meal on the day of a competition, or even the day before (the steak-and-eggs training breakfast is out).
6. Drink as much water as possible – at least eight glasses per day. Replace all soft drinks and sports drinks with water, preferably bottled spring water.
7. Reduce salt intake to a minimum. Do not take salt tables; they distort the ratio of salt and water in the body and can cause dehydration and minerals loss.
8. Get lost of the following vitamins and minerals; potassium, magnesium, thiamine, B complex, B12, folic acid, and vitamin C.
9. Women athletes get lots of the above, plus calcium, riboflavin, and iron.
10. If you need to gain weight (especially men in training), increase consumption of complex carbohydrates, not protein or fat. And never fast or take diuretics or cathartics to make your weight for sports like wrestling.