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The Eastern Echo Sunday, June 22, 2025 | Print Archive
The Eastern Echo

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Diet tips for athletes: The best training programs combine balanced meals with dedicated exercise

Athletes train, sacrifice and push themselves in many ways with astute dedication for their events. Even if you are not among the great gladiators of our day just working out in the gym, keeping in shape can be a discipline in itself.

I understand the needs of the student population that exercises and wants to build muscle while having a nutritious meal, instead of the physically unsatisfying ones that leave your body screaming for food. So, I have composed a few dietary suggestions for you to follow.

For an athletic endurance diet, which is the diet to use just before a big sporting event, 65 percent of your diet should consist of carbohydrates; 20 percent fat found in foods such as avocados, nuts, fish and olives; and 15 percent should be protein found in foods like beans or meats.

Eating pasta dishes, rice, potatoes, bagels and other carbohydrates throughout the day will keep blood sugar at a constant level and give you the energy needed.

Ramen might not be the chef’s choice, but it is a cheap snack. Baking a potato in the microwave is also a quick snack. To bake the potato just poke a few holes in it with a fork, wrap it in a wet paper towel and put it in the microwave for 10 to 15 minutes.

A bag of trail mix or salted peanuts can give you the fats necessary for your diet.

Protein is essential for all people who have any intention of working out and building muscles. The George Foreman Grill is a great way to get a lot of fat out of meat without losing almost any of the protein, but for those who are aggressively trying to stay healthy and lose weight, bean dishes might be a better way to go.

Eating lots of fruits and vegetables and slowing down on carbohydrates and meats is a great way to lose weight, but even that has to be done in moderation. Exercising and dieting can cause weight loss, but it is dangerous to over-exercise and under-eat. You could damage your body and end up hurting your physical situation more than helping.