Diet and Nutrition

It's January 2020. This is the time of year where wrestlers are encouraged to clean up their diets for the last 7-week run towards Districts. This helps them drop or gain pounds the safe way to keep them feeling great with tons of energy. Becoming an amazing youth and high school wrestler is so much more than just moves and muscles. It also involves a disciplined diet, plenty of sleep, and mental toughness.
Here is a meal plan that Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson used to put on lean muscle for several of his movies. While the amount of food, obviously, is made for an adult, the types of food are important and can be looked at as appropriate.
I realize that we are all short on time during this time of year, so planning ahead can do wonders. An example of a healthy youth diet can consist of:
*A healthy breakfast of eggs and oatmeal.
*A lunch like a turkey sandwich, granola bar, some veggies, and a small dessert.
*An after school snack of peanut butter on celery.
*An after practice dinner of anything with protein and a carb and bananas for recovery.
*If they're gaining weight, maybe even a protein shake before bed like #1 pound for pound high school wrestler A.J. Ferrari (Oklahoma State commit) does.
This is by no means an official youth diet plan, this is just an example to get you thinking about meal planning and whether their meals contain a decent amount of protein and carbs from good sources.
The important part is cutting out a lot of candy, fried foods (KFC or chicken nuggets), greasy foods (pizza), and sodas and including more vegetables and solid sources of protein like lean chicken, eggs, and meats. They are not eating for taste. They are eating for performance.
The Rock does say in interviews that he does a cheat day once a week where he indulges in the bad foods, so it's not the end of the world, but cleaning up the diet the last seven weeks is part of helping them peak for Districts so their bodies and minds are machines for the State series.
P.S. there are a million great recipes out there for eggs, chicken, and protein-based meals. If you find one your kid enjoys, please send it my way and we'll put it on our nutrition page and try it out.
Good luck!!!! Solid diet plans are one of the hardest parts of the season because they require so much discipline and dedication!!!!
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