tennis diet

[madisonhs1985]

Can you recommend daily diet for a 14 1/2 years old kid who play tennis 15 hours a week and work out (running/stretching/yoga) 7 hours a week?

This is what his mother weekly menu for him:

- Monday:
breakfast: 1 big bowl of plain Oatmeal, 1 banana and a glass of whole milk for breakfast
lunch: 1/2 roasted chicken, brown rice. 1 banana, a glass of fresh strawberry/banana smoothie, a glass of whole milk
dinner: 1/2 roasted chicken, baked potato & Broccoli, 1 apple, a glass of whole milk, 1 orange

-Tuesday:
breakfast: 1 big bowl of plain Oatmeal, 1 banana and a glass of whole milk for breakfast
lunch: lean buffalo steak with brown rice. 1 banana, a glass of fresh strawberry/banana smoothie, a glass of whole milk
dinner: baked Salmon with baked Potato, 1 apple, a glass of whole milk, 1 orange

- Wednesday:
breakfast: 1 big bowl of plain Oatmeal, 1 banana and a glass of whole milk for breakfast
lunch: baked crab cake, brown rice. 1 banana, a glass of fresh strawberry/banana smoothie, a glass of whole milk
dinner: baked fish, baked potato & Broccoli, 1 apple, a glass of whole milk, 1 orange

Thursday: repeat of Monday

Friday: repeat of Tuesday

Saturday:
breakfast: 1 big bowl of plain Oatmeal, 1 banana and a glass of whole milk for breakfast
lunch: chicken pot pie and baked potato with fresh salad and fruit and a glass whole milk
dinner: Filet Mignon with fresh fruit and milk

Sunday:
breakfast: 1 big bowl of plain Oatmeal, 1 banana and a glass of whole milk for breakfast
lunch: baked fresh fish and brown rice with fresh fruit and glass of milk
dinner: baked crab cake, brown rice. 1 banana, a glass of fresh strawberry/banana smoothie, a glass of whole milk

he does not drink anything other than room temperature water and "fresh" coconut water when he plays tennis.

Is this a healthy diet for a 14 1/2 tennis player?

 

[Turbo-87]

I just have one question. Could she possibly cook for me as well?

It seems a little weird to have such a stringent diet for a kid. I assume there are cheat days and such. Most of us couldn't even imagine eating that well! I kind of feel like we are being trolled.

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

In general, tennis players and other athletes who are burning a fair amount of calories should not be too carb-phobic. It is best to avoid added sugars and high glycemic carbs, like plain white bread. But, with the emphasis on low-carb diets, some athletes are not getting enough good carbohydrates for their increased energy demands. I would not be too fat-phobic either. Best to go for a balanced diet. A Mediterranean diet is a good model to consider.

http://www.health.harvard.edu/stayi...-or-mediterranean-which-diet-is-right-for-you
http://oldwayspt.org/sites/default/files/files/Med_pyramid_flyer.jpg

Noticed that there is a lot of brown rice in your menu. While brown contains a lot more nutrients than white rice, it can also contain significantly higher levels of arsenic. Refer to this Consumer Reports article on this subject. In particular, stay away from rice from Texas and other parts of the Southern US. Rice from California and some parts of Asia (esp Pakistan and India) are usually better choices. Basmati rice is considered one of the healthier choices. If you absolutely insist on eating brown rice, a wholegrain Basmati is your best choice. Brown Basmati might still have more arsenic that its white counterpart, but it is supposed to be lower than other brown rices. Again, refer to the CR study on this. More on Basmati rice:

http://www.tilda.com/news/basmati-rice-diabetes

You might also consider black rice (aka forbidden rice), red rice or, maybe, pink rice as alternatives to brown rice. These rice options are supposed to be even higher in nutrients than brown rice. AFAIK, they are not high in arsenic -- but still avoid rice from the areas that CR indicates.

 

[Ronaldo]

No beans with that rice?

 

[madisonhs1985]

I just have one question. Could she possibly cook for me as well?

It seems a little weird to have such a stringent diet for a kid. I assume there are cheat days and such. Most of us couldn't even imagine eating that well! I kind of feel like we are being trolled.

there are no cheat days believe it or not.

My wife wants him to be a healthy so she also eats the same thing the kid is eating but in a much smaller portion and she only drinks skim milk.

My wife majored in health science in college so she thinks a healthy and stringent diet is good for the kid. She told him that if he eats healthy and plays tennis well, he will be very popular in high school. I can't believe that he actually bought it

 

[richardc-s]

Seems like a very solid meal plan and it covers all bases. Like the chap above said, the cardio aspect of so much tennis will mean he burns a lot of calories so lots of carbs is a must. It might be good to moniter his weight as well and make sure he is slowly gaining weight (muscle though, not fat!).

It could be worth adding cheat meals or the odd 'treat' sometimes. The reason I say this is because if he is subject to a strict healthy diet 24/7 he might end up rebelling when he gets older and eating lots of the 'forbidden' food. It's like the whole idea of letting your child have a sip of your beer every now and again so that when they are older they don't feel curious or the thrill to drink lots.

But all in all, it seems a very good diet and it will certainly complement his tennis training and give him an advantage over the average 14 year old player.

Sent from my HTC One mini 2 using Tapatalk

 

[jcgatennismom]

Doesn't he need more protein at breakfast? Could he mix in some protein powder in his oatmeal or replace his whole milk with a smoothie? I see your son gets a smoothie at lunch, my son often has two smoothies a day-breakfast and pre dinner snack. My son plays the same or more tennis a week, little older. He was having oatmeal, 2 gluten free waffles with almond butter, and a smoothie with grass fed whey powder or organic plant protein with digestive enzymes (alternate or mix a scoop of each), prganic kefir, spinach, organic strawberries, green superfoods powder, and an avocado. Does he ever eat organic eggs? Due to recent medical issues (not for weight loss, but due to inflammation), he had to go on a lowfat diet so we have reduced the nut butter and removed the avocado. The inflammation was not due to food sensitivities-just something anatomically that needed to be fixed. Now that it is taken care of, he should be able to eat more fat again in a month. Does he alternate sweet and baked potatoes? We use the kefir in shakes rather than milk so he gets some probiotics.

Also it does not seem like he gets many veggies. My son does not like veggies much. That is why I put spinach and greens powder in his shakes which is two servings of veggies per shake.

How is your son getting enough calories? We calculated the caloric need of our son once and it was about 4000 calories a day. Outside of the whole milk, your son is not getting much fat. Now fat is no longer the demon. Does your son eat anything during a match or between matches if he has two in the afternoon between his meals? We try to find gluten free GMO protein bars for snacks. Maybe your son eats bananas between matches. Sometimes my son carries an organic chocolate shake or Horizon organic chocolate milk in those packs that don't have to be frozen as a snack. There is an organic chocolate muscle milk protein shake as well as Orgain brand.

 

[shindemac]

Doesn't he need more protein at breakfast? Could he mix in some protein powder in his oatmeal or replace his whole milk with a smoothie? I see your son gets a smoothie at lunch, my son often has two smoothies a day-breakfast and pre dinner snack. My son plays the same or more tennis a week, little older. He was having oatmeal, 2 gluten free waffles with almond butter, and a smoothie with grass fed whey powder or organic plant protein with digestive enzymes (alternate or mix a scoop of each), prganic kefir, spinach, organic strawberries, green superfoods powder, and an avocado. Does he ever eat organic eggs? Due to recent medical issues (not for weight loss, but due to inflammation), he had to go on a lowfat diet so we have reduced the nut butter and removed the avocado. The inflammation was not due to food sensitivities-just something anatomically that needed to be fixed. Now that it is taken care of, he should be able to eat more fat again in a month. Does he alternate sweet and baked potatoes? We use the kefir in shakes rather than milk so he gets some probiotics.

Also it does not seem like he gets many veggies. My son does not like veggies much. That is why I put spinach and greens powder in his shakes which is two servings of veggies per shake.

How is your son getting enough calories? We calculated the caloric need of our son once and it was about 4000 calories a day. Outside of the whole milk, your son is not getting much fat. Now fat is no longer the demon. Does your son eat anything during a match or between matches if he has two in the afternoon between his meals? We try to find gluten free GMO protein bars for snacks. Maybe your son eats bananas between matches. Sometimes my son carries an organic chocolate shake or Horizon organic chocolate milk in those packs that don't have to be frozen as a snack. There is an organic chocolate muscle milk protein shake as well as Orgain brand.

I agree closely with everything she said.

1. Where are the veggies?!?!?!?

2. Try mixin' sweet potato for plain o russet potato.

3. May need to add another snack or meal in (or both) if calorie requirement is not met. Athletes like Michael Phelps eat up to 10K a day, and there's no way they split that up in 3 meals. Eat 4 or 5 meals/day (shakes count), unless he wants to be bloated and full all day.

4. Variety in foods. Always the same fruits (orange and apple every day?!?!?!). Always broccoli as the veggie??!?!?!??!!?? The kid's diet is better than most, but he isn't a robot or in prison. If his mom is a nutritionist, then she should know variety helps cover all the micro-nutrients. (Notice I said Micro or u. Means stuff like iron and potassium which is diff. from Macro which is a very meat and potatoes diet that he has right now.)

5. Fats. It was demonized in the 80s and 90s, and now things have come full circle. If she went to college during that time, then she may still hold onto outdated beliefs. There are healthy fats that your body still needs. Tennismom listed some, so i'll add nuts and seeds too.

6. Variety in cooking techniques. Have more than one way to prepare food. No need to always eat roast chicken. Try eating other cuts of the same meat (like chicken breast, thighs, etc), and try grilling instead of always roasting. For fish, try steaming and varying the recipes (mediterrean style fish, asian style, southern style).

7. Have a pot-luck day. A day where anything goes. His mom sounds like a control freak, so she needs to get out of her comfort zone. Try making something that isn't on the planner (sushi, pork, vegetarian, etc.) Again, food is more than nutrition; That's a start, but food is so much more: Food is life!

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

Some guidelines from ITF and USTA for tennis players:

http://www.itftennis.com/scienceandmedicine/nutrition/overview.aspx

https://www.usta.com/Improve-Your-Game/Sport-Science/114720_Nutrition_Basic_Nutrition_for_Tennis/
https://www.usta.com/Improve-Your-Game/Sport-Science/114687_Nutrition_for_Tennis/

Mediterranean Diet pyramid:

 

[madisonhs1985]

1. Where are the veggies?!?!?!?

Forgot to add that he eats a bowl of salad with baby tomato twice a day before lunch and dinner meal

2. Try mixin' sweet potato for plain o russet potato.

My wife doe not believe in sweet potato, unfortunately

3. May need to add another snack or meal in (or both) if calorie requirement is not met. Athletes like Michael Phelps eat up to 10K a day, and there's no way they split that up in 3 meals. Eat 4 or 5 meals/day (shakes count), unless he wants to be bloated and full all day.

He eats boiled peanuts for snacks four times a week

4. Variety in foods. Always the same fruits (orange and apple every day?!?!?!). Always broccoli as the veggie??!?!?!??!!?? The kid's diet is better than most, but he isn't a robot or in prison. If his mom is a nutritionist, then she should know variety helps cover all the micro-nutrients. (Notice I said Micro or u. Means stuff like iron and potassium which is diff. from Macro which is a very meat and potatoes diet that he has right now.)

My wife has has a $900 juicer. It crushes cucumber, avocado, celery, cantaloupe into smoothie and she makes him drink it at breakfast time. She drinks that too.

5. Fats. It was demonized in the 80s and 90s, and now things have come full circle. If she went to college during that time, then she may still hold onto outdated beliefs. There are healthy fats that your body still needs. Tennismom listed some, so i'll add nuts and seeds too.

he eats boiled peanuts and macadamia nuts for snacks

6. Variety in cooking techniques. Have more than one way to prepare food. No need to always eat roast chicken. Try eating other cuts of the same meat (like chicken breast, thighs, etc), and try grilling instead of always roasting. For fish, try steaming and varying the recipes (mediterrean style fish, asian style, southern style).

My wife does not believe in frying or grilling. She always like to roast thing.. She buys free reign chicken and steak from wholefood

7. Have a pot-luck day. A day where anything goes. His mom sounds like a control freak, so she needs to get out of her comfort zone. Try making something that isn't on the planner (sushi, pork, vegetarian, etc.) Again, food is more than nutrition; That's a start, but food is so much more: Food is life!

he does eat a lot of baked rock fish (they are delivered fresh to the house and she cooks them). She does let him eat lobster once a week as well.

She also let him drink a small of glass of wine every day at dinner time.

As a side note, my wife and my kid met Jared Goff in person a few weeks ago for almost an hour (my father in-law is a high level executive of a company that sponsors Goff) and my wife said that Jared Goff is much better looking than Roger Federer (she is a big fan of Roger Federer and think RF is also good looking as well). When I saw Goff last night on TV as the #1 overall pick of the RAMS, I can see why. If the football thing does not work out for him, Goff will have a future in Hollywood

 

[Hangman]

If your wife majored in health science, why in the world are you asking for the opinions from a bunch of unknown strangers on the Internet who probably don't even have a clue as to what health science is?

 

[shindemac]

He's knows his wife was a food science major. He's prolly just asking for second opinions. When your wife tells your son that eating this will make you popular, it prolly raises his eyebrows alittle. I'm not a food science major, but I'm pretty sure they don't teach that, even back in the 90s. Not everyone is capable of detecting sarcasm or such Pinocchio facts.

 

[shindemac]

1. Where are the veggies?!?!?!?

Forgot to add that he eats a bowl of salad with baby tomato twice a day before lunch and dinner meal

2. Try mixin' sweet potato for plain o russet potato.

My wife doe not believe in sweet potato, unfortunately

3. May need to add another snack or meal in (or both) if calorie requirement is not met. Athletes like Michael Phelps eat up to 10K a day, and there's no way they split that up in 3 meals. Eat 4 or 5 meals/day (shakes count), unless he wants to be bloated and full all day.

He eats boiled peanuts for snacks four times a week

4. Variety in foods. Always the same fruits (orange and apple every day?!?!?!). Always broccoli as the veggie??!?!?!??!!?? The kid's diet is better than most, but he isn't a robot or in prison. If his mom is a nutritionist, then she should know variety helps cover all the micro-nutrients. (Notice I said Micro or u. Means stuff like iron and potassium which is diff. from Macro which is a very meat and potatoes diet that he has right now.)

My wife has has a $900 juicer. It crushes cucumber, avocado, celery, cantaloupe into smoothie and she makes him drink it at breakfast time. She drinks that too.

5. Fats. It was demonized in the 80s and 90s, and now things have come full circle. If she went to college during that time, then she may still hold onto outdated beliefs. There are healthy fats that your body still needs. Tennismom listed some, so i'll add nuts and seeds too.

he eats boiled peanuts and macadamia nuts for snacks

6. Variety in cooking techniques. Have more than one way to prepare food. No need to always eat roast chicken. Try eating other cuts of the same meat (like chicken breast, thighs, etc), and try grilling instead of always roasting. For fish, try steaming and varying the recipes (mediterrean style fish, asian style, southern style).

My wife does not believe in frying or grilling. She always like to roast thing.. She buys free reign chicken and steak from wholefood

7. Have a pot-luck day. A day where anything goes. His mom sounds like a control freak, so she needs to get out of her comfort zone. Try making something that isn't on the planner (sushi, pork, vegetarian, etc.) Again, food is more than nutrition; That's a start, but food is so much more: Food is life!

he does eat a lot of baked rock fish (they are delivered fresh to the house and she cooks them). She does let him eat lobster once a week as well.

She also let him drink a small of glass of wine every day at dinner time.

As a side note, my wife and my kid met Jared Goff in person a few weeks ago for almost an hour (my father in-law is a high level executive of a company that sponsors Goff) and my wife said that Jared Goff is much better looking than Roger Federer (she is a big fan of Roger Federer and think RF is also good looking as well). When I saw Goff last night on TV as the #1 overall pick of the RAMS, I can see why. If the football thing does not work out for him, Goff will have a future in Hollywood

Well, i think she has all the bases covered, even the red wine!

I don't drink red wine, but I eat chocolate, drink coffee, and eat lots of blueberries (for antioxidants).

Healthy fats are good for the brain according to recent research. Things like nuts and seeds.

The only thing his diet can improve upon is reducing the amount of red meat even further, and cutting the animal fats by using other sources of protein. Eating a roast bird tends to be fattier than eating only the breast. Plus there is skin (and the fat attached underneath), so I don't know if she allows him to eat this. If you're really concerned about this, then you might want to get your LDL and HDL levels checked along with cholesterol.

There are apps in which you can input everything you eat in a day, and it'll tell you your calories, macros, and vitamins for the day. It does all the work for you, so you can tell if you're deficient in any nutrients. Nowadays, everyone can be their own nutritionist without marrying someone with a M.R.S. degree.

Your wife is a fan of RF. Cool. Did she tell her son that he will be the next Roger Federer too?

 

[richardc-s]

I wouldn't advise cutting out the animal fat, it's a good source of calories and if the kids playing a lot of tennis he'll need all the calories he can get!

Sent from my HTC One mini 2 using Tapatalk

 

[shindemac]

Like i said, get your fat levels checked.

I was eating a pretty standard and "healthy" American diet (aka lots of chicken, some red meat, little fish), and the nurse said my bad fats was a little high, and good fats a little low. Her rec was to eat more fish. To be clear, I wasn't gorging on a juicy hamburger or steak every night.

There's a genetic component too that I can't predict (in other words, some have naturally high levels). Your wife has the same diet, (and I assume you do too), so you don't want to wait another 15-20 years to find out you have high cholesterol. To me, the info is really useful, but I admit, it's taken much longer to make the changes necessary in my diet. If you have a family history, that is another thing to consider. I know all my siblings made changes to their diet (and lifestyle) in the last year because we didn't want to be on the same path as our parents.

 

[madisonhs1985]

The only thing his diet can improve upon is reducing the amount of red meat even further, and cutting the animal fats by using other sources of protein. Eating a roast bird tends to be fattier than eating only the breast. Plus there is skin (and the fat attached underneath), so I don't know if she allows him to eat this. If you're really concerned about this, then you might want to get your LDL and HDL levels checked along with cholesterol.

On the roasted chicken, my wife only let him eat the breast and legs and nothing else. She is very health conscious.

Nowadays, everyone can be their own nutritionist without marrying someone with a M.R.S. degree.

That is so true. Even my work place provides a nutritionist that I can provide me with advise with what to eat at no cost.

My wife background was in health science but she is working in Finance for the past 15 years so she wouldn't consider herself to be an expert in the field of nutrition

Your wife is a fan of RF. Cool. Did she tell her son that he will be the next Roger Federer too?

Not a day goes by when my wife doesn't mention RF. However, for the past weeks, she is a now a big fan of Jared Goff. Now she wants her son to be like Jared Goff. That likely will not happen because I am Asian and she is Caucasian so the boy will not have blonde hair and be tall at 6'4"" like Goff

There's a genetic component too that I can't predict (in other words, some have naturally high levels). Your wife has the same diet, (and I assume you do too), so you don't want to wait another 15-20 years to find out you have high cholesterol.

My wife and I have the same diet as our kids in term of fruit and vegetable; however my wife and I only eat chicken once a week. The rest of the week, we eat lot of fruit, vegetable, Lentil and Tofu.

 

[shindemac]

My wife and I have the same diet as our kids in term of fruit and vegetable; however my wife and I only eat chicken once a week. The rest of the week, we eat lot of fruit, vegetable, Lentil and Tofu.

It looks like your wife has all the bases covered. Don't think i can say anything more about your diet. Carry on.

 

[mcleantennis1985]

Im not a parent but I am a coach but that seems like something I wouldnt want a parent telling a kid. It places too much of their self worth upon their tennis for a start and creates an unhealthy relationship with food.

I am not sure what you mean by this. There is nothing wrong with encouraging the kid to play tennis well and have a healthy diet. If the kid does those things well, I am sure he will be very popular in high school and lot of girls will like him. I wish I had parents like this kid growing up taking good care of me.

Mix it up n grill it maybe even fry once and while its not the best but its more interesting than roasted every day

Why would you want to introduce bad behavior to the kid? This is Novak's menu: http://www.mensfitness.com/nutrition/what-to-eat/foods-turned-djokovic-no-1-player-game?page=1
Again, now that I am older, looking back, I wish I had parents like this kid growing up taking good care of me.

This kid is one lucky SOB