Nutrition For Cheerleaders

Many flyers I work with have a lot of pressure to stay small. Some girls try dieting or restricting certain food groups to try to maintain a certain size or lose weight. However, many people I work with actually have NO idea how many calories are in the foods they are eating.

A big problem I see is girls eating a very small amount of food that is not filling and appears "healthy" but is actually more calories than what a full and fulfilling meal would have been.

If this is something that you struggle with, my best advice would be to work with a dietician to help you create a better plan for how you eat.

Restricting certain foods or food groups is almost never the answer. Once you understand your body and its energy (calorie) requirements, you should be able to eat a flexible diet while maintaining or even losing weight.

To figure out how many calories you burn in a day you can look up a BMR (basal metabolic rate) calculator online or look at your active and resting calories burned through your health app if you have an apple watch. Try to eat that many calories a day to maintain weight. Eat 200-400 calories less than what it says per day to lose weight and 200-400 calories more per day to gain weight.

Most people do not eat enough protein so a good rule to follow for athletes looking to stay healthy and lean is to eat around 0.8 - 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight every day.

Remember to also fuel with carbohydrates before practice to get quick energy and make sure to eat carbs after practice as well to replenish the energy stores you just lost.

If you would more one one one help regarding your nutrition, please fill out this inquiry form HERE and we will get back to you shortly!