Maintaining a Healthy Diet

An extremely important factor when it comes to being an athlete is maintaining a healthy diet. There are many healthy choices when deciding what you are going to consume for the day. This may include any type of fruit, vegetable, meat, and wheat/grain. Although not everyone likes to follow the rules of the food pyramid, there are many ways to make healthy and delicious choices.

One of my favorite things to make is a smoothie. You can never go wrong with smoothies. There are so many flavors and choices of fruit to choose from. No matter your taste in fruit, there is something for you. Smoothies have the option of blending fruit or vegetables. You can even blend a little of both and the results are delicious! Another thing to add to smoothies is yogurt, juice, or milk. Yogurt is extremely good for your body and can create a more creamy taste. The choice between juice and milk is dependent on your preference. All of these ingredients are healthy and can benefit your body. Another ingredient many athletes choose to add is protein powder. Protein powder is just another way to get your source of protein in for the day, and makes breakfast a lot easier.

Protein powder is something I see handfuls of athletes use. It can be used in smoothies, as I stated, or you can create your own protein shake. I have seen plenty of people with blender bottles at school who simply blend their protein with water and drink it for breakfast. I'm not quite sure about the healthy aspect of the powder, but it is definitely a trend at the moment. This might just be the way you get your protein for the morning. I have heard many things about the benefits of protein powder before working out. WebMD can be used to help you make a choice on what kinds of protein to use based on your preferences and characteristics. 

Choosing your meals for the day can become extremely difficult when you are faced with other tempting options. There are many tasty options out there, but some of them are extremely unhealthy and will not benefit your body in any way other than moderation. Yes, as most people say everything is good in moderation, but there comes a point when enough is enough. No one is going to steer clear of every single unhealthy food, but if you are wanting to make improvements in the gym you must be willing to give up constantly snacking on some of your favorite foods.