by GRP dietician Megan Chacosky

With the return of balancing school and fall sports for many families this time of year, finding time to plan for and prepare snacks can often feel elusive. Or even if you’re personally planning for a full day at the office, book-ended by training pursuits, who has time to think about idealized fueling? Regardless of what your specific schedule looks like this fall, there might be a few snack hacks to help you get to, and through, your workouts more efficiently and effectively with proper fuel. 

Why is snacking important for athletes?

• Whether we’re able to design our own meal schedules, or are at the mercy of a school-structured lunch hour, most people will follow a traditional breakfast, lunch, dinner routine with meals occurring every 4-6 hours. However, for active individuals, aiming to eat closer to every 3-4 hours can help balance daily energy and blood sugar, ensure topped off glycogen (carbohydrate) storage for each workout’s energy reserve, and provide more timely pre- or post-workout fuel when the body is most primed to use or store energy respectively.

• Especially for those athletes training and competing in multiple sports, or longer endurance activities, snacks also offer the crucial outlet to better match total daily energy needs without making meals feel like an overwhelming volume of food or the need to eat beyond fullness.

• On the opposite tack, conscious snacking between meals can also offer a way to avoid reaching meals at the peak of hunger and unintentionally overeating beyond energy needs.

When is it ideal to snack?

• The most important moments throughout the day to think about planning snacks include:

• As a pre-training fueling when you haven’t had a meal in the last 2-4 hours (this includes when you’re training first thing in the morning after an overnight fast)

• If you’ve just finished a training session and won’t eat your next meal for another 1-2 hours; especially if this is your first of two workouts for the day!

• Mid-afternoon between lunch and dinner, regardless of training plans for the day

• During any training session that will last more than 60 minutes and/or be completed at a moderate to high intensity, particularly if done in any environmental extremes

Who should consider planning daily snacks? 

• In general, implementing regular snacking is recommended for any level of athlete throughout phases of active training or competing, especially when meals will reliably be stretched to greater than 3-4 hours apart. 

• For those with an especially challenging time fueling in the early hours of the morning before school or training, considering a low-sugar, moderate-protein snack 60-90 minutes before bed can help top off fuel stores without disturbing your sleep cycle.

• Additionally, for any athletes aiming to enhance muscle maintenance, build muscle, or recover from injury, including snacks with 10-20g of protein as a supplement between meals has been researched to be more effective at supporting muscle protein synthesis than fewer, larger protein intake at meals alone.

How might snacking look different for athletes?

• Snacking will often occur more frequently for athletes versus less active groups in order to keep up with total daily energy demands, and to provide in-session fuel. For those on higher volume sport schedules, such as >4 total hours training/day, some athletes might need up to 4 or 5 snacks between meals or during workouts in order to balance energy expenditures.

• The content of snacks for athletes might have a higher concentration of quickly digesting carbohydrates (especially for snacks consumed soon before or after training sessions) than would be necessary for a less active group of people. 

• Athletes’ snacks might also be more energy-dense, in addition to the general population recommendation of nutrient-dense snack choices, to create compact, sustaining bites of food that can carry energy through until the next meal or throughout a taxing workout.

Check out the “Snack Hacks” menu below to see recommendations for all snacking scenarios:

Whether you’re prepping a big batch of bites or bars ahead of time, whipping up a quick smoothie or sandwich to take on the run, or storing a few tried-and-true premade snack products into your gym bag, always aim to include some combination of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats to keep blood sugar and energy balanced between meals and during workouts. Additionally, include as many sources of nutrient-dense ingredients like fruits, vegetables, nuts, or seeds to not only keep you fueling well in the moment, but to contribute to overall, long term health. When reaching for snacks on days with less training or sport activity, boost nutrients like fiber (by including whole grains or raw fruits and veggies) and high quality proteins (like low-fat dairy, edamame, or eggs) to keep the energy flowing steadily and provide more long-lasting fullness until your next meal. Next grocery run, consider adding a few new ingredients to boost snack sources and power-up your afternoon workouts.

*This post was fueled by midafternoon tea, pretzels, and pistachios.