Nutrition For A Day Of Wrestling

Like any competitive sport, training for wrestling places high energy demands on your body. This requires eating enough calories to fulfill those demands. Unlike most other sports, the weight class structure of wrestling competition means wrestlers must also pay close attention to their nutrition.

Weight Classes

Between two wrestlers of equal skill and motivation, the larger wrestler is overwhelmingly more likely to win. For this reason, wrestling competition is divided into weight classes. A wrestler who wrestles below his natural body weight will often have more size and muscle than those against whom he competes. Doing so is a common practice among serious wrestlers.

Cutting Weight

Nutrition becomes more important to wrestlers than other athletes because of the practice of dieting to make a lower weight class, called "cutting weight." According to a Vanderbilt University study, three-quarters of wrestlers engage in crash diets and fluid restriction while cutting weight. However, healthier results and better performance come from getting proper nutrition during a wrestler's weight-loss efforts.

Breakfast

Eating a large breakfast can be one of the best ways to help keep your weight down. This is because it reduces snacking throughout the rest of the day, according to Dr. Mehmet Oz in "You: Losing Weight." For wrestlers, a breakfast composed of whole grains and lean proteins will provide a solid combination of slow energy and muscle-building amino acids. Avoiding fruit juices is advisable, since those often have as many calories as soda pop, with only marginally more nutrition.

Lunch

Wrestlers should never eat the school-provided hot lunch. Those lunches are heavy on refined grain carbohydrates, saturated fats and empty calories. Instead, a wrestler's lunch should be made mostly of lean proteins, unsaturated fats and vegetables. Some good portable foods for these purposes include lunch meat, nuts, cheese, green salads and sliced vegetables like bell peppers and carrots.

Dinner

Although he might be hungry after practice, a wrestler should eat a small dinner. Since he'll be sleeping in the hours afterward, he'll be less likely to snack and won't need the calories for concentration and activity. A simple dinner of a meat serving, plus a mixed vegetable salad, is a good choice for this meal.

Snacks

Wrestlers may need to snack throughout the day, especially when eating a reduced-calorie diet to lose weight. For best results, a wrestler can eat snacks of high-volume, low-calorie vegetables. This can provide the mental comfort of chewing and swallowing food, while filling your stomach with food unlikely to add more weight. Lettuce, celery and cucumbers are examples of this kind of snack food.