The #1 Nutrition Mistake Made By Athletes (and what to do about it)

What could it possibly be??

I promise you, the answer is a million times more simple than you’d think; It’s just that people loveee to overcomplicate this stuff…

Drumroll please…

The single biggest mistake athletes make with their nutrition is…

Eating too many carbs.

That’s it. The end. See ya later…

SIKE.

I really hope nobody clicked off this blog before they realised it was a joke….

“Tommy, I did what you told me and now I can even squat the bar…”

I can picture it now…

Ok, but seriously; What is the actual biggest mistake that I see athletes making with their nutrition?

It’s simply that they are not eating enough.

PERIOD.

Let’s look at the facts:

Calories are energy (quite literally, a calorie is a unit of energy).

One of the primary ways that fatigue occurs as an athlete is through a lack of usable energy to sustain your activity…

Your body obtains energy from the building clocks of the food that you eat in the form of calories…

So, logically looking at it, if you’re not eating enough food then you are not giving your body enough calories and it will therefore run out of usable energy more quickly (specifically in the context of high intensity activity).

As an athlete, this could very well be the difference between pushing out that last rep…

Chasing down the opposition and stopping a fast break layup…

Making a last ditch tackle before the offensive player gets a shot on goal (I play FIFA too much)…

Especially as you get to the upper echelon of your sport (like my dude Ante playing pro over in Europe), every 1% difference matters…

So, how do we ensure that you’re not making this potentially catastrophic mistake?

[To foolproof this process, check out the FREE 75+ page eBook I wrote on this exact topic]

First things first, we gotta create awareness around your current situation. This component of the process remains constant whether you’re a soccer mom of 4 trying to drop 20lbs or an elite level athlete. We must understand the current situation and all the available data before making any sort of adjustment.

Think of it like a GPS…

If you enter in the end destination without putting in your starting point, it won’t spit out directions…

You won’t get your roadmap to the desired destination without having a clue where you’re at right now.

How do you identify your own individual starting point?

Simply perform a 3-4 day food log. Use MyFitnessPal to track exactly what you eat over the next few days (without changing anything), and that will give you a clear understanding of your “Point A.”

Holy s***, I’m only eating 1900 calories a day when I should be eating 3000+

That’s a thought that’s likely to run through your head after the next couple of days ;)

Once you do that, then you’ll have your starting point. To learn what to do after that, just go ahead and check out The Athlete’s Guide to Nutritional Periodization for the full run down…

Seriously, it’s completely FREE and it’s like 75 pages long, taking you step by step through the exact process I use with my own athletes (oh, and it comes with a video course talking you through the principles used in the book).

Thanks so much for reading! If this was helpful to you in any way, shape, or form…

Go ahead and share it with just one other person who you think would benefit from this type of info! And as always, feel free to ask any questions you have via Instagram or email!

Talk to you soon :)