Kelsey HigginsonSports Nutrition Coach and Founder at Clutch Day Coaching

What you give today determines what you get tomorrow

14 Oct 2026 · 1 min

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1:10

In this solo coaching monologue, Kelsey Higginson explains how the food you eat after a practice session directly impacts your performance the next day. She describes how muscles deplete glycogen during training and stresses the importance of refilling those energy stores within about two hours post‑practice. The recommended recovery meal should contain 60–100 g of carbohydrates (e.g., rice, pasta, oatmeal, bread) to replenish glycogen, and roughly 20 g of protein to support muscle repair. She offers a concrete example—a bowl of Greek yogurt with a banana and granola—as an easy way to meet these macronutrient targets. The overall message is that proper post‑practice nutrition prevents low energy levels and sub‑par performance in subsequent sessions.

Chapters

What you eat after today's practice will determine how you perform in tomorrow's practice. So I need you to eat a recovery meal right after your practice. During your entire training session or practice, your muscles are burning through their energy stores. That energy comes from food, specifically carbs. So even if you started practice feeling super good and your tanks were full, by the end of practice, you're going to be pretty low on fuel and you're going to need to restock those energy stores. So if you don't refill your tanks post-prac, you're going to show up tomorrow to practice with those lower energy tanks. Therefore, You're gonna perform like booty. You're not gonna play well, okay? So within about 2 hours, that's kind of the optimum window to refill glycogen stores or your energy tanks. You need to be getting between 60 to 100 grams of carbohydrates, and that might seem like a lot, but I promise your body needs it. This can be rice, this could be pasta, this can be oatmeal, breads. Refill those energy tanks. And along with the recovery meal, you've obviously worked your muscles a lot, whether it be through practice or training. You need to give your muscles what it needs to repair as well. So make sure that you're including protein into that recovery meal as well. About 20 grams is kind of what you're looking for. So you want about 20 grams of protein and about 60 grams of carbohydrates. An easy way to do this is with some Greek yogurt, a banana, and some granola.