I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: nutrition doesn’t need a diet plan, it needs structure. If you’ve listened to the last couple episodes in this nutrition series, you already know my stance on habits. Know what you’re eating, prep your meals, and set a grocery day. Without that foundation, none of what follows is going to stick.

But structure alone doesn’t tell you what to actually eat.

That’s where these five rules of thumb come in. I’ve spent the last decade buried in nutrition research, textbooks, and self experimentation, and these are the principles I keep coming back to because they work regardless of what you’re eating. Here’s what actually moves the needle for an athlete trying to train harder and recover faster.

1. Get Your Protein Number Right

The gold standard recommendation is 1.6 to 2.2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. I know that sounds intimidating, so here’s the shortcut: take your body weight in pounds and divide it by 2.2 to get kilograms, then multiply by a number in that range.

If you’re training hard and putting a lot of demand on your body, aim for the high end at 2.2. If you struggle to get protein in, don’t go below 1.6. Protein is what repairs and rebuilds the muscle you’re breaking down every practice, and skipping this number is one of the fastest ways to stall out physically.

2. Eat Foods You Can Actually Explain

Rule of thumb number two is simple: stick to foods with one or two ingredients. Chicken is chicken. A sweet potato is a sweet potato. If you have to squint at a label with fifty ingredients to figure out what you’re eating, that’s a sign to swap it out.

This isn’t about eliminating everything processed forever. Anything can fit into a solid eating pattern in moderation. But if the majority of your plate is made up of foods you could name the ingredients to without reading a label, you’ve already cut out most of what shouldn’t be there in the first place.

3. Hit Your Water Minimum Before It Becomes a Problem

Aim for a minimum of 72 ounces of water a day. That’s three refills of a standard 24 ounce bottle. The trick is starting early. If you wait until 5pm to chase down 60 ounces, you’ll feel like you’re drowning yourself before bed and you’ll be up all night.

I went down the rabbit hole on electrolyte packets and hydration products at one point because it felt like a new brand was popping up every week. The research doesn’t support most athletes needing them if the fundamentals are covered. Hit your water number consistently and you’re covering the baseline that everything else depends on.

4. Fill the Gaps With the Right Supplements

Whole food intake and hydration cover most of what your body needs, but a foundational vitamin and mineral routine fills in the gaps that even a clean diet can miss. I didn’t take this seriously for years, and the difference I felt once I got consistent with it was significant. This is a low effort habit with a high return, especially for an athlete putting daily demand on their body through training and recovery.

The 5 Supplements I prioritize taking daily:

1. A Multi-Vitamin
2. Vitamin K3 and D2
3. Magnesium
4. Fish Oil (Omega 3 & 6)
5. Creatine

I use and recommend using Thorne for supplements. They use clean, clinically backed, 3rd party tested ingredients and have a subscription option to keep my supplements arriving on time so I don’t forget to order. Because taking vitamins is all about consistency.

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5. Time Your Carbs Around Training

This last one is mine. It’s not something you’ll find preached across the industry, but it’s made a real difference for the athletes and clients I’ve worked with. The short version: move your carbohydrate intake later in the day or to after your workout.

Here’s the reasoning without getting too deep into the biology. Your body stores glucose as glycogen in the muscle and liver, and at rest, it prefers to burn fat for fuel. Once you train, you deplete those glycogen stores, and your body actively pulls incoming carbohydrates into the muscle to refill them instead of storing them elsewhere. Eating carbs when your body is primed to use them, rather than when it’s already full of stored energy, is a simple shift with real payoff for recovery and performance.

Nutrition Guide for Cheerleaders

If you’re ready to put your nutrition to work for your actual performance on the mat, not just general health advice, Fueled to Hit breaks down exactly how nutrition connects to your endurance, recovery, and skill execution as a cheerleader. Get your copy at hybridcheer.com/fueled-to-hit-nutrition-guide.