4th meal after football practice?

[jennrider]

My son (almost 12) is playing football in the fall. His coach just had a clinic this week so the boys could learn what to expect. The practices were 2 hours and pretty intense. He loved every minute of it. He also came home starving. I fed him supper at 5 and practice ran from 6-8. Should he have another full meal so close to bed? We get home a little after 8 and I like for him to be in bed between 9-9:30. He's also at the age where he's always hungry. I'm taking advantage of this increase in activity to teach him about food as fuel and how that relates to performance.

[Susan W]

Personally, I would encourage you to let him eat a healthy meal after practice. Fat gets in the way of muscles being repaired by the protein so could he eat lean protein and a starchie something?

[Robin D]

Given his age and the level of physical activity I would definitely encourage him to eat after football practice. His body really needs that food and if he doesn't eat he might wake up in the middle of the night and want to eat everything in sight. That wouldn't be any good for him either!

[KellyF]

I would also let him eat. I agree with Robin that his body likely needs it. I have a 10 year old athlete who needs 4 meals on days she trains.As long as it is healthy food, I can't see it being a problem.

[jennrider]

Thanks for the replies. I did feed him after practice, but I was a little amazed at the amount of food he ate. I wasn't sure if it should be a full meal or more like a post work out meal. He had no trouble sleeping as he was physically exhausted. I tend to have trouble sleeping if I eat to close to bed time. I have to continually remind myself that what works for me does not always work for my kids.