HLTH 645
Case Study: Meal Plan Specifics
Rachel Steinbarger
Liberty University
HLTH-645 Performance Nutrition for the Physically Active
Dr. Catharine Anna Henderson
August 20, 2021
HLTH 645
1. Review General Description of athlete and sport
The athlete I will be creating a meal plan for is Shanice Smith. Shanice is an African American,
19-year-old collegiate women’s basketball player at Indiana University and is on a full ride
athletic scholarship. She is classified as a sophomore on the team. Shanice is struggling to build
muscle as she was just moved from the shooting guard position to the power forward position.
She is 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighs 150 pounds going into the summer for training. She is
looking to gain 10 pounds of muscle from August to November, which is part of preseason and
goes into season. Her extra training and eating regimen will help her gain this muscle mass
which will set herself up for success in the power forward position for her sophomore season.
She will need to focus on her leg, arm and core strength to make sure she does not get pushed
around under the basket or when going after a rebound. The menus I have decided to discuss are
on a training/practice day and on a game day where she will be competing in a 2-hour game
which will be split up into four quarters.
2. Menu charts
Before and after training I will use carbohydrates, proteins and fats 10am-2pm (between
breakfast and lunch) and 4pm-6pm (before dinner). She needs to utilize a lot of protein and
carbohydrates before practice as well as throughout the day and at dinner because she is looking
to gain muscle. The reason I am incorporating the carbohydrates throughout the entire day is
because she needs fuel to last throughout a 2 hour high intense training session. “Carbohydrates
are the most precious fuel for top athletes because they use less oxygen than proteins and fat.”1
This will help Shanice train at a higher intensity for a longer period of time when these
carbohydrates are implemented in the right fashion. “Carbs should make around 40-60% of the
total daily calorie intake, which means 3 grams per pound of your weight.” Carbohydrates need
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HLTH 645
to be replenished throughout the day at the right times, so they don’t weigh down Shanice. She
needs to replace the glycogen she lost during the workout After training/practice she needs to
incorporate protein supplements and high protein dinner so her can refuel from the intensity the
workout played on her muscles.
She will be eating breakfast which includes a medium banana and first watch egg white, turkey
omelet at 8:00 a.m. and will drink water. She will have her first snack at 10:00 a.m. which is an
Herbalife vanilla almond protein. Lunch will be at 12 p.m. and it will include a whole foods tuna
salad sandwich with carrots, cucumber and hummus. Her second snack will be at 2:00 p.m.
which will include almonds and a Herbalife vanilla protein bar. She will then have
practice/training from 3pm-5pm. Right after her training she will drink two scoops of Rebuild
which is a protein supplement. Dinner will be at 7p.m. which will include salmon, jasmine rice
and spinach. The spacing out of foods and high protein and carbohydrate intake will help keep
Shanice fueled throughout the day. She will also consume half her body weight in ounces of
water which will be 125 ounces.
Shanice will be given an objective and that is to follow the above meal plan, spacing her foods
out and making sure she is consuming water to keep herself hydrated. This is where she can ask
why she needs to follow this menu and the benefits of muscle gain through this process. She will
be doing a high intensity team preseason workout which includes a lot of cardio and then
strength and weight training for 2 hours.
