First and foremost, if you are barely eating, eating a bunch of processed foods or faithfully skipping breakfast we need to focus here first. As an athlete, you need to be eating AT THE MINIMUM 3 meals a day, plus two protein-rich snacks. Properly fueling the body helps alleviate deficiencies in sports while allowing the body to feel equipped for the demands. It is much like buying a sports car and refusing to put gas in the tank or keeping in dirty oil but expecting the vehicle to operate at its best…not going to happen! Athletes need a balanced and frequent dosage of protein, carbohydrates and healthy fats to garner training results and properly recover. Poor nutrition (which includes water intake and hydration with electrolytes) can affect reactivity, cognitive processes, strength, speed, and power output as well as lead to muscle cramps. Do yourself a favor, keep the Ferrari running top-notch or be left on the side of the road broken down.