Richard Hudson, 17, of West Bloomfield, Mich., prepares a healthy snack with his mother Kelly Hudson before dinner. Richard, a junior and varsity football player, has made major changes to his diet since learning more about nutrition a month ago.

DETROIT — It has been only a few weeks, but already Richard Hudson can see a difference.

He can feel it, too.

A junior at West Bloomfield (Mich.) High School, Richard decided he needed to change his eating habits before football season next fall.

So he and his father dropped by a seminar last month at Henry Ford Hospital in West Bloomfield, to learn more about how making the right nutrition choices could improve his performance and help fuel his recovery after workouts.

The talk was geared to high school athletes, their parents and coaches, so Richard wasn’t the only one hoping to be enlightened.

“I figured we all could be eating a little bit smarter,” said Reg Hudson, Richard’s father. “Eating right helps keep you motivated and energized throughout the day.”

Right off the top, Richard, 17, knew he was consuming too much junk food. He gave up chips, salsa and pop.

Then he made sure he was starting his day with a healthier breakfast, like oatmeal or cereal and a piece a fruit. Before leaving home, he’d make two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to bring to school — one to have with lunch, the other after school, before his workout.

He also began eating smaller meals throughout the day. Most important, though, he drank more fluids — specifically water.

“I just decided to make the transition, to eat more balanced meals,” he said.

It wasn’t long before he noticed a difference in himself, inside and out.

When Hudson stepped on a scale in early February, shortly after changing his diet (last year was his first season of high school football, and he’s been trying to gain weight), the 6-foot-2 wide receiver was 170 pounds.

Now he’s topping 175, which has his father — who played a year of football at Grand Valley State as a 6-foot-4-inch defensive tackle — suggesting his son consider a new position on the football field: safety.

“Before, I didn’t want to work out because I felt tired, almost like I was slowing down at the end of the day — and I wasn’t gaining muscle,” Richard said. “Now, I feel like I have more energy and I can lift more and run longer.”

Eating well

It’s no surprise that many high school athletes don’t take their nutrition needs as seriously as they should.

“I work with so many different athletes, and it seems like no matter what the sport, there are some common concerns amongst them — and a lot of things that could be remedied by eating healthier and paying closer attention to hydration,” said Jeanne Stevenson, registered dietitian at the Center for Athletic Medicine at Henry Ford Health System.

Stevenson works with athletes from high school and college to Olympians and pros.

Stevenson was once a high school athlete herself — she played basketball in the early 1970s at Sacred Heart in Dearborn, Mich., — and when she looks back, she often remembers how tired she was in the fourth quarter.

“Now I know what I needed then was something to eat,” she said. “There’s been a lot of research done in this area and we know what can help, whereas before we didn’t. We used to not drink (water) during practice. We had no idea, nobody did — it was kind of a thought that you were mentally tough if you didn’t drink. That’s old thinking.

“Drinking enough fluids is the most important thing you can do.”

How do you know if you’re drinking enough? Take a look at the color of your urine: The darker it is, the more you need to drink.

“You should drink before you feel thirsty,” said Amy Gluck, supervisor of Clinical Nutrition Serves at Henry Ford Hospital. “Once you feel thirsty, you’re 2 percent dehydrated.”

Many high school athletes grew up playing sports such as soccer, and it was customary to head straight for the sliced oranges at halftime. Stevenson is glad that ritual is still going strong.

“I think it’s great, for several reasons,” she said. “It’s fluid — there’s quite a bit of water in an orange — and it’s a good source of nutrients: vitamin C, potassium and fiber.”

Be prepared

Because most competitions in high school begin after school, Stevenson said parents need to be mindful of their children’s nutrition in the hours between lunch and their activity.

“For many athletes, lunch is your pregame meal,” she said. “So pack something for them. Think about it: If they don’t have anything with them, what’s going to be available at the school? What’s in the vending machine is really not the things that are good for you.”

Back when she ran track at Dearborn High in the 1980s, Gluck wishes she would have consumed for lunch what she favors today: a turkey sandwich and fresh fruit.

“When I was in high school, no one really paid attention much to what they ate,” said Gluck, 39, one of the state’s top age-group triathletes. “I remember grabbing one of those giant puffy white rolls, and that would be lunch.”

Although it may be tempting, it’s best to avoid foods high in fat — such as french fries — when you’re in the lunch line.

“If you eat a fatty meal before a workout, it digests very slowly and so you don’t always feel that good,” Stevenson said. “That can translate to poor performance.”

Richard Hudson gets it now.

His parents have also become more mindful of stocking their refrigerator and pantry with foods that are good for their entire family.

The other day after school, Richard assembled his own meal — a tossed salad with turkey breast, tomatoes and strawberries, with a glass of water.

In addition to being fuel for Hudson’s football conditioning, the meal met a basic requirement: “It tastes good,” he said.