What you eat has a huge
influence on your training and recovery. The below information is given
as the best approach for those involved in football training / matches. For the sake of simplicity, in the below
example I have assumed a 5pm Tuesday and Thursday practice time, with a
Saturday match.
These are guidelines, and
obviously each of us will have our own personal preferences. Do what
works for you, and see the below points as suggestions that may assist you gain
more from your training.
Pre-training / Pre-match
·
Tuesday and
Thursday training (assumes 5pm kickoff):
o
Avoid a ‘large
meal’ after 2pm.
o
At 3pm eat a
‘small meal’ / snack. For example…
§
Fruit (eg. banana
or apple).
§
Sandwich.
§
Very small bowl of cereal or porridge.
o
4pm eat a banana
or sandwich.
o
Drink water
‘little and often’ from 3pm. (Sipping
the water)
· Saturday match:
· Saturday match:
o
3 hours before
the match eat a good sized breakfast. (This may mean getting up slightly
earlier in some instances).
o
2 hours before
match eat a snack. For example…
§
Fruit (eg. banana
or apple).
§
Sandwich.
§
Very small bowl of cereal or porridge.
o
1 hour before
kickoff eat a banana or sandwich.
o
Drink water
‘little and often’ between breakfast and kickoff. (Sipping the water).
Half Time – Saturday match
·
Eat a banana, small
sandwich, protein bar / snack bar, or sports drink.
o
Test the food /
drink before the match. Eat what works for you. (There is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’, as long as
it works for you).
o
Drink water
‘little and often’ during halftime. (Sipping the water).
Post-training / post-match
·
Within 20 minutes
of finish:
o
Carbohydrate rich
snack, with a protein base. (For example, tuna or meat in a
sandwich with a small amount of sweats - ‘yes’ sweats are fine straight after
exercise. Or a protein shake with frozen fruit).
o
This is purely
for recovery, and skipping this may leave you not quite as fresh the next day.
·
Within 60 minutes
of finish:
o
A full meal, with
a balance of carbs, protein, and (good) fats. This sets you up for the
next day, and skipping this may leave you feeling ‘washed out’.
“Big Benefits” and
“Areas to Avoid”
- Eat a balanced diet of carbs, proteins and (good)
fats.
- Keep in mind that athletes need a lot of calories, and
‘seconds’ after tea is normal and healthy if you are doing a lot of training.
- On training / match days it may be normal to crave
extra bread / rice / pasta with their meal.
‘Eating on demand’ is fine if you are training a lot.
- Drink plenty of water and milk.
- Avoid foods that
give only calories. (ie. ‘Junk food’ and ‘treats’ are intended as snacks,
and should not be eaten as meals).
- Avoid fizzy
drinks – Instead drink water, milk, and (if needed) orange juice is the
healthier option. (This includes avoiding ‘zero calorie’ cola drinks).
- ‘Bread’ is not a
problem, but the butter and margarine can be ‘empty calories’.
- Takeaways
are an occasional ‘treat’. Often these meals do not provide the nutrients
required for recovery .
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