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It is incontrovertible that a good diet pays dividends to any athlete for doing well in any sport. The optimal performance they are able to execute for their fans comes on the back of the diet that plays a vital role along with the skills. The right sustenance does wonders in building any athlete hence dieticians for sports stars are always prioritised so the athletes never feel enervated.
How good diet helps an athlete?
Appropriate amount of food and water keeps our body functioning at a healthy rate, but that diet needs a little more preservatives than just your regular meal. The life of an athlete revolves around forsaking a boatload of tantalising mouth-watering food. There lies a myriad benefits when an athlete has their diet in check such as it reduces the risk of injuring oneself, enables you to train longer and harder, delays onset of fatigue, maintains a healthy immune system, enhances performance, improves recovery, improves body composition, helps with focus and concentration.
Diet required for different sport
Cricket
Cricket is a sport that demands unwavering attention and concentration as the longest format of the game lasts for nearly seven hours per day. This leaves cricketers with the only option of keeping themselves fit so they can tough out the long painstaking hours without sustaining an injury. To bypass the likely possibility cricketers follow a tight diet away from anything that can go against their fitness.
Diet in general followed by cricketers
Although unlike footballers, cricketers don’t have a very fancy diet plan nor consume food that can be deemed unaffordable which includes high protein foods like fish, sweet potatoes, carrots, oranges, apples, potatoes, rice, and wheat germ. Cricketers must eat 4-7 meals in a day and meal should be lean protein. Energy intake which has come from fat 25-35 per cent. Eat dried fruits like raisins, dried apples, dried prunes, and nuts like cashews, macadamia, almonds.
Breakfast of cricketers
A large bowl of porridge (a dish consisting of oatmeal or another meal or cereal boiled in water or milk.) made with jumbo oats plus 200ml skimmed milk plus water with a tsp of sugar and raisins if desired 250ml fresh juice.
Lunch
Sandwich made with granary bread plus olive oil based spread with lean ham/chicken or large mackerel fillet
100g mixed nuts & seeds
Mixed salad
Low fat, low sugar yoghurt, drink
Evening meal
Lean fillet steak or chicken breast or fish + herbs to taste
Boiled new potatoes or basmati rice or dry roasted sweet potatoes
Loads of vegetables
Low fat, no added sugar yoghurt
Drink
Practice session diet
The practice session of cricketers is normally gruelling which gets propped up by a nutrient-laden diet which includes lots owhole grains, nuts, fruits, vegetables, and dairy. Go high on proteins to boost rapid recovery.
Post Training
2-3 oatcakes with low fat soft cheese
100g mixed nuts & seeds
Item of fruit
Drink
Evening Meal
Lean fillet steak or chicken breast or fish + herbs to taste
Boiled new potatoes or basmati rice or dry roasted sweet potatoes
Loads of vegetables
Low fat, no added sugar yoghurt
Drink
1 hour pre bed
100g cottage cheese / quark / low fat natural yoghurt
Banana
Small handful mixed nuts & seeds
Drink
Diet of Footballers
A professional footballer’s diet will be heaving with nutrition, hydration, vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, and protein.
Breakfast
A morning’s meal is pivotal for a good start to the day and the mantra is no different for footballers. Footballers usually kick off their day with hydrating themselves with 500 ml of water. Their next step towards the diet is having either porridge or eggs. Though both porridge and eggs will suffice it, some players prefer to different grains like quinoa and make different types of eggs to provide themselves with a variety in the breakfast.
Lunch
As the kickoff approaches closer, players avoid eating a lot which can make them bloated before the match. Playing on a full stomach can cause a great deal of discomfort while playing which can adversely affect their movements in the game. Majority of players look to have a supper that has slow-releasing energy from low-GI carbohydrates like wholegrain pasta and rice.
Pre-match nutrition
• Protein — Players will typically consume 20-25g of protein. For faster digestion and to avoid gastrointestinal discomfort, this is generally in the form of a protein shake.
• Carbohydrate — Players aim for 30-60g of carbohydrate. Again to avoid discomfort, this is usually in the form of a gel or powdered drink.
• Hydration — Players will drink water or hydration supplements like Hydrate 90 to avoid dehydration in the first half.
Aside from this some players opt for caffeine or creatine to level up their performance.
Half-Time nutrition
In the half-time footballers have spent 50 per cent of their virility that needs reinvigorating along with the pep talk they get from the coach. In the dressing room, players tap into water to get the electrolytes charged up while some get energy gels (Energy gels are a super convenient way to get the high energy you need, to keep you running until the final whistle.
Post-Match Nutrition
• Rehydrate — This stage involves consuming fluid to achieve fluid balance. Fluid requirements vary from player to player, so there’s no single recommendation for fluid intake. In general, players should aim to drink 1000ml of water per hour of exercise.
• Replenish — Exercise depletes the body’s glycogen stores, and after 90 minutes of football, players need to focus on replenishing them. The focus for this is to hit a specified carbohydrate intake for the day. Players achieve this through one meal or separate meals and supplements.
• Repair — Players need to consume an adequate amount of protein to stimulate muscle protein synthesis (MPS). This process uses protein to repair and create new proteins for muscle recovery and growth.
Basketball
Basketball is another lung-busting sport that requires maddening stamina and fitness to last in the sport as a player. Basketball focuses on speed and coordination. A player needs to be careful or they may end up losing calories, nutrition and fluids. The diet of a football player uses 55-60 per cent of calories to come from carbohydrates, 15 per cent from protein and 30 per cent from fat.
Badminton
Badminton is touted to be one of the fastest growing sports, the players can hardly catch a break amid the rallies and shots that are require urgent attention and pace that come with stamina and a proper diet so as to avoid huffing and puffing in the match.
Breakfast
Porridge made with 80g oats plus 250ml skimmed milk
2 slices granary bread, toasted plus olive oil based spread plus natural crunchy peanut butter
250ml fresh fruit juice
Tea/coffee
Mid-morning
4-5 oatcakes with low fat soft cheese/quark
Item fruit
Drink
Lunch
Sandwich made with granary bread plus olive oil based spread with lean ham/chicken or large mackerel fillet
100g mixed nuts, seeds & dried fruit
Mixed salad
Low fat, low sugar yoghurt
Drink
Mid Afternoon
4-5 oatcakes with low fat soft cheese/quark
100g mixed nuts, seeds & dried fruit
Drink
Evening meal
Lean fillet steak or chicken breast or fish plus herbs to taste
Boiled new potatoes or basmati rice or dry roasted sweet potatoes or whole wheat pasta
Loads of vegetables
Low fat, no added sugar yoghurt
Drink
1 hour pre bed
100g cottage cheese / quark / low fat natural yoghurt
Item fruit
Small handful mixed nuts & seeds
Drink
While the diet of an athlete irrespective of the sport differs on the type of body, allergies and their preferences (vegetarian or non-vegetarian), there is a need to follow a strict diet is paramount to increase their longevity.
