What should I eat and what should I avoid? - Decisions, Decisions!
Ian Knight provides an overview of the nutritional requirements for an athlete
As with any athletic performance, the health and nutrition of an athlete are all about decision-making and making the right choice. Some choices are better than others but overall, we want to make consistently good decisions more than bad ones. Just satisfying oneself with a good pre-game meal and making poor/bad choices for the rest of the week, will not have the desired effect on any athletic performance.
Do not be afraid to eat the foods you like. Even Professional athletes are not perfect 100% of the time when it comes to food choices. A more realistic figure that all athletic performers can achieve might be 80%. If you avoid the foods you like, it may lead to eating binges and guilt! Keep the portions small and enjoy the experience. While you 'indulge' in these 'forbidden foods,' you should take time to savour the experience…..Sit at a table, use cutlery…make it an experience to remember. Do not rush it. Do not eat while standing. This will leave you unsatisfied and may lead to overeating.
By having breakfast, you are making the best decision for each day! Eat small meals throughout the day. Eating breakfast will keep you from playing catch-up for the rest of the day. Eating breakfast will also help you make better choices for your next meal or snack. When you have that starved feeling from skipping meals, you are more likely to overeat at your next meal and choose "fast foods" that are of poor quality. Instead of big ups and downs in your blood sugar level with only three big meals each day, eating 5 or 6 smaller meals and snacks will keep your energy level steadier and boost your metabolism. Think of your body and metabolism like a furnace. You want to keep warm by stoking the fire all day with smaller pieces of wood rather than burning it all at once.
Following a training session or game, athletes should not miss the 'Carb window,' (30-90mins) after performing and the time frame in which muscles are most receptive to replacing muscle glycogen.
The editors of Men's Health Magazine published a book titled "The Abs Diet" detailing a very sensible nutrition plan for active people. This plan takes a more positive approach by focusing on what foods you should eat, as opposed to highlighting 'forbidden' foods. Their "Power 12" foods are:
- A - Almonds, other nuts, seeds, and avocado
- B - Beans and legumes, lentils, peas, hummus
- S - Spinach and other green vegetables
- D - Dairy products, fat-free or low-fat milk, yoghurt, cheese, and cottage cheese
- I - Instant oatmeal, unsweetened and unflavoured (use berries or fruits to flavour)
- E - Eggs or egg beaters
- T - Turkey and lean steak, chicken, or fish
- P - Peanut butter, all-natural and sugar-free
- O- Olive oil, canola oil, peanut oil, sesame oil
- W - Whole grain bread and cereals
- E - Extra protein (whey) powder
- R - Raspberries, other berries and fruits
Overall nutrition and the food choices an athlete makes are what count! No single food or food group can make or break our eating plan. Make changes one meal at a time. Start by eating a healthy breakfast or just adding breakfast, if you do not already have one. Add healthy snacks or switch to healthier snacks during the day. After conquering breakfast, dinner is the next priority - make your meal 5 nights per week. Plan all five meals and shop for the whole week at one time. Lunch is the hardest change to make because we do not typically have the benefit of being in our kitchen. Try to bring or make your lunch at least 1 or 2 times per week - bring some leftovers from the healthy dinner you made the night before. When you do eat out, try to pick restaurants with at least some healthy choices on the menu. Make sure at least part of your meal is nutritious. If you choose a lower quality entrée, pick healthier sides, etc.
When deciding on how much
Food for each meal, use portion size and food quality to control your calories and food intake rather than eliminating entire foods e.g. pick healthier versions - For example, red meat is OK, but instead of hamburgers have a small leaner cut of beef and trim any excess fat. Excluding foods or entire food groups can lead to an unbalanced diet and may cut out nutrients that are essential to the needs of your body's metabolism. For example, if you eliminate all dairy products from your diet, then you need to find substitutes that will help you get enough calcium such as fortified soy or rice milk and green leafy vegetables.
It is OK to eat after 6:00 pm, just make sure it is part of your plan and not a binge. Eating a huge meal late at night or just before going to bed is certainly a bad decision. Snacks are perfectly OK and even smaller meals are fine, as long as they are eaten a couple of hours before going to bed. Eating a larger meal immediately before going to sleep may cause sleep disturbances and may not be efficiently digested and used by the body. You want to wake up feeling hungry, so the worst possible effect of late-night eating is not being hungry in the morning and throwing off your whole eating plan for the rest of the day.
When eating your meals, especially dinner, remember to eat them slowly…it is not a race. It can take up to 20 minutes before the brain recognizes that you have eaten your fill. Put down the fork between bites, chew the food thoroughly and your body has time to better digest it. When considering fluid, as part of your plan, an athlete should drink lots of water, fruit juice, or vegetable juice. Avoid coffee, tea, soda, and other sugary drinks. Be honest about your alcohol intake, the empty calories add up!
Stick with complex carbohydrates from whole grains. Bleached and enriched grains have their natural nutrients taken out and then artificial nutrients added back in later. A product labelled just as 'wheat' (e.g. wheat bread) is not the same as 'whole wheat.' Check the list of ingredients on the label and make them include the phrase whole wheat or whole oats, etc. Sweets are mostly simple sugars that often include lots of saturated fat and have few vitamins or minerals. Eating simple sugars lead to a brief high followed by a big crash. Try to find natural or fresh versions of your favourite foods. Avoid processed foods that contain a lot of partially hydrogenated oils and excess saturated fat as well as high fructose corn syrup and other simple sugars. These empty calories take up space for more nutrient-dense foods that can help your performance.
Do we need fat?
Fat is OK. We just do not need a ton of it! Fat helps make us feel full and the desire for fatty foods is quickly met. Most of the time, low-fat foods may not be any better for you anyway. They often replace the fat with simple sugars, salt, and artificial or chemical fillers. They may have reduced the fat but not the calories, so when you are choosing foods, read the labels on the low-fat or non-fat products. Sometimes, picking the regular version instead of the non-fat version may be a better choice. Look for dairy products made from 1% or skim milk rather than those just labelled as low-fat. Again, use portion size to control your calories and foods.
Control your portions by getting the added fats on the side. This includes sauces, salad dressings, spreads, mayonnaise, butter, margarine, oils, etc. You can put smaller amounts on your food or you can quickly dip your fork into the salad dressing or sauce and then use the fork to pick up a bite. You can also buy misters/sprayers for oils. Remember baked, grilled, broiled, poached, or steamed is better than fried.
Summary
Try to include as many food groups in each meal or snack as possible. Try at least two different food groups in each snack. For example: eat a bagel with peanut butter and banana slices, strawberries with yoghurt, or pretzels and tomato juice. Eating the same foods all the time is boring and you may leave out some vital nutrients. Experiment with new foods or different preparations and seasonings.
The following are examples of healthy snacks adapted from "Endurance Sports Nutrition" by Suzanne Girard Eberle:
- Peanut butter and jelly or banana sandwich
- Soup and crackers
- Trail mix (nuts, raisins, dried fruit, etc.)
- Raw veggies with low-fat salad dressing or salsa
- Instant oatmeal with dried fruit
- Fresh fruit and pretzels or popcorn
- Cereal or granola with yoghurt and fruit
- Banana, pumpkin, or date bread and milk
- Fresh fruit with yoghurt or cottage cheese
- Low-fat cheese and crackers or rice cakes
- Pita bread with low-fat cheese
- Tuna fish and crackers
- English muffin with peanut butter or almond butter
- A low-fat muffin with milk, yoghurt, or juice
- Slice of pizza with vegetable toppings
- Baked potato with salsa or low-fat cheese
- Rice cakes or crackers and hummus
- Oatmeal raisin cookies or fig bars and milk
Article Reference
This article first appeared in:
- KNIGHT, I. (2007) What should I eat and what should I avoid? - Decisions, Decisions! Brian Mackenzie's Successful Coaching, (ISSN 1745-7513/ 41/ April), p. 7-8
Page Reference
If you quote information from this page in your work, then the reference for this page is:
- KNIGHT, I. (2007) What should I eat and what should I avoid? - Decisions, Decisions! [WWW] Available from: https://www.brianmac.co.uk/articles/scni41a3.htm [Accessed
About the Author
Ian Knight Ian holds both the UEFA and the CSA B Licenses and is currently serving as Head Coach for Chilliwack Youth Soccer Association in British Columbia, Canada. Ian has 10 years of experience as a professional football player, representing England, on two occasions, at the U21 level.