How To Eat Like A Football Player - Eating For Performance (2024)

FAQs

How should a football player eat? ›

Choosing a variety of whole grain breads, pasta, rice, potatoes, fruits and vegetables ensures players are getting not only the carbs necessary to perform but also essential vitamins, minerals and fiber, which have a slew of important functions. In particular, these help to decrease inflammation and support recovery.

include a wide variety of foods like wholegrain breads and cereals, vegetables (particularly leafy green varieties), fruit, lean meat and low-fat dairy products to enhance long term nutrition habits and behaviours. enable the athlete to achieve optimal body weight and body fat levels for performance.

Choose energy-packed foods such as whole grain crackers with low-fat cheese, tortilla wraps with veggies and lean meat, hard-boiled eggs, vegetable or bean soups, small boxes of non-sugary cereal, fresh fruit, mini-whole wheat bagels with peanut butter, pita bread with hummus or pasta with grilled chicken.

Elite football players expend an average of 1107 kcal of energy during a match and up to 3442-3824 kcal on training days. Added to the ordinary need, the intake calories that an average player takes is around 5000 kcal during a competition like the World Cup, where there are few days off.

Mahomes once revealed in a 2018 interview with Men's Journal that he eats four to five meals a day and even splits his food into two dinners to help with digestion. After investigating how allergies has contributed, Mahomes took his diet more seriously by hiring a personal chef in 2021.

When he's training or getting ready for the season, James likes to incorporate a diet that limits processed foods, sugar, dairy, and foods high in carbohydrates. Instead, James eats lean meats, fish, fruit, and vegetables. This diet includes salmon, vegetable salads, chicken breast, omelets, and much more.

The Tom Brady Diet places an emphasis on eating mostly plants while also limiting unhealthy fat sources like trans and saturated fat. The diet includes plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, olive oil, nuts, and seeds, as well as limited amounts of lean meats and fish.

Anything too fatty, like junk food or milk, is digested slowly and will make athletes feel slow and sluggish. Athletes should also avoid eating too many high-fiber foods, like beans, fruits and vegetables, which are also difficult to digest and cause stomach problems on the field.

Football players tend to eat foods rich in carbohydrates during halftime to keep their energy levels up. Items like granola and pretzels are great options. But more importantly, they often consume sports drinks throughout the game. High activity levels require a ton of hydration and electrolytes.

What do NFL players eat after a game? ›

The post-game meal should focus on healthy portions of vegetables and fruit, lean protein, whole grains and healthy fats and fluids for rehydration.

What to Eat: Football players need carbohydrates to fuel hard-working muscles. Bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, fruits and vegetables should be the bulk of a football player's diet filling up 2/3 of the plate at every meal.

Potatoes, pasta, rice, bread (ideally wholemeal unless just before a game), oatmeal, cereals, vegetables, and fruit are healthy carb options. Footballers should aim to consume at least 70 grams of carbohydrates as part of their pre-game meal and around 30 grams as part of a snack.