A healthy and balanced diet for an athlete is the key to excellent athletic performance and optimal fitness.
Nutrition is extremely important for people in general and athletes in particular because food provides the energy source needed for physical activity. Food has an impact on strength, training, performance and recovery.
Food is the way to provide the body with essential substances to sustain life. There are many ways to eat and it is the athlete’s responsibility to know how to choose the right foods that are most convenient for their health and that positively influence their physical performance. And not only that, according to BritainReviews you have to pay attention to the quality of these foods and the amount you eat, as well as the time of day you eat them. Simply because it is not the same food group that is incorporated before, during or after sports or training.
Feeding
Whether you play sports or not, your diet must be healthy and balanced to get all the nutrients your body needs.
However, the diet of a person who trains at least once a day will vary in many ways from that of a sedentary person. First of all, don’t forget that by exercising regularly, your body will expend more energy than when you do little or no exercise. In addition, it is very important to consult healthy food companies and create a suitable menu.
With this in mind, if you are at a healthy weight and do not want to lose body fat, you need to eat more foods to maintain your weight. The most important nutrient for an athlete is carbohydrates because they are the source of energy for the brain and central nervous system.
If you are an athlete, you need to ensure proportional doses of different types of food so that you do not miss anything in your diet:
- Foods that form tissues (proteins predominate). Examples: milk and its derivatives (dairy products), fish, meat and eggs.
- Mixed foods (energy). They provide calories and regulate metabolism. Examples: carbohydrates (potatoes, fruits, bread …) and fibre (legumes, seeds and nuts).
- Regulatory foods, with a predominance of vitamins and minerals. Examples: vegetables, greens and fruits.
- Energetic foods. Lipids and fats predominate. Examples: cereals (pasta, bread, corn …), sugars, oils and fats.
Hydration
Hydration is also an important factor in an athlete’s life. If you are not given enough attention, this could negatively affect your physical performance. For this reason, it is important to start a well-hydrated exercise and, for this, you need to consume water regularly throughout the day.
Once the workout has begun, the amount of water you need during each session will depend on how much water you have lost through sweating. This varies from person to person and also depends on the intensity and duration of the training session, as well as other environmental elements.
In almost all types of exercises or sports that last an hour, drinking water for hydration is usually sufficient.
Table hours
Always try to leave one to four hours between the last meal or snack and the next workout.
Your body needs time to eat food and absorb its nutrients, and this varies depending on the amount of food you have eaten. If you have limited or specific time to eat before training, choose a snack or meal low in fat, high in carbohydrates and with a moderate amount of protein.
Proper nutrition and eating after exercise are also important for recovery. Proper recovery is important to prevent energy accidents during the week and to repair and build muscle.
