When planning the success to achieve it big in the field of soccer, the importance on the diet plan of a soccer player cannot be taken casually. Food is the energy fuel which propels a sportsperson’s stamina and performance levels and it is imperative that if players do not follow healthy eating, they will hardly be able to train harder to improve their game.
Meals during Trainings
Soccer players need to burn a lot of energy, as a result, carbohydrates should account for about 70% of their diet. Carbohydrate should be consumed in small portions throughout the day instead of the regular meals and in order to pump up the energy levels, refuelling before training is particularly important. Food such as low fat pudding, bagels, milkshakes, yogurt, crumpets and muesli bars are some of the good carbohydrates which can be consumed by the soccer players.
Breakfast
Breakfast should be taken within an hour of waking up. An ideal breakfast for a soccer player includes ready to eat cereal with low fat milk and blueberries along with a slice of whole wheat bread with low fat cheese.
Meals before and after a Match
Meals before a match should comprise of carbohydrates mixed with little protein. Carbohydrates help to retain the glucose levels in the blood and the fat free protein helps to build and repair tissues and makes it easy to recover from past injuries. Pasta or Rice combined with vegetables and fish could be an ideal meal before heading for the match. Also, it should be kept in mind that meals should be consumed at least three hours prior to the commencement of the game.
After a hectic physical exercise, it is important to let one’s body rest for half an hour to forty-five minutes and let it recover from the wear and tear. The necessary glucose, carbohydrates and protein lost needs to be reinstated so that the player does not suffer from muscular problems. Meals with tuna, eggs, organic beef jerky, cold pasta salad etc can be consumed after the match.
Fluids make for an important source of vitamins therefore drinks such as Powerade and Gatorade needs to be sipped regularly before and during the training sessions and matches.
Snacks
Soccer players often need to refuel between meals to keep their energy levels brimming and beef jerky could a good snacking option. Beef jerky consists of dried beef, often sprinkled with herbs and spices and cut into strips which provide high quantities of protein, vitamins and minerals. A 3.5 oz of beef jerky would typically contain about 150 calories which makes it a good choice for snacks or to curb hunger pangs, especially for soccer players who goes through gruelling practice and training sessions. Also, beef jerky contains about 31.1 gms of protein per serving, which implies that it can count for almost 70% of a soccer player’s daily protein requirements. Consuming organic beef jerky is a better option as it is gluten free and contains no preservatives, MSG or nitrites.
Organic Beef jerky can be well included in a soccer player’s or anyone’s snacking diet. Golden Valley Natural has earned acclaim for it’s array of organic beef jerky in a variety of flavours.