Soccer Coaching - A Footballer's Diet

The ability to eat right to ensure the body is supplied with all the required levels of nutrients, vitamins and minerals, is not just a concern for a footballer but any individual in general. As the wrong eating habits can increase the risk of certain diseases and lead to a restricted lifestyle. A correct diet will not guarantee to make a player better but it can however aid them in reaching their full potential. The proper intake of nutrients and liquids will provide the body with the sufficient amount of fuel required by the body to meet physical demands of a match or training session.

Controlling what a player eats on a daily basis to ensure the correct diet is not a privilege enjoyed by the large number of teams. Very few outside of the professional game will be able to enforce such a policy. However this does not stop teams from suggesting or encouraging players what to eat. Advice should especially be offered towards younger players who are uneducated on the positives of a healthy diet.

For the average person their ideal diet should be similar to:

However the majority of people do not have such a diet they have a daily intake similar to:

The problem the majority of people, including players, encounter when trying to meet the requirements of an ideal diet is not due to the contents of what they eat but the manner in which it is prepared. They may eat the required amount of carbohydrates and the other nutrients but the preparation or cooking method may involve a lot of fat and therefore increase the total percentage of fat in their diet. For example if one potato was cooked as French fries and one baked, the carbohydrate level would remain the same for both meals but the fat content would be considerably higher in the deep fried French fries, due to the oil absorbed during cooking. So for many people it is not that they eat too much but they prepare their food incorrectly.

For the average football player (i.e. not training intensely more than twice a week) their daily diet should not have to be drastically changed from that suggested to the average public. This is because the demands of their activities should not be high enough to warrant a greater intake of any nutrients. However, if the player is training more often or at greater intensities then their diet should be adapted to include more carbohydrates, so that their energy stores (glycogen) are kept up to the optimal level. As a result their daily diet should be:

There is not a great difference between these ratios and the ones suggested to the normal person. As training frequency and intensity increases so should the consumption of food as it is vital to replace all the used calories and stores of carbohydrates, protein and fat.

For players that are training full time their calorie and carbohydrate intake will raise drastically. The table below highlights the differences:

*Dependant on volume and intensity of training

To establish which foods contain which nutrients see The Breakdown Section. However a brief overview of the kind of foods in each group to consume, substitute and avoid see the guide provided below:

Carbohydrates

Complex ones such as rice, pasta, vegetables, bread, fruit, should be preferred to simple ones. As they provide more nutrients and are generally less fatty. Although this approach changes in regards to a match day diet.

Protein

1-2 grams for every kilo of body weight. Fish and poultry are a good source of protein.

Fat

Should be limited not completely removed from a diet. Some fat (mono-unsaturated) is good for the body as it helps lower cholesterol. The fat intake can be reduced by swapping a few simple dishes and products, such as:

• Swapping chips (French fries) with baked or boiled potatoes.
• Butter with margarine
• Olive oil instead of vegetable oil
• Fatty meats, and fat filled sauces (creamy, luxury etc)
• Whole milk to semi or skimmed
• Limiting snacky foods and, where applicable, alcohol

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