Eating for maximum performance and recovering to get up and go again!
If you’re training hard, and trying to do that for maximum gains, then you had better be prepared to take your eating a lot more seriously.
Pro athletes consider it a cardinal sin to miss meals, to eat foods that are lacking nutrients and a routine of eating nutrient-packed food is vital for them every 3-4 hours. This is why they are professionals, they are prepared to perform better for longer, and are more consistent in what they do for longer than anyone thought possible.
It all starts at breakfast, when they make sure they eat well and nourish their body for the demands of the day ahead.
There are no rubbish cereals like crunchy nut corn flakes or most cereal in bright colourful boxes, when they have breakfast it is food in its natural state. Weetabix, shredded wheat, porridge are great examples.
Poached/scrambled eggs are great on wholemeal toast without any kind of spread on the toast. Toast with banana spread on it can work very well for energy.
A glass of water is needed first thing to clean your system out, and hydrate you so your energy levels start climbing already after a long night’s sleep.
If you’re having orange juice, make sure you dilute it heavily as you don’t want too much refined sugar.
Breakfast is classed as what you eat within ONE HOUR of getting up.
Mid-morning is a time when you may be hungry if involved in heavy training, so two pieces of fruit will work fine.
Cottage cheese plain or with flavourings such as onion and chives can work well on wholemeal toast, again with no spread.
When it comes to lunch time, then you had better make sure you get good nutrients in your body.
Ideally, you need to put protein in your meal (white meat, any kind of fish without batter or sauce, cottage cheese is fine etc).
Your carbs need to be away from white flour, all sorts of dangerous chemicals and this means white bread, white pasta etc is off the menu!
Replace with sweet, new, jacket potatoes, wholegrain pasta, brown rice etc. This will give you proper fuel to give you longer lasting energy.
Always underrated are vegetables. They give your internal health vitality, and keep everything working inside very well, and give your body all the vital nutrients it need. Tomatoes, broccoli, carrots etc need to be in most meals.
If you are having sandwiches, try wholemeal bread or wholemeal wraps/pitta bread.
So you should be flying by this stage? Then it comes to mid-afternoon when many people feel really tired, then is when you need a couple pieces of fruit, or even a bowl of porridge if you’re hitting some training around 4pm, which can provide you with vital energy at a time when you need it.
After training, your evening meal is critical! First of all, you will notice how full you are compared to normal?
Eating regularly throughout the day will make sure you have a steady supply of energy, and you’re not as likely to make poor choices at this time, such as grabbing a cheese sandwich because you have been starving yourself all day and you need something right now!
So lets follow a good example meal in the evening.
A good protein source such as salmon, tuna, trout, mackerel etc, or a white meat, and combine with good carbs such as new potatoes, wholegrain pasta, brown rice etc, and make sure again you have an array of vegetables, to make sure you are being nourished properly.
Training although very positive for you, can deplete your body of a lot of nutrients, so you need to replace them straight away, allowing yourself to recover quickly from exercise, and when you eventually go to bed, you will be fully relaxed and its at this time your body fully recovers, builds up broken down muscle tissue and gets you ready for the next day and your next day. If you do not do this, then you will always struggle!
Follow these guidelines and everything will pick up considerably for you.
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