Soccer Nutrition

For couple of months I’ve been playing soccer on Saturdays (none of those guys are me J). I’ve been observing how my nutrition plays a part in my performance during a game. In my experience, I’ve found that balancing and going Paleo will work for pretty much anything. Hydration is extremely important and often overlooked.

Here’s what I ate 30 minutes prior to last Saturday’s game:

• 12 Asparagus Spears
• 2 Egg Whites/1 Egg Yolk scrambled
• 3 Silver Dollar sized indian turkey patties w/tomato sauce
• 1 apple
• 5 tbsp olive oil mayo

I tweaked my typical breakfast by roughly doubling my fat intake (I just squeezed the mayo bottle for longer time). While playing, I felt noticeably more energetic and alert throughout the game than previous games, and it also happened to be the best game I ever played (of the 6 I’ve done). I was also well hydrated (32 oz. of water prior) and had plenty of rest. I played a full 90-minute game hard, and afterward I was not hungry at all. In fact I felt I could play more. That was new.

Remember, fat is your friend! When you have balanced your meals for a while, your body converts to using fat as its primary energy source. For long-term, or endurance-type activities, increasing your fat intake prior can assist with sustained energy for longer periods.

What do you do for endurance type activities? Post to comments!