Football (soccer) players in the Premier League hold them to strict dietary standards. However, the player’s diets are prone to change based on how soon their next game is. Oftentimes, teams in the Premier League will have a certain meal planned for the night before the game, the morning before the game, snacks during the middle of the game, and meals to recover after the game. Below are some of the things that are often included in the player’s meal plans.
Healthy Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are one of the most important things every team in the Premier League makes sure to include in their meal plans. Before games, usually the night before, a team will “carbo-load” and eat a meal that is high in carbs. Some common high-carb foods include pasta, rice, and potatoes.
However, not all teams carbo-load in the same way. The Wolverhampton Wanderers try to avoid pasta when carbo-loading. This is because most kinds of pasta include gluten. Instead, the team uses gluten-free foods to carbo-load. Some of these foods include rice, quinoa, and potatoes. If someone were to replicate this diet, they could also try eating gluten-free pasta or trying lectin free dinner recipes, which are also often gluten-free, as they use cassava flour instead of wheat flour.
It’s also important for players to continue eating carbs throughout the game so that they can stay in the best form possible. However, when playing, it’s best to avoid eating heavy carbs that might weigh them down. Instead, it’s best to eat things that are high in carbs but are not heavy. Granola bars and the like are great for snacking in these cases.
High Protein Meals and Snacks
The diets of the premier league that makes them better also include large amounts of protein. The teams usually eat protein-packed meals after a game to help them recover and earn back some of the calories they burned off while playing.
For the most part, Premier League teams tend to stick to lean meats, with chicken being one of their favorites. Fish, nuts, and beans also make for great healthy protein sources. It is best when these high protein foods are paired with plenty of vegetables.
The teams also like to eat protein-based snacks during the game. These snacks are most likely composed of nuts or seeds, which are both full of protein and easily portable. Protein shakes and bars are also great options.
Electrolyte Drinks
Drinking juices and sports drinks that are full of electrolytes are perfect for recharging during a game. Most people tend to think of electrolytes as something only sports players need, but they are actually essential for everyone, as they help the body to function properly. According to Medical News Today, if a person has an electrolyte imbalance, they can have muscle weakness, twitching, confusion, fatigue, numbness, an irregular heartbeat, and in extreme cases, seizures.
It’s easiest to get electrolytes from sports drinks. Did you know that you can take in electrolytes from natural sources as well? Electrolytes are also found in abundance in fruits and vegetables. For this reason, if you don’t have a sports drink on hand, it might be to your benefit to make a smoothie.
Fresh Water
Lastly, every sports player, no matter the sport, knows the importance of drinking water. It’s important to drink water every day. The average person needs to drink about eight cups of water each day. However, sports players need to drink much more. This is, in part, because they sweat so much and need to drink water to replace the water that their body lost naturally through sweating. For this reason, spectators will often see sports players chugging water on game day.
Whether you are simply interested in the diets of football players or want to change your diet to be similar to theirs, this article has provided the basic ways in which players eat. These diets can be modified to fit anyone – sports player or not.
