Easy Steps to Improve Your Diet

Breakfast

Breakfast is commonly spoken to be the most important meal of the day. In football, every meal is important but breakfast is especially important to start a day's training.

During sleep, the body has been effectively fasting for over 8 hours. If a proper breakfast isn't consumed, then the body might look to other reserves for energy. This could be protein from the muscles, which will affect a young player's development as well as his performance.

It is important for a player to eat the right foods and eat as much as he needs.

Look at the table below to see foods that are excellent, good and bad for you to eat in the morning:

Excellent	Good	Bad
Toast and jam Fruit or Fruit juice Cereal and skimmed milk Baked beans	Lean ham or lean bacon Eggs Yoghurt Muffins	Sausages Streaky bacon Fried bread Hash browns Cheese

Certain food at breakfast is best consumed 1-2 hours before training, whereas others can be consumed up to 45 minutes before training:

Breakfast items 1 to 2 hours before training	Breakfast items 45 minutes to 1 hour before training
Poached or scrambled egg (3 whites to 1 yolk) Lean ham Grilled tomato/mushrooms Baked beans Cereals with skimmed milk Fresh fruit salad and yoghurt Fruit juices Toast and preserves	Cereal with skimmed milk Fresh fruit salad and yoghurt Fruit juices Toast andpreserves Whey protein supplement

Lunch

Lunch should consist of food that is low in fat and contain a good source of carbohydrates whilst training.

Baked potatoes are good with tuna or baked beans; chicken, spaghetti, salads or sandwiches are also good for replacing energy reserves.

A good idea also is to eat dessert like yoghurt or fruit such as bananas, oranges, grapes, strawberries or apples.

Look at the table below for good and bad foods to eat for lunch:

Excellent	Good	Bad
Turkey sandwich Tuna sandwich Pasta and sauce Baked Potatoes with tuna, baked beans or spaghetti Salad Yoghurt Fruit Fruit juice	Ham sandwich or baguette Egg sandwich or baguette Jaffa cakes	Cheese sandwich Sausage rolls Pasties Streaky bacon Chips/fries Burgers and chips/fries Fried chicken Pizza Fried eggs

A typical menu:

Starter

Soup and roll

Main Course

Grilled chicken/turkey/beef strips/fish (medium portion)
Rice/pasta/potatoes (large portion)
Steamed or boiled vegetables or salad (medium-small portion)

Dessert

Fresh fruit

Drinks

Water/fruit juice or squash/low carb sports drink

This menu is good to consume when training finishes

Main meal

Most people eat a main meal at the end of the day. As footballers, it is important to be aware of your training programme while considering what food to consume.

As a general rule, if you have had an afternoon or evening training session it is important to replace energy reserves. Eat similarly to the lunch menu and portion size after an afternoon or evening training session.

If there is no afternoon or evening training session, reduce the amount of carbohydrates like potatoes, rice and pasta. Replace the carbohydrates with more vegetables and salad..

As a general rule:

· ¼ should be vegetables
· ¼ should be protein
· ½ the plate should be carbohydrates

Look at the table below to see foods that are excellent, good and bad for you to eat at a main meal:

Excellent	Good	Bad
Fish (not in batter) Grilled Chicken fillet (no skin) Boiled rice Baked, boiled potatoes Pasta Salad Vegetables Fruit	Boiled ham Grilled pork or lamb Grilled lean steak Pasta bake Lasagne (low fat cheese and lean beef mince) Spaghetti Bolognese (lean beef mince)	Cheese burgers Pizza Sausages Fried bacon Sausages Sausage rolls Pasties Fries/chips Fried rice Fast food Cakes

A typical menu:

Starter

Soup (No roll) or fresh fruit
Bowl of salad (with grilled chicken pieces)

Main Course

Grilled chicken/turkey/lean steak/fish (large portion)
Rice/pasta/potatoes (small portion)
Steamed or boiled vegetables or salad (large portion)

Desserts

Fresh fruit

Drinks

Water/fruit juice or squash

Here are some easy steps to improve your diet.

Eat breakfast. This is the most important meal of the day, so it should not be skipped.
Reduce the amount of coffee, tea and cola that you drink, and replace them with water, fruit juice or other healthy drinks.
Eat healthier snacks. Eat carrots, dry breakfast cereal, nuts, rice cakes, rye, crisp breads, bagels or toast rather than crisps, chocolate bars and sweets.
Reduce sugary foods, for example by eliminating sugar from tea, coffee and breakfast cereal.
Reduce your intake of fatty foods. For example, reduce the amount of butter, margarine, fatty meat, beef burgers, chips and crisps that you eat.
Drink plenty of fluids before a match, at half time and after the match, particularly in hot, humid weather.
Avoid sugary snacks immediately before the start of a match. Fruit, such as bananas, or other carbohydrate-rich snacks are better. Avoid over-eating before a match.
Replace fluids, salts and carbohydrates that you have used during the match (see below)

Fluids

Other than low energy stores, dehydration is the other main cause of fatigue. Even small levels of dehydration will make performance worse.

As much as 2 litres of water can be lost during a match, so we encourage our players to drink lots before, during and after training.

Water is the purest form of fluid in the body and drinking plenty of it can help flush out toxins in the muscles - helping to reduce recovery time.

Sports drinks are proven to contain more energy in them than water. We use these to replace energy levels quickly, increasing the player's endurance and speeding up recovery after a game.

Excellent	Good	Bad
Water Fruit Juice Sports drinks Skimmed milk	Whole milk Cordial Milk shakes	Fizzy drinks Alcohol

Diet and Recovery After A Match

Here are four tips to help you recover from a hard match or training session.

Rest, and make sure you have enough sleep.
Replace your body salts by eating. Most foods naturally contain salts, but fruit juices are particularly good choices, and these will also replace fluids.
Replace your body carbohydrates by eating carbohydrate-rich foods within two hours after a match or training session.
Drink plenty of fluids to replace those lost through sweat.

Warning: This article is provided as advice only, and F.C Spartans don’t accept any liability whatsoever. Persons with medical conditions should consult their doctors (physicians) before changing their diet or starting an exercise programme. The advice given here is based on current medical science and recommendations from the Football Association.