To achieve the highest athletic results, you need to live the life of a pro athlete. You need to have the determination of a pro athlete, the training regimen of a pro athlete and, of course, a diet of a pro athlete. For your body to reach the peak of its performance, it needs sustenance that is adequate both in quality and quantity. Unfortunately, not a lot of people know how to achieve it. To lend a helping hand, here are some tips on how to eat like a pro athlete.
1. The appropriate number of calories
The first big mistake that you may make while trying to eat like an athlete is not eating a sufficient number of calories per day. Some people are eager to lose a couple of pounds, which makes them enter a slight caloric deficit, which would be okay, if they weren’t already on a pro athlete training regimen, as well. People often underestimate how much a professional athlete can burn in a day. You see, on average, people spend between 1,600 and 3,000 calories (depending on their sex, size and other things). A professional athlete can easily burn twice this number.
In other words athletes eat and train– don’t hold back! When you train like a champ, you need to eat like a champ and this is one of the things that you should always keep in mind. Being in a caloric deficit, especially being in a caloric deficit for a longer period of time, will make you underperform on every single exercise. It will also lower your immune system, and therefore, it makes you skip days and weeks of training due to having to take a sick day. All in all, by eating like a pro athlete, you will stay healthy and fit.
2. Micronutrients are more crucial to eat
The next thing worth focusing on is micronutrients. Sure, this is important for every individual’s dietary regimen. However, for a professional athlete, the number of calories will be even more apparent. Why? Well, because their body is already pushed to its upper limits that the sign of any deficiency, whatsoever, will start showing almost immediately. Most importantly, all those who train 5-7 days per week should start taking vitamin supplements on a regular basis. Vitamin complex supplements are the most efficient solution here. These vitamins are usually consumed after meals.
3. The quality of meals you eat
Another thing you need to focus on is the quality of the meals that you consume. In today’s day and age, one of the biggest challenges of proper nutrition lies in finding food that is non-processed and healthy for your organism. Fortunately, in the hyper-connected world that we live in today, it’s also fairly easy to find a suitable organic grocery delivery service and get what you need. Keep in mind that it is a service that you will use on a daily (or at least weekly) basis. That is why it’s so important that you find the supplier you can trust.
4. Eating for your training regime
There are three macronutrients. The first one is a protein which is the molecule used in the construction of your muscles. In other words, it’s essential for those who are muscle-building. In order to acquire muscle mass quickly (during weightlifting), you should eat roughly 1.2-1.7 grams of protein per kilogram of your bodyweight. Other than the protein, there’s also the issue of energy. That is solved via intake of carbohydrates (for aerobic exercises) and fats (for anaerobic exercises). While their ratio may change depending on your training program, you need to consume all three of these nutrients on a daily basis.
5. The eating schedule is just so salient
The schedule that you’re eating on is just as important. The sooner you have your first meal, the sooner your metabolism starts working. Sure, you can do empty-stomach cardio first, but you should have your first daily meal within the first two hours after you wake up. Second, you need to take a break between your snack and your workout session. Ideally, you would eat 3-4 hours before the training and then have a light snack (100-200kcal) about an hour before the training. This way, having a full stomach won’t diminish your athletic performance. It is also smart to eat just after working out.
6. Sugar is your ally
While training, your body is dipping into your glycogen reserves. In order to replenish them, you need to eat something sweet right after your training. There’s a myth that after lifting weights, your priority is to consume some protein, which is why people usually have protein shakes at hand. The truth is that you can easily wait an hour, hour-and-a-half after the training for this. What you need right away is some sugar. Ideally, you would get some dextrose powder, seeing as how it is the easiest for your body to process.
7. Supplements are important
Previously, we talked about the amount of protein and the number of calories you have to consume within a day. We also discussed micronutrients. The thing is that it’s quite hard to consume all of this through regular food. In 300 grams of quality steak have roughly 75 grams of protein. So, what if your daily protein mark is at about 150 grams? Needless to say, that this diet would be incredibly expensive, but with the help of a quality protein powder, this mark is more than realistic to reach.
In conclusion
The most important thing is that there’s a balance between your diet and your training sessions. Training too hard without proper food will make you underperform and even injure yourself. That will quickly result in a massive loss of training motivation and even one or two health issues. On the other hand, eating like a pro athlete while training recreationally may make you put on weight or fail to see the desired effect. In other words, for you to get optimal results, you need to get both.
