Doing sport is good, but to get the most out of it, it is also important to eat well at the same time. What diet should the sportsman adopt on a daily basis? What to eat before taking part in a sporting activity? What nutrition to optimize muscle mass gain? More information on the sportsman’s diet in this article.

Before we get into the subject of sports nutrition…
Having a balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle is not just for people who want to optimise their sporting performance. Indeed, it is now clearly established that diet has an extremely important role to play in maintaining good health. It is therefore essential to follow some basic rules in order to have a healthy and balanced diet.

If eating well is good for your health, so is exercising. After all, the human body is designed for movement and we all need to exercise for our well-being.

Why does sport keep you fit?

Because doing sports:

• Improves the quality of life.
• Promotes resistance to fatigue.
• Reduces anxiety and depression.
• Helps to relax and therefore be more relaxed.
• Improves the quality of sleep.
• Maintains psychological balance.
• All this allows you to be more available to manage the balance of your diet.
• However, it is important to know that the practice of a regular sports activity requires an adapted nutrition.

The sportsman’s daily diet

To have a diet adapted to the regular practice of a sport is first of all to eat everything in proportions personalised for each athlete, because we are all different. Eating everything does not mean just anything but eating about 2 products from each food group.

But how do you do it?

1. A real breakfast.
2. A portion of meat at one meal and an equivalent at the other.
3. A raw vegetable or salad at least once a day.
4. Cooked vegetables at least once a day.
5. Fruit: 1 to 3 times a day.
6. Dairy products or its derivatives or products based on calcium-enriched soya: 2 to 3 times a day.
7. Starchy foods (bread, pasta, rice, bulgur, spelt, pulses, etc.) at least 2 to 3 times a day.
8. Water: at least 1.5 litres per day, then count 1 ml per Calorie spent (i.e. 1 litre per 1000 Calories).

The most important thing is to be attentive to your body and your nutritional needs, especially in relation to your sports practice. This is only a framework to guide you but not a rule that cannot be ignored.

Food before sport: how to do it?

If possible, it is preferable to eat your meal 3 hours before your sports activity. Your body will be all the more efficient because it will have had time to digest.
In this meal, saturated fats are forbidden and copious fatty and alcoholic meals as well.

Tips for a good diet before sport :

• Lean meat or fish.
• Starch: preferably rice, pasta and pulses (except for endurance sports as sometimes pulses can cause digestive discomfort).
• Vegetables that do not cause digestive discomfort.
• A dairy product.
• A non fat sweet product.
• A water intake.
• If the 3 hours are between the 2 main meals, a sweet, non-fatty snack is sufficient: such as a cereal bar, compote, fruit paste, …
• Don’t forget to stay hydrated throughout your sports activity.

Sport, nutrition and muscle building

The practice of a sporting activity coupled with a protein-rich diet helps to optimise muscle gain.

However, it is important to know that taking dietary supplements has never been scientifically proven (also read here), only very controversial sportsmen’s testimonials can be read on the net or in magazines, which proves once again that we are all different.

Nevertheless, it is important to know that you can optimize your muscle mass through a natural and good quality diet.

In practice:

1. A very important water intake
2. 2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight with a balanced supply of amino acids.
3. A good dietary follow-up.

Alexander Core, Dietician