The Soccer Nutrition Guide - Nutrition and Diet

Intro to soccer nutrition
When I started my soccer carrier I didn’t know anything about nutrition. Carbohydrate, protein and glycol were like space science for me. This part of soccer is the most technical and can be hard to grip in the beginning. But don’t worry about that. The soccer nutrition guide will help you understand why you must eat properly to perform well on soccer field. Let’s start...
Soccer is seen by many as the world’s biggest sport with over 130 million players around the world! Still, the research concerning soccer nutrition has been poor. But times are changing and new researches are being conducted. New reports suggest that you should use same diet as marathon runners!

Now you probably wonder what a soccer player and a long distance runner have in common, especially since the game of soccer involves fast running and bursts of energy comparing to the continuous long running that is the hallmark of marathon runners.

However this connection doesn’t seem to be so extraordinary when you consider what is actually happening during a soccer game. In a general soccer match you will usually run in a range from 3-7 miles. You will also sprint for about 500-1000 yards, accelerate 20-50 times and also change your direction very often.

Soccer Nutrition and Carbohydrates
As a soccer player you will never cover a marathon distance of 26 miles or more (unless you have some super Duracell rechargeable batteries : - ) The slow and fast running which you utilize may easily deplete your glycogen stores. To avoid that you need to eat quality carbohydrates.

Research have shown that amateur soccer players only eat 1300 calories of carbohydrate/day, which is far below the recommended level of 2300 to 2900 calories (are you one of them?).

The main energy source for your muscles are the glycogen fuels. Glycogen is produced from carbohydrates you eat (apples, bananas, bread, milk etc). It is vital for your performance to have enough glycogen. If not, you will have a fatigue felling, your concentration will be poor and recovering from a match/practice will take longer time.

If your glycogen fuels are low in the beginning of a game, you will most likely have few carbohydrates left in your muscles at the beginning of second half. This simply means that your performance will decrease significantly. You will for example run slower, sometimes by as much as 40-50 % compared to your first half of the match. Your cover distance will also be reduced by 25% or more with low glycogen fuels.

Do I need to eat fat?
Well, as soccer player you will burn many calories but the fat should still be minimized in your food because it is not an efficient provider of energy. This doesn’t mean that you should not eat fat, but try to keep it low, because in long running sports, like soccer, your body will use glycogen fuel which is found mainly in carbohydrates.

What about protein, do I need it?
As soccer player you need normally to eat 0.6 to 0.8 grams of protein per pound of your body weight per day (1.4 to 1.7 g/kg/day). Protein will repair your muscles and also boost your immune system. You may also use protein as fuel before practicing sessions or match but it doesn’t give you any boost of energy as carbohydrates does. Some good sources of protein include fish, chicken, milk and yogurt.

Is it necessary to drink much water?
During your practice or matches, your body will lose a lot of water (especially in hot and warm weather kinds). To keep your body hydrated it is vital to drink water in small portions.

Soccer nutrition and sports drinks
Sports drinks usually claim to boost your performance but they are just full of fast carbohydrates that will just increase your blood sugar for a while. This will not increase your performance to some high level. My advice is to plan your meals and only consume sports drinks when you really don’t have time to eat.

When To Eat?
It is recommended to eat meals containing at least 700 carbohydrates about 3-4 hours before the match start. After the end of match you should attempt to consume enough carbohydrate to replace all the fluid you have lost during the match.