What Does A Professional Soccer Player Eat

Ever wondered what a professional soccer player eat? Soccer players train a lot and need a lot of energy. Furthermore, soccer players have to keep their fat percentages at around 10% (10% for men, around 20% for females). Let’s find out what professional soccer players eat.

Delving Into The Macros

foods can be divided into:

Protein: Include foods like milk, cheese, beef, chicken, fish. Protein is needed for muscle repair, detoxification and building up tissues

Carbohydrates: Include foods like fruits, pasta, rice, and bread. Carbohydrates are needed for energy and stabilizing blood sugar levels.

Fats: Includes foods like cheese, fatty parts of meats, nuts, and seeds. Fats can be used for energy and protection of the organs.

How Many Calories Does A Professional Soccer Player Eat

Professional soccer players train about 12.5 hours of soccer per week. This means professional soccer players need a lot of energy. In different studies, it was found that professional soccer players burn about 3000-4000 calories per day. For youth soccer players this number is about 3200-3700 calories per day. See below which position eats which amounts. From here.

Carbohydrates

Your liver and muscles can store carbohydrates in the form of glycogen. Glycogen is very important for soccer players. If you start with higher glycogen levels, you will do better in high-intensity movements and cope better during the game. Scientist recommends that carbohydrate intake is about 6-10 grams per kg body weight. This means about 450 grams to 750 grams of carbohydrate per day for a 75 kg soccer player.

Moreover, it has been demonstrated that elevating muscle glycogen prior to exercise through a carbohydrate diet elevates performance during such type of exercise

Proteins

The recommended intake of proteins is 0.8 gram per kg body weight. This amount is for average people not for active athletes. Specific advice for soccer players for proteins is an intake of 1.4-1.7 grams of kg bodyweight per day. This means for a 75 kg soccer player this means about 105 and 127.5 gram per day. Especially during a busy period of many games, the extra protein might be beneficial.

these results provide evidence that protein feeding may more efficiently restore football-specific performance and strength and provide antioxidant protection during a congested game fixture.

Fats

Fats can be divided into saturated, mono-unsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. The total amount of fat intake is about 100-120 grams per day. The intake of the different fats can be seen below.

What Do Most Soccer Players Lack

Most professional soccer players get enough protein and fats. The biggest deficiency in soccer players is carbohydrates. The recommended percentages for soccer players is 55-65%, 12-15% protein, and less than 30% fat. Adding carbohydrates can boost your soccer skills.

During the recovery period following a soccer match, it is useful to increase the salt content of meals, and again to provide a good mixed diet with an emphasis upon carbohydrates.

However, providing 52 g . h(-1) carbohydrate during exercise showed a tendency to better maintain soccer skill performance than a taste-matched placebo.

Furthermore, the inclusion of carbohydrate in beverages consumed during and after a soccer match is likely to enhance performance and facilitate the recovery of liver and muscle glycogen reserves.

The training diet should be comprised of 55-65% carbohydrate, 12-15% protein and less than 30% fat. The goal of the training diet is to provide adequate energy for weight maintenance, and 7-10 g of carbohydrate per kg body weight for maximizing glycogen storage. Nutritional needs for competition include eating prior to and after matches. Consumption of carbohydrate-rich foods for energy needs and glycogen resynthesis are key behaviours soccer players need to focus on daily.

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