Why don”t many athletes eat well?

Athletes are supposed to lead healthy and balanced lives, which includes following good dietary guidelines. But, as often happens, from theory to practice there is a world and athletes are not always the best example of correct nutrition. At least not in most cases, since it is difficult to find a good advisor to help them follow personalized online diets, often being guided by the advice, experiences and recommendations of friends or training partners.

Failures in the diet of athletes

One of the most frequent mistakes in athletes is the lack of fruits and vegetables in their diet, two essential elements but that many ignore due to the low caloric intake compared to their volume. However, they forget that they are a great source of vitamins and minerals, necessary for sports. Sometimes they try to alleviate this deficiency with supplements, but it must be borne in mind that an excess of supplements is harmful to health. The same goes for excess protein.

We must also talk about the fat deficit. One of the most common mistakes is to believe that fats are bad, that they make us fat and harm our health, which is why many athletes eliminate them from their diet. However, you have to know that there are different types of fats, and that healthy fats are essential for life. They help to better absorb nutrients, in digestion and metabolism, and if you do not eat the minimum amount of fat recommended, the risk of injury increases.

Fats bring us to our next point, junk food and alcohol abuse. One of the worst things you can do is honor yourself before or after training for believing that by doing sports you make up for it. In that case we are eating fats that are harmful to our health, and we will lack nutrients of all kinds, so one of the main tips when eating is to avoid this type of food as much as possible. The same thing happens with alcohol, which in moderation may not cause problems, but there comes a point where we begin to notice its adverse effects.

Finally you have to talk about the schedules. We must respect the five meals a day and follow the saying of “have lunch like a king, eat like a prince and dine like a beggar.” We cannot reserve the highest calorie intake for the night, as it will prevent us from resting well and we will lose all energy, while during the day we will have a caloric deficit. And you can use the bars in a timely manner, but do not abuse them, since they are processed elements and can cause imbalances.

Recommendations for a correct diet in athletes

As we pointed out at the beginning, the best solution is to go to a nutritionist who will design a personalized diet for us. Luckily, we have online nutritionists at our disposal who will prepare a diet that adapts to the sport we practice, our training schedules, goals and our body. Needless to say, the predesigned diets that can be found on the internet lack that personalized aspect, essential for the success of the diet.

And, in addition to going to an online nutritionist for advice, we can change some of our habits. For example, to avoid the abuse of supplements and proteins, it is advisable to look for nutrients naturally in food. It is always better to ingest them so artificially synthesized in supplement form. Hence the need to eat at least five pieces of fruit a day, which will also help us stay hydrated. We must respect the five meals a day, and always look for quality food that meets our needs.