Eat Like A Footballer For A Week

With a baby on the way I want to be able to set a good example in what I eat and how I exercise. It may be a long time before my child is able to understand what a balanced diet is but changing the way you think about food isn’t an overnight process.

Before I watch a big match I have a little ritual, I like to eat a steak dinner and enjoy some beers. It has taken me a while to get used to exchanging my frites for a pile of steaming veg. At first it ruined the ritual and that is what I mean about changing the way you think about food; nowadays I love my pile of veg and don’t give the chips a second thought… well at least most of the time I don’t.

I have a reasonably healthy diet but I am certainly not what I would call fit. I have a healthy weight for my height, I work out a lot but my physical fitness, especially stamina, is quite poor and I find myself struggling to maintain fitness when I achieve it. A lot of this comes down to what I eat.

Eating like a footballer or a professional athlete is extremely difficult because as a normal working stiff I keep a completely different schedule. Getting all of the nutrients I need to keep to my fitness schedule that my PT has set me just from my food is incredibly difficult without over-eating.

Balance is key to achieving and maintaining fitness so to avoid over-eating I supplement with shakes and BCAAs which help me keep my energy levels up, recover properly and not gain weight from over-eating.

As I strive to get “football fit” by the time my baby arrives so fitness is a way of life rather than a fad to lose weight I am attempting to eat like a footballer for a week with the aim of increasing it so when my child arrives I am eating like this every day. Here is my planned diet.

Breakfasts:

1. Branflakes with bananas & blueberries. 2. Bagel with strawberry jam. 3. Egg white and ham omelette. 4. Bran muffin 5. Shredded Wheat with bananas. 6. Pineapple and yoghurt. 7. Brown toast and scrambled eggs

Carbs and protein are great ways to start the day. They give you energy for the day ahead and help with muscle repair. Fresh pineapple especially the woody core is high in bromelain, a digestive that can help reducing inflammation. Scrambled eggs are high in protein which helps slow down the absorption of carbs.

Football fit… and in good shape too

Lunches:

1. Chicken salad. 2. Beans on brown toast. 3. Tuna pasta. 4. Green Salad with mixed beans 5. Turkey sandwich. 6. Salmon and rice. 7. Baked potato with tuna.

After lunchtime workout and a morning of work it’s important to replenish your energy. The aim is to take on a lot of protein and some carbs to help with muscle repair.

Dinners:

1. Baked potato with beans. 2.Haddock and broccoli. 3. Chicken and green vegetables. 4. Fish and rice. 5. Chicken cacciatore (tomatoes and carrots). 6. Lean steak and steamed veg. 7. Bean salad

I’m told I shouldn’t eat too late at night, which is probably my worst habit, but as long as I eat light, not too many carbs and easily digestible food like fish and vegetables it should stop me from feeling lethargic the next day.

Snacks:

Banana or jam sandwiches, muesli bars or sweetened popcorn (woohoo, Orange Wednesdays aren’t ruined), scones, crumpets, bagels, cereal, jaffa cakes, yoghurts, milkshakes, fruit, dried fruit and nuts.

It probably won’t be easy to stick to this diet at first as it does require a complete shift in the way I think about food.

Lunch is now going to become my main meal of the day which is going to be odd at first and avoiding carbs after 8pm will ruin tea and toast at supper time (something I have enjoyed almost every night for over 23 years).

It’s not going to be easy to get football fit and stay that way but maybe, just maybe, I’ll get a call from Wenger saying he reckons I’ve got a few good years left in me.

A guy can dream can’t he?