Revealed: What is the difference between the breakfast of professional athletes and that of ordinary people?
2024-08-17
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Professional athletes have to do a lot of training every day, so their diet must be different from that of ordinary people. Have you ever wondered what they eat for breakfast every day? Experts will reveal the secrets for you.
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You may wonder what exactly the professional athletes eat for breakfast to be able to perform impressive physical feats. You might be curious about what professional athletes eat for breakfast every day to accomplish such remarkable physical feats.
The short answer: It depends. Brittany Dunn, a chef for the Philadelphia Eagles, has found that what professional athletes eat varies widely among athletes and the sports they play.In short, it depends. Brittany Dunn, head chef for the Philadelphia Eagles, has found that professional athletes' breakfasts vary greatly from person to person, and from sport to sport.
"I have worked with an athlete who prefers two boiled eggs with peanut butter toast and a coffee, an athlete who prefers an acai bowl and sauteed veggies, and an athlete who orders two breakfast sandwiches and tater tots,” she told HuffPost.“I’ve worked with one athlete who likes to have two hard-boiled eggs with peanut butter on toast and a cup of coffee for breakfast, another who has an acai bowl and sautéed vegetables for breakfast, and another who has two sandwiches and potato balls for breakfast,” Dunn told The Huffington Post.
“The contrasting characteristics of athlete breakfasts are heavily influenced by personal preferences and diets, the amount of time between eating and the following training session, body composition and sport,” she said."The breakfast choices athletes make vary widely because they are largely influenced by personal preference, eating habits, eating intervals, upcoming training, body composition and sport," she said.
In her experience, most athletes eat the same breakfast before every competition. “Game day is not the day to try new foods,” she said. Additionally, having a consistent breakfast routine can help professional athletes feel more mentally prepared for the day ahead.In her experience, most athletes eat the same breakfast before a game. “Game day is not the right time to try new foods,” she said. In addition, eating a fixed breakfast helps athletes get into a better mindset before a game.
As for general caloric needs, professional athletes need to consume more than the average person given the amount of energy they’re using in their respective sports, and to help with recovery. Dunn said she has worked with an athlete who required a 1,000-calorie recovery smoothie post-training, plus three to four additional meals throughout the day. In terms of overall calorie needs, professional athletes need to eat more than the average person, given the amount of energy they consume in their respective sports, and eating more also helps them recover. Dunn said she once worked with an athlete who would eat a 1,000-calorie shake after training to replenish his energy, and would also eat three to four times a day.
"We really need to put a lot of fuel into athletes, so we might give them things like juice or even candy to make them feel more hungry,” Dr. Marc Bubbs, a nutritionist with a portfolio of Olympic athletes, told HuffPost. "We really need to get the athletes into a lot of calories, so we might give them some juice or even some candy to make them feel hungrier," Dr. Mark Babbs, a dietitian who has worked with several Olympic athletes, told The Huffington Post.
Bubbs explained that the more intense your exercise, the greater your reliance on carbohydrates, so professional athletes simply need more carbohydrates in their system. The male athletes he’s worked with need about 4,000 calories a day while the general recommendation for the average person is around 2,000 calories per day.Babs explained that the more intense the exercise, the greater the reliance on carbohydrates, so professional athletes need more carbohydrates. The male athletes he has worked with need to consume about 4,000 calories a day, while the general recommendation for ordinary people is to consume about 2,000 calories a day.
While the average person might make a smoothie for breakfast with water, protein powder and berries, a professional athlete might substitute fruit juice for the water and add mangoes, pineapples and bananas to up the carb content. Another example Bubbs gave was a bowl of plain yogurt with berries and nuts, which makes for a solid breakfast for the average person (not too many carbs or fats, and plenty of protein). To up the carb content, a professional athlete might add sliced banana, muesli and maple syrup. The key concept here, Bubbs explained, is fueling for the demands of an athlete each day, whether that’s competition, practice or even rest.Babs gave an example, saying that an average person might have a milkshake with water, protein powder and berries for breakfast, while a professional athlete might need to replace water with juice and add mango, pineapple and banana to increase the intake of carbohydrates. To give another example, an average person might only need a bowl of plain yogurt with berries and nuts for breakfast (not too much carbohydrates or fat, but plenty of protein). A professional athlete might need to add banana slices, fruit and vegetable oatmeal and maple syrup to reach the carbohydrate target. Babs explained that the core idea is to provide energy according to the athlete's daily needs, whether it is competition, training or rest.
English source: HuffPostCompiled by: DannyProofreading: Dong Jing, Qi Lei
Source: China Daily
