Preparation for football matches (diet)

burger1979

hi folks,

was wondering if someone could help me. I play soccer for a local team. Train twice a week for about 2 hours each session and the new season is about to kick off. We have had a few pre season friendlies where i played a part in them. thing is though when the matches come around, usually on a sat afternoon, before the match i can feel a bit tired, legs feel heavy and feel like al my energy has been sapped out of me. yet when i go training on a tues/thurs after work i am raring to go. i like to think that i am fit enough for a match at the weekend and have been through a tough pre season training already. I think its down to diet and what foods i am eating before the match. on a normal workday mon-fri i usually eat the following:

brekfast - bowl of cereal usually cornflakes/special k with sultanas/raisins and milk

mid morning snack - apple

lunch - beans on toast, small tin of beans

mid afternoon snack - banana

also drink about 2-3ltrs of water a day mon-fri

dinner - rice/chicken/pasta/veg (peppers/carrots/onions). i only eat dinner on monday, fri, sat, sun, tues&wed&thurs i am playing football in the evening. now the dinners above are usually what i eat. sometimes can be steak or other meats in there or indeed fish. all of the above are at about the set same times of the day. after football trainning i usually have a bowl of cereal or toast and jam. this would be between 9.30 and 10pm.

but when it comes to a saturday things get a little stray. i have cereal to start off with then about 2 hours before the match i have toast with jam combined with lots of water and a lucozade. even though i think i am eating well when it comes to the match as isay i can feel 'tired' even though i would have had about 10 hours sleep. i dont go out the night before just stay at home and watch tv. i am 6 4" tall and weigh about 14 stone 7lbs at the moment.
anyone any advice on how to prepare for matches?

thanks in advance and sorry for the long post but trying to give as much info as possible.

burger

corkcomp

burger1979 wrote: »

hi folks,

was wondering if someone could help me. I play soccer for a local team. Train twice a week for about 2 hours each session and the new season is about to kick off. We have had a few pre season friendlies where i played a part in them. thing is though when the matches come around, usually on a sat afternoon, before the match i can feel a bit tired, legs feel heavy and feel like al my energy has been sapped out of me. yet when i go training on a tues/thurs after work i am raring to go. i like to think that i am fit enough for a match at the weekend and have been through a tough pre season training already. I think its down to diet and what foods i am eating before the match. on a normal workday mon-fri i usually eat the following:

brekfast - bowl of cereal usually cornflakes/special k with sultanas/raisins and milk

mid morning snack - apple

lunch - beans on toast, small tin of beans

mid afternoon snack - banana

also drink about 2-3ltrs of water a day mon-fri

dinner - rice/chicken/pasta/veg (peppers/carrots/onions). i only eat dinner on monday, fri, sat, sun, tues&wed&thurs i am playing football in the evening. now the dinners above are usually what i eat. sometimes can be steak or other meats in there or indeed fish. all of the above are at about the set same times of the day. after football trainning i usually have a bowl of cereal or toast and jam. this would be between 9.30 and 10pm.

but when it comes to a saturday things get a little stray. i have cereal to start off with then about 2 hours before the match i have toast with jam combined with lots of water and a lucozade. even though i think i am eating well when it comes to the match as isay i can feel 'tired' even though i would have had about 10 hours sleep. i dont go out the night before just stay at home and watch tv. i am 6 4" tall and weigh about 14 stone 7lbs at the moment.
anyone any advice on how to prepare for matches?

thanks in advance and sorry for the long post but trying to give as much info as possible.

burger

hi, im assuming your not trying to gain or lose weight or anything like that? I would swap the toast + jam + cereal and have it before training and have dinner afterwards, I could easily go for a run 30 mins after food like that but stuff like meat + potato + 2 veg can slow me down unless at least 2 hours beforehand ...

burger1979

no i am not looking to gain weight or lose it drastically (although losing a few couldnt hurt could it:D:D) the toast and stuff i never eat before training its just before a match on sat when i need the extra energy boost.

AndRoiD

burger1979 wrote: »

hi folks,

was wondering if someone could help me. I play soccer for a local team. Train twice a week for about 2 hours each session and the new season is about to kick off. We have had a few pre season friendlies where i played a part in them. thing is though when the matches come around, usually on a sat afternoon, before the match i can feel a bit tired, legs feel heavy and feel like al my energy has been sapped out of me. yet when i go training on a tues/thurs after work i am raring to go. i like to think that i am fit enough for a match at the weekend and have been through a tough pre season training already. I think its down to diet and what foods i am eating before the match. on a normal workday mon-fri i usually eat the following:

brekfast - bowl of cereal usually cornflakes/special k with sultanas/raisins and milk

mid morning snack - apple

lunch - beans on toast, small tin of beans

mid afternoon snack - banana

also drink about 2-3ltrs of water a day mon-fri

dinner - rice/chicken/pasta/veg (peppers/carrots/onions). i only eat dinner on monday, fri, sat, sun, tues&wed&thurs i am playing football in the evening. now the dinners above are usually what i eat. sometimes can be steak or other meats in there or indeed fish. all of the above are at about the set same times of the day. after football trainning i usually have a bowl of cereal or toast and jam. this would be between 9.30 and 10pm.

but when it comes to a saturday things get a little stray. i have cereal to start off with then about 2 hours before the match i have toast with jam combined with lots of water and a lucozade. even though i think i am eating well when it comes to the match as isay i can feel 'tired' even though i would have had about 10 hours sleep. i dont go out the night before just stay at home and watch tv. i am 6 4" tall and weigh about 14 stone 7lbs at the moment.
anyone any advice on how to prepare for matches?

thanks in advance and sorry for the long post but trying to give as much info as possible.

burger

i know this sounds a bit stupid but i think its nerves. i get the exact same thing when i go to play a match. i just try and put it to the back of my head and more concentrate on the football rather than how im feeling.

Frogdog

burger1979 wrote: »

hi folks,

was wondering if someone could help me. I play soccer for a local team. Train twice a week for about 2 hours each session and the new season is about to kick off. We have had a few pre season friendlies where i played a part in them. thing is though when the matches come around, usually on a sat afternoon, before the match i can feel a bit tired, legs feel heavy and feel like al my energy has been sapped out of me. yet when i go training on a tues/thurs after work i am raring to go. i like to think that i am fit enough for a match at the weekend and have been through a tough pre season training already. I think its down to diet and what foods i am eating before the match. on a normal workday mon-fri i usually eat the following:

brekfast - bowl of cereal usually cornflakes/special k with sultanas/raisins and milk

mid morning snack - apple

lunch - beans on toast, small tin of beans

mid afternoon snack - banana

also drink about 2-3ltrs of water a day mon-fri

dinner - rice/chicken/pasta/veg (peppers/carrots/onions). i only eat dinner on monday, fri, sat, sun, tues&wed&thurs i am playing football in the evening. now the dinners above are usually what i eat. sometimes can be steak or other meats in there or indeed fish. all of the above are at about the set same times of the day. after football trainning i usually have a bowl of cereal or toast and jam. this would be between 9.30 and 10pm.

but when it comes to a saturday things get a little stray. i have cereal to start off with then about 2 hours before the match i have toast with jam combined with lots of water and a lucozade. even though i think i am eating well when it comes to the match as isay i can feel 'tired' even though i would have had about 10 hours sleep. i dont go out the night before just stay at home and watch tv. i am 6 4" tall and weigh about 14 stone 7lbs at the moment.
anyone any advice on how to prepare for matches?

thanks in advance and sorry for the long post but trying to give as much info as possible.

burger

In my opinion I'd give up the cereals. All those Kelloggs, Nestle etc cereals are full of sugar. Even Bran Flakes, a cereal which people mistakenly believe to be healthy, have 22g of sugar per 100g. These types of cereals will give you a short energy boost but then leave you hungry, tired and sluggish afterwards. A much better breakfast would be porridge made with milk. Oats/Porridge is a complex carbohydrate, which releases energy slowly and steadily. Eat it at least 2 hours before a match. Add sultanas/raisins if you wish.

As for your lunch I'd have something more substantial, or add something like a salad and add chicken/tuna/egg for more protein. Have a bit more protein in there, especially with your snacks. Try and cut out all white bread, white pasta, white rice, potatoes. Instead have brown bread, wholewheat pasta, brown rice, quinoa, sweet potatoes etc.

Read the stickies here as well, they'll give you great information on what you should eat.

rubadub

I would change to porridge as advised. I am going to move this to the fitness forum where you might get people with more experience of what to eat with sports in mind.

Khannie

What frogdog said is basically bang on IMO. More protein and less simple carbs is what I'd be doing. My tiredness and illness rates really dropped dramatically when I started eating enough protein, and for people who exercise regularly the base amount required can be quite high.

brutusthebarber

Hi Burger,

First, plus one to all the above posts. There was alot of info regarding the diet so I won't repeat all of it. Stickies are very good for giving you an idea of the foods you should be eating.

I'll just add a few things.

I take it the Thursday training is the lighter of the two sessions? If that is the case I would be aiming to get some sort of meal after training, I usually went for a pasta and meat dish, and about a litre of water. What time would you be back in your house and ready to eat?

Do you do football Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday? I know your post says that you train twice a week but do you do astro aswell?

Friday before match day is very important too as far as nutrition goes. I aim to get close to 4 litres of water in during the day. Pasta/rice would be in about two meals that I would have that day.

What time would your Saturday matches be on at? Also what time do you get up at on the morning of the match?
If mid-afternoon kick-off, I would suggest getting up around nine, possibly one of the reasons that you are feeling tired is that you haven't woken up properly yet. A suggestion for what you could eat on the morning of the match,

Up at 9:00: porridge and some honey.
Around 10:45: some fruit.
12:00: bean/eggs on brown toast.
Try to get in around 2 litres of water.

Myself, I would leave the lucozade on the morning of the match, in my experience it would give me a dodgy feeling after the first sprint and leave me with a constant thirst.

Hope some of this helps!

burger1979

Firstly thanks for all the replies. I had a match last weekend and tried eating some pasta and chicken before the match (about 3 hours) and had lots of energy and felt good.............didnt get to play though :mad::mad:

AndRoiD.....i too get nervous before games dont want to be the one to mess up especially when i play in defence mostly. always looking to get the first few touches right to settle me down.

Frogdog.......not a huge fan of porridge in fact have not eaten it in years. always liked the cereals but i will give it a go and see if the taste takes hold. got to have sultanas with it though love them things. i can add in more protein to the lunch time too. maybe some chicken pieces from a deli (no sauce though).

brutusthebarber.... training is on tuesday and thursday. tuesday nights are the more intense of the 2 as we have it on grass. we rent space from the local rugby club and they have floodlights on it too. thursdays is on astro. we usually do football drills on thursday then play a match between ourselves. i also play 5 a side on wednesday evenings for about an hour on astro. saturday matches usually kick off about 2/3pm in the afternoon. i tend to get up early on a sat morning about 9/10am dont go out on fri evenings just stay in and watch tele. go to bed about midnight. i will try the menu you suggested next saturday and will let you know how i get on, thats if i get on the pitch of course.

thanks for all the replies.

brutusthebarber

Good stuff, so a change in the diet is seeing some results, hopefully next week you can get a game and use the new energy:)

Sometimes the astro can sap the energy from the legs too. And considering your playing it after a heavy Tuesday session I would definitley make sure to get in alot of the right food on Wednesday prior to the astro, and then straight after also. Just to ensure that the astro doesn't take away from the heavy session on Tuesday.

It might also be the case that your not giving your body a chance to recover by playing the astro on Wednesday.

With my team, astro is frowned upon:pac: So I'd suggest using the Wednesday astro as a chance to loosen out and and not as another fitness session.

nice_guy80

dinner 2 and half hours before game and then banana 20mins before start does the trick for me. i often get hungry during games!
often keep a packet of sugar barley in pocket of my training top in the dugout, munch two of them at half time...

well yu can also get around 100 200mg caffeine pills for about £3....

soundsham

would agree with all the advice in general
1 defo sounds nerves are involved,maybe go for a light jog 15 mins when you get up
2 night before pasta or rice dish would be good,and plenty water that day
3 day of the match,
breakfast porridge is a must for me,maybe a banana and a boiled egg
lunch/snack beans on toast, or a peanut butter sambo(great stuff) let off the lucozade stick to water

maybe at half time two or 3 jaffa cakes,and a cup of tea if you can get it...should give you a little burst for the second half

if all this fails the following week try 8 pints of beer, kebab and chips the night before,followed by a fry in the morning,.........if after this you play better twas the nerves

kingofcastle

Get stuck into the porridge in the morning man and get some pasta into you 2-3 hrs prior to kickoff. Those carbs will do you the world of good,releasing energy in a slow and organised fashion. Plenty of water to keep you hydrated. Best of luck;)