This should be the perfect diet for elite athletes

We must know that professional athletes require more calories than a person who does not exert so much physical effort. The consumption of calories, proteins, salts, sugar, fats, etc. It depends on each type of body, age and physical performance. That is, if our life is very sedentary, we should not consume many calories, since we will not spend them and we run the risk of suffering from obesity, diabetes or cardiovascular diseases.

The diet of a professional athlete must be very balanced and very focused on spending and the needs that will arise during those hard workouts. This is why, if we want to train at a higher level, we must give our body all the gasoline it needs and that’s where the elite athlete’s diet comes in.

Throughout this text we are going to see what foods a plate of food for elite training should include and what foods are prohibited for professional athletes or for all those who want to train at a higher level and obtain good results.

Foods that should not be missing in the diet of an athlete

At the beginning of this article we have commented that the best diets for athletes comply with one of the tips that we repeat the most on this website. And by that we mean that the diet must be with products that are as fresh as possible and avoid as much as possible pre-cooked, deep-frozen and substitute products. You always have to go to the origin of the food.

A good diet for athletes should not have supplements, since having such a varied and balanced diet we provide the body with all the nutrients it needs to face training.

A very important step that many of us forget is that diets cannot be monotonous and eat the same thing every day, since this long-standing habit is counterproductive. The dishes or, rather, the ingredients of each meal should be changing every week.

In a diet for athletes, the following ingredients cannot be missing:

• Whole grains and without sugar.
• Chia seeds, sunflower, pumpkin, flax, poppy, etc.
• Oatmeal.
• Corn.
• Rice.
• Nuts, like walnuts, for example.
• Avocado, good at any time.
• Broccoli.
• Fresh pasta.
• Lean meats, for example, chicken or turkey.
• Eggs, between 2 and 4 a day.
• Healthy vegetable drink where there is only ingredient, that is, the main ingredient (soy, oatmeal, rice, almonds, etc.) and water. The best options are soybeans for their high content of vegetable proteins and oats for being an extra supply of vitamins and minerals.
• Dairy, about 3 glasses of milk a day, they also serve 3 Greek yogurts a day or 100 grams of fresh cheese.
• Fruit, from 3 to 6 pieces every day, for example, the banana is good at any time.
• Salmon, the best and most complete of all the variety of blue fish.
• Tuna in sandwiches, salads, with rice, in stews, etc.
• Lentils, a good legume along with chickpeas and beans.
• Honey, the natural sweetener.
• Pure cocoa powder, instead of other soluble cocoas that are 80% sugar.
• Coffee, only occasionally because it is the only natural stimulant that improves our physical performance.
• Olive oil, about 4 tablespoons a day. Alternatively, butter or high oleic sunflower oil.
• Whole wheat bread, about 4 slices a day.

Elite athletes should not eat this

It is a series of foods that we have within our reach, but if a professional athlete or we want to make efforts, we consume them, instead of doing us good or being indifferent, they are causing us harm. With the danger of reducing our sports resistance and even getting injuries by reducing the intake of nutritional values.

The foods that we are going to highlight below may seem very obvious to us, but that day always comes when “nothing happens for a drink”, “for a day that I skip the diet it does not matter”, “today I don’t feel like cooking “,” I’m with my son and I’m going to eat sweets “, etc.

• Processed foods.
• Refined flours.
• Pre-cooked food.
• Sugary soft drinks, carbonated drinks, energy drinks, etc.
• Sausages high in salt and saturated fat.
• Fast food.
• Fried foods and barbecues.
• Sugar and sweeteners.
• Foods with many chemical additives.
• Raw food.
• Industrial sweets and pastries.
• Sauces and condiments.

The reason for the prohibition of these foods within diets aimed at professional athletes is due to the amount of sugars and empty calories that they contribute to the body. These are foods that are very low in nutritional values, so everything they contribute is negative for our sports performance.

Basic tips for a healthy life

We always worry about eating well, staying away from ultra-processed foods, reducing sugar, doing sports several times a week, etc. but without realizing it we are neglecting other very important aspects of our life. Yes, we know that sometimes it is difficult to get to everything and that sometimes the situation gets so messy that we don’t have the will or time to accomplish everything.

If we want to have good health, it is not advisable to neglect hydration, or the care of our skin, or oral health, mental health, etc. You have to pay attention to everything beyond the sports diet.

• Sleep between 6 and 8 hours every night.
• Maintain good hydration, even if we are not thirsty. It is preferable to drink water or natural fruit juices.
• Caring for and hydrating our skin to maintain the elasticity that we need so much during training.
• Maintain good oral hygiene, including the tongue, as infections from the mouth are transmitted to the bloodstream and can cause infections and cardiovascular problems.
• To worry about our mental health and ask for help whenever we need it, without fear and without shame.
• Maintain an active social life and interact with other people.