Healthy Eating Guidelines

• Plan ahead
• Eat a variety of foods
• Eat all foods in moderation
• Eat at regular intervals
• Consume lots of fruits, vegetables and whole grains
• Decrease total fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol in diet
• Drink plenty of fluid

When is Nutrition Important?

• Hydration – before, during and after training/competition is critical
• Pre-game nutrition – prepare your body for training/competition
• Post game recovery – help your body recover more quickly for the next training/competition
• Tournaments – require careful planning and nutrition in order to be able to endure the weekend
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Hydration

Hydration Is Critical To Performance

• Dehydration is the #1 cause of decreased performance
• Loss of 2% body weight can decrease performance by 10-20%
• Children have poor thermoreregulation
• Proper hydration is key to preventing heat illnesses
• Drink regularly throughout the day
• Hydrate by drinking 2-3 cups of fluid two hours prior to workout/game
• Hydrate by drinking 1 cup of fluid 10-20 minutes prior to game time
• Consume ½–1 cup of fluid every 10-20 minutes during exercise 
• Cold fluids are better for the body

How much fluid do soccer players need?

• Depends on your sweat rate
• Weigh yourself before and after workouts
• Keep track of heat, humidity, time of day, length of the workout, and the amount of fluid consumed
• Too much hydration (especially water) can be bad by causing too low of a sodium level (Hyponutremia)
• Too little does not replace keep electrolytes up
• Re-hydrate with 2-3 cups of fluid for every pound of body weight lost during exercise
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Choose the right Beverage

• Water can be appropriate for shorter workouts
• Sports Drinks for activity longer than 60 – 90 min
• Absolutely NO caffeine
• Cool drinks help your body better than room temperature drinks
• Sports drinks are better! 
• Gatorade is best for replacing electrolytes and nutrients
• Drinks should contain Carbohydrates- Approximately 60-70 grams of carbohydrates per hour, dependent on sweat rate (36-40 oz sports beverage)
• Drinks should contain Sodium- Approximately 200-1000 mg of sodium per hour, dependent on sweat rate (36-40 oz. sports drink)

Pre-Game Nutrition

Nutrition for Pre-workout/Game

• LOW in fat
• LOW in simple sugars
• MODERATE TO HIGH in complex carbohydrates
• Maintain carbohydrates on a regular basis, don’t carbo-load
• MODERATE amounts of protein
• FAMILIAR foods
• LOTS of fluids
• Allow 3-4 hours before game time if consuming a large meal
• Allow 2-3 hours before game time if consuming a small meal
• Allow 1-2 hours before game time if consuming a liquid meal
• Less than 1 hour only leaves time for a small snack
• Aim for 3 different food groups in your pre-game meal!
• Nothing new on game days

Post-Game Recovery

Nutrition for Optimal Post Game Recovery

• Recovery nutrition restores fluids
• Recovery nutrition replenishes energy
• Recovery nutrition repairs tissues
• Recovery nutrition increases performance
• Recovery nutrition improves overall health

• Recovery nutrition yields shortened recovery time
• Your body needs to replace Carbohydrates, Protein, Fluids and Electrolytes
• The sooner, The Better on consuming recovery nutrition
• Recovery nutrition should be consumed within 15-30 minutes after competition
• A large bagel with peanut butter is one example of a good recovery snack
• A banana and yogurt is another example of a good recovery snack

Carbohydrates for Recovery

• Replenish muscles glycogen stores with carbohydrate:
• Consume .5 grams of carbohydrates per pound of body weight within the first two hours and again following two hours.

Protein for Recovery

• Amino acids are needed to help stimulate protein synthesis to repair tissues
• Consume 6-20 grams of protein within 15 minutes
• Aim to consume a complete meal within 1-2 hours of exercise
• Don’t forget to include three different food groups in the meal
• Meat, dairy, eggs, nuts, seeds, and soy will provide protein

Replacing Lost Electrolytes with Sodium and potassium

• Replace Potassium with bananas, oranges, potatoes or milk
• Replace Sodium with pretzels, lunchmeats, cheeses or soups

Fluids for Recovery

• After training, drink 2-3 cups of fluid for every pound of body weight lost through sweat

• Recovery drinks must not be water or soft drinks

• Replace fluids lost in sweat by drinking sports drinks, juices, milk or eating watery foods such as soups, grapes, oranges, vegetables, etc.
• IU found that recovery in swimmers performing 2-a-day practices improved dramatically after consuming 12-16 oz. of chocolate milk within 30 minutes after morning workouts.