Do you want to play better? Than you have to pay attention what you eat! In this article we explain what you have to eat and when.

1.  Eating the day before

The game day and the days before you have to think about what you eat. When you don’t know what to eat, we will tell you what’s best to eat. 

50% of your meal should be slow sugars: pasta, rice, bread, potatoes and cereals.
30% should be animals and vegetable fats: butter, cream, cheese, oil and margarine
20% should be proteins: flesh, milk, eggs, beans, lentil, peas and soya.

Start your day with a balanced breakfast: bread, cereals, fruit juice, fruit, a milk product and tea or coffee. The breakfast will give you power for the day. The lunch depends on what time the game starts. When you play in the evening, you can eat a balanced warm meal. A couple suggestions are: cod fillets, cooked carrots, cheese, ½ banana or semolina.

When you play in the afternoon you can eat a light meal before the game.

2. Light meal before the game

During the 90 minutes of the game you will run dozens of miles. So, you have to eat a meal with a lot of energy, but not to heavy for your stomach.

What’s the best way to do this? You have to eat two or three hours before the game. And not by the snack corner in the canteen.
Choose for a light meal, without heated fats and less of cereals, so your stomach doesn’t have to digest the food during the game.
Soda or other sugared drinks are also not the best things. A balanced and light meal based on slow sugars and vegetables is the best thing to eat.

And the best thing to drink is water. Two to three hours before the game starts, you can drink 200 to 400 ml water every 15 minutes

3. During the game: stay hydrated

During the game, you don’t have time to sprint to the bench.  So, it’s important to drink enough before the game begins and at the half time.

In the half time you can eat a healthy snack: gingerbread, granola bar, a piece of fruit or dried fruit. Energy drink, water or light sugared water are the ideal drinks for the half time. Also when the weather is not sunny, you have to drink enough. Drink enough, but don’t drink too much for your stomach. 

4. Recovery after the game

The end of the game is there. Your shoes are back in your bag. Time for recovery.
Directly after the match, the best thing you can do is to drink a sugared drink to help your body to recover.
Also drink a lot in the hours after the match, preferably a drink with bicarbonate and mineral salts.

What do I have to eat after the match? The best thing to eat is a meal with eggs, milk products, fruit with a lot of vitamin C and raw vegetables. An example: 2 eggs, courgettes, a kiwi and white cheese.

Recovery and the third half. Now your body is fully hydrated, you maybe like to start the third half. It’s your own choice, but alcohol has a bad effect on your recovery. So, choose if you prefer social contact or a fast recovery.

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