Goals
- Improve strength, flexibility, endurance
- Reduce risk of injury, cramps
What to eat
- Balance. Eat a balanced diet.
- Fresh. Decrease processed foods, increase the “live” foods.
- Fruits and vegetables. Aim for 3/4 of intake. The more colors the better. Remember balance, not just fruits.
- Protein and fats. Pasture-raised, grass-fed meats, for healthier, non-toxic fat tissue, wild-caught seafood, small whole fish and shell fish with bones for minerals.
- Essential fatty acids. Macadamia nuts, walnuts, flax, chia, sardines, salmon, herring, mackerel, almonds, olive oil on dark leafy greens (incl. broccoli, spinach, kale, basil), eggs, hemp, raspberries, strawberries, bok choy
- Digestion. Raw sun-dried salt, for proper formation of HCL. Cultured foods, without sugar, for the good bacteria, i.e. careful on yogurt choices with “fruit” and other sugar-laced mix-ins.
What not to eat
- Sugar in various forms. Soda, corn syrup, sweetened liquids, juices without mixing in water
- Sugar-producing high glycemic. Cereals, white rice, breads, pizza
- Acid-producing. Meats without balance of vegetables.
How to eat
- 5 times a day. Rather than 3x a day, eat every 3-4 hours.
- Protein before and after practice. Within 30 mins to build muscle. Good carbs like sweet potato and banana/pineapple after practice as well.
- Protein often in small amounts. For example, 8 almonds, small piece of fish or turkey for dinner and save some for breakfast next day
- Lemon squeezed in water in morning. To cleanse liver. Then, eat, or take your supplements. Add fresh minced ginger root for a zing!
Share pics
Share your healthy meal pics here. Email them to Bart with some sort of description, which meal, etc.
Related reading material
Note that a strict Paleo diet doesn’t exactly fit athletes and there are tweaks. I like to think of nutritional guidelines rather than the term diet anyway. Keep up the variety and moderation/balance mindset while reading.
Books
Articles
A Quick Guide to Paleo Diet for Athletes – this article summarizes the tweaks for athletes.