Football nutrition guide for adolescents PDF

 Basic nutrition information

A professional football player needs, on average, 38 – 47 kcal per kg of body mass per day and the total daily intake includes about 57% of carbs, 27% of fat and 16% of protein.
1 gram of protein = 4 kcal
1 gram of carbs = 4 kcal
1 gram of alcohol = 7 kcal
1 gram of fat = 9 kcal
The carb and protein intake is essential whilst being active as a football player and the amount is depending on several factors which are clarified in the this paragraph.

Protein

Footballers need 1.5 – 1.7 grams of protein/kg/day but this amount can be increased in case of:
- building muscle mass (2 – 2.5 grams)
- post-strength training (2 – 2.5 grams)
- post-match to recover muscle damage (2 – 2.5 grams) or;
- losing weight as replacement for your carb intake to get more lean muscle mass.

Carbs

Carbohydrates are the main energy providers in a football game. So eating enough carbs is very
essential to last a full 90 minutes but the question is: ‘How many?!’.

Target range for carbohydrate intake by high-level players in less mobile roles (goalkeepers, static
centre backs and static centre forwards) or teams or individuals with a less demanding training and
competition schedule (subs and/or players that played less than 60 minutes) = 5 – 7 g/kg/ day.

For mobile players (fullbacks, midfielders, wingers, active centre backs and strikers), who want to
maximize muscle glycogen refuelling, in preparation for matches or for recovery during an intensive
training schedule (pre-season) = 7 – 10 g/kg/day.
Carb/glycogen loading starts two days before the match (Match Day (MD) +2) at lunchtime.
There are different types of carbs that you can eat. Ones with a high glycemic index (GI) and a low GI
on the other end (see appendix B for examples of high and low GI foods).
High GI = fast energy release (quick fix) and you will get hungry more easily (1-2 hours).
Low GI = slow energy release and you will not get hunger that quickly as with high GI foods.

Fat

Try to keep your fat intake low and avoid saturated fat as much as possible. Cut off excess fat on all
meat.
Golden rules to reduce body fat:
 No high GI food on MD+1 till MD-2.
 Carb load from MD-2 at lunchtime and then on MD-1, and carb up as normal after the match.

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