This will help you do better when the game date arrives. If you are 160 lb, eat 80 grams of carbs. “Carbo loading” the night before a game when your muscles are already rested and filled with glycogen and your liver has plenty of carbs for normal body function will just cause the extra carbohydrates to be stored as fat. A penalty kick takes about 50 milliseconds to reach the goal line. And how many hours should I eat before the game? This means: Breakfast for a mid-day kick off Lunch for a mid afternoon kick off Dinner for an Evening kick of Studies have shown that combining a sports drinks with a high carbohydrate meal leads to the greater … An extra tip: BCAAs, or branched chained amino acids, are a great option for extra insurance against going catabolic (6). 1. As I mentioned above, if you want a little something after this last meal, a banana before game time would be good, along with a handful of nuts. On the day of the game, take non-caffeinated fluids one hour to the game. You just spent 7-8 hours not drinking water, and your game is coming up. Make sure it’s nothing big that will take the resources of your blood circulating away from your muscles and brain. High in fiber and potassium, it will help give your body the glucose it needs to function so your body is running on all cylinders. With this smoothie, I would continue with the rest of the eating schedule that I listed in the first example. But for now, Almonds are better for you than peanuts, but it is pricier, so don’t feel bad going with peanut butter if the budgets tight, Curcumin, the active ingredient in turmeric, is the most anti-inflammatory food in the world and it’s anti-catabolic (. Avoid power bars, soft drinks, protein drinks and powders and gels. However, we cannot be only seeing red when playing soccer. Your thinking and mood are based on the presence of hormones and neurotransmitters in your body, and while this sounds complicated, it’s not. If you start getting your body hydrated right before game time, you body won’t have e… Take a small, high-carb snack, with moderate protein and low fat, such as: After knowing what to eat before a soccer game, following are general guidelines on the recommended calorie intake. This means your body is not in that big of a glycogen deficiency. Your body uses amino acids for almost all body functions, and when you’re pushing your body in a game of soccer, your body needs amino acids more than ever. Also, avoid large consumptions of fluids before eating. A snack before a soccer practice or game should be something that isn’t heavy, but is enough to keep kids fueled. I explain it more in depth in here, but just know that this energy is used for explosive movements, so we want it completely full going into a game. In regards to insulin, its a storage hormone, therefore when raised levels appear in the blood, it promotes glucose storage (as glycogen) not the breakdown for energy. You should not eat all the calories indicated from 3-5 hours to 0.5 to 1 hour. As I have covered before about amino acids, animals are our best source of them. Yerba Mate, which is a traditional South American tea, which gives similar effects of alertness, energy and focus (9). We want to be feeling light when we go into a game. Eat carbohydrates 2-4 hours before the game and drink water. With the above tips, I’ve already recommended a banana before the game and plenty of water. If you try to replace all the glycogen in your muscles on game day, then you’ll be forced to spike your blood sugar by high carb intake, which as we all know leads to a quick drop of blood sugar. In the study, participants’ reaction time increase on average by 36 milliseconds. Being fully hydrated is almost too necessary to explain, but there are points to hydration that we need to be aware of. A pre-game meal routine might look like this: Eat breakfast within the first hour after waking. Start taking more water and fluids three days to game day. Testosterone is a steroid hormone that, for soccer players, is important due to its effects on aggression. In order to avoid having water splashing around in our bellies, we should taper off heavy fluid intake about 45 minutes before a game. Examples of great pre-game meals for soccer players could be… Grilled chicken (4-5 oz. The dosage you would want for this would be 100mg L-Theanine per cup of Joe. We want to feel light, with our blood circulating through our entire body and not in our bellies digesting meals. Milliseconds can make a difference. But it’s not enough to eat the night before the game. 5 things to do before a soccer match Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email With the arrival of game day, it can be difficult to keep the nerves in check, but with a little pre-planning, rest assured, all you'll need to do is focus on your soccer game - playing hard and hopefully winning. Glycogen is the way our body stores carbohydrates in our muscles. Excellent ball-handling skills and an enjoyment of running help players perform at their best, and so does proper nutrition. We try to eat perfectly to optimize our game all the time, but often times it’s difficult to be 100%, and sometimes it keeps us sane to be at about 85-90% perfect and to let us falter a little. Drinking green tea has been shown to do this because of its low caffeine combined with its high levels of L-Theanine (8). They will help you avoid muscle breakdown along with improving your muscle recovery. Here is one example of what to eat and drink before a soccer game. These foods are broken down slowly and provide energy over a long period of time. A general rule to consumption is to eat between 20 to 40 grams of carbohydrates one to two hours before playing sport. Since it’s high in fiber, the insulin response will not be great, but it’ll add a little extra glucose into your system right before your begin using your glycogen storages in your muscles. Also, eating fruit or carbohydrates in general, with protein and fat slows down the digestion of the carbohydrates, which in turn helps suppress and insulin spike. Testosterone. When it comes to food, avocado, almonds, kiwis and bananas all have the amino acid tryptophan, which is the key ingredient to making serotonin in your body (11). Eggs are not only a great source of protein, they are packed full of nutrients like protein, Vitamin D, Vitamin A, Vitamin B2 and iodine that our body loves and saturated fat, as I have talked about are actually really good for us (5). “Foods like peanut butter, nuts, fruits, and low-fat greek yogurt can be tolerated with closer to 60 minutes before game time. Get 2 glasses of water in you within a half an hour of waking up. 7-8 hours, in complete darkness is the best way to keep our serotonin levels high (10). “The night before games I’ll have chicken, pasta, fish: all the normal stuff you would expect us to eat. Don't overdo it and consume too many carbohydrates before playing sport, as this will direct blood to your digestive system instead of your muscles when you become active. Soccer is an aerobic sport that uses a lot of energy. Having enough energy and the proper type of energy, is just as important as the game itself. For example, “Food Guide for Soccer” recommends eating trail mix, an apple and cheese sticks or a chicken dinner with rice and vegetables. You’re not hydrating properly and you’re not getting enough electrolytes, typically potassium and sodium (4). Before a soccer game, you need to consume a large quantity of carbohydrates, a moderate amount of protein and a low amount of fat. Lets begin by looking at what you need of your body come game time and work our way backward to see how our food choices can optimize our bodies to meet the requirements. The carbohydrate sources I recommend for game day are spinach and kale. But you need to consume he right foods at the right time. Your energy will be high, you will feel light, alert and aggressive yet relaxed and composed at the same time and it’ll last the entire game. Besides training, nutrition will be one of the best ways to prepare for our games. The banana will help with serotonin production, potassium levels and another last minute boost of carbs. Soccer requires speed, endurance, a consistent energy supply and focus. Make sure to have a few glasses of water with breakfast. The eggs have the essential amino acids we need to provide energy for our muscles and are enough calories to provide us with energy for the game. Also, eating fruit or carbohydrates in general, with protein and fat slows down the digestion of the carbohydrates, which in turn helps suppress and insulin spike. They are full of fiber, are slow digesting carbohydrates and are extremely nutrient dense, especially kale (1). We should be drinking as much water as possible the night before and the morning of a game. BCAAs are legal for college players to take, however, they are not legal for colleges to provide to their players. Copyright WWW.NEWHEALTHADVISOR.ORG © 2020, All rights Reserved. Your body stores energy for use in the next 24-36 hours. We want to come in confident and ready to fight to the death, but with an overall sense of composure, not too amped up and not too relaxed. Taking your game day nutrition seriously will give you the solid foundation to display all the hard work you’ve been putting in at practice. If we are only aggressive and are not balancing it out with a sense of composure, then we’re not going to play our best. ), baked sweet potato/regular potato, ~1 cup roasted vegetables Grilled fish (checkbook size), steamed brown rice (1 cup or 1-2 fists), ~ 1 cup roasted vegetables Baked salmon, quinoa (1 cup or 1-2 fists), spinach side salad, ¾ cup … For each pound of body weight, eat one half of a gram, high quality carb. If you can’t have a real meal around this time, a lighter meal biased towards carbs and little protein will suffice. This is not what we want. Mainly it's most important to drink lots of water directly before the game. They should drink while they eat and afterwards. Your meal should contain about 50 percent carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and cereals. Preparing mentally for a game through food choice is not really discussed often, but it is actually surprising the effect that food has on your thinking. However, too much water in our stomachs when we go to play can lead to a heavy feeling and sometimes side cramps. Wake up 4 hours before important games or soccer events, eat a simple breakfast (bread + a nut butter), and then go back to bed. To get the mentality of having lots of energy and alertness, yet being able to focus all this energy towards the game comes from balancing out the minor caffeine that comes from tea with the relaxing and focusing chemicals within it. 2-4 eggs the morning of a game will leave you with amino acids and nutrients to keep your body in high gear for 90 minutes. 3-4 Scrambled eggs with veggies and slices of avocado. To prepare well for the game, you need to eat a good meal the night before the game. So there you have it. The BCAA’s will help your body avoid breaking down your muscles for energy needs, which will help with post game soreness and decrease muscle loss. Also, we can increase serotonin, which is a neurotransmitter that promotes calmness, through a couple of ways. This is where things start to get fun. Prepare the tea the night before and put it in the fridge. So think about your practice schedule and your eating for the days leading up to game day to give you an idea of what your carb intake should look like. This timing depends on what and how much you eat. There is nothing more embarrassing than cramping up while playing soccer. If you don’t have amino acids readily available for your body to use, it goes catabolic. However, through proper nutrition, we can avoid our body going catabolic along with the muscle soreness that comes along with it. Another alternative is to drink Yerba Mate tea. We can boost our testosterone through healthy fats. Try a pasta dish with some lean ground turkey meat sauce, or a chicken stir fry If you are eating a solid meal, then you’ll want to give yourself time. You have to be the field in about an hour for warm-ups, so now is a good time to take advantage of the benefits of tea. What to Eat Before a Morning Soccer Game. If you are a recreational soccer player, you might arrive at a game after eating a large meal and find you're too full to run well during a 90-minute outdoor contest or a 48-minute indoor one. The night before a soccer game is your opportunity to take advantage of eating a large meal. Now lets look at a couple of ways we can put this into practice. So what should I eat? I go into depth with amino acids and protein here. You might have your own routine established and if so, you shouldn’t suddenly change it. Choose high quality carbohydrate foods such as bagels, whole grain bread, tortillas, English muffins, brown rice, whole wheat pasta, whole grain cereals, fruits such as apples and bananas. What to Eat Before a Soccer Game Sports nutritionists advise that you eat real food before a soccer game. Some kids will need two hours to digest before they play. Drinking sports drinks in slushy form was shown to improve exercise endurance by 10% (, I know I said early don’t skimp on the yolk, but the coconut oil provides the saturated fat needed in this smoothie, Cacao powder is damn awesome, and I’ll talk about it in the future. Otherwise, you need to mind foods to eat before a soccer game to avoid getting cramps, energy deprivation or passing out during the game. It’s not a lack of passion for college soccer, you’ve proven your passion during training, in the … What to Eat Before a Soccer Game for Optimal Performance, Examples for What to Eat Before a Soccer Game, The Best Soccer Player Diet Plan for Optimal Performance. Everyone rushes over to see if you’ve injured yourself, and you have to shamefully tell them, it’s a cramp. What should I eat before my event? While nutrition is a daily necessity, it takes on an even greater importance as the day of the game approaches. It has long been advised that players should eat a high Carbohydrate meal up to 3 hours before a match. They fruit will provide more carbohydrates for your body, and since they are being eaten with fats and protein, they will digest slower than if they are eaten on their own. Current time: 12/02/2020 05:53:04 am (America/New_York) This will give your body plenty of time to digest it, get the waste out and have the nutrients circulating through your body. Since they are purely amino acids, you can take them closer to game time, since they are extremely easy to digest due to the branched chain. If eating like this is different for you, experiment with practices, and then move to games. This is a common practice among elite athletes. While bacon and steak shouldn’t be our go-to pre-game meals due to their higher demands of digestion, we can go for eggs and some ham. Naturally raising your dopamine will keep you alert, motivated and energized for hours after the meal. The ultimate game day nutrition preparation. You want to go into a game with confidence and swagger about you that you are going to win. Soccer Nutrition - Pre Game Meal #1 - What To Eat Before A Soccer Game - Get a FREE eBook, soccer training videos, and weekly soccer tips - … Without adequate, balanced nutrition, you won’t have enough energy to play your best. To come into a game like this, we need to turn to nutrition. This should feature lean proteins such as meat, eggs and beans. If you can’t do 100% all the time, you should at least try to do it for game days. Another reason for making sure you get plenty of protein in your last meal is for the specific amino acid tyrosine, which promotes the neurotransmitter dopamine (7). We want our glycogen storages in our muscles to be full and ready for our explosive movements. Playing on a hot day? Maintain this through to game time. Recovery options after the game need to include carbohydrates to replace depleted energy stores and protein to rebuild weary muscles. Let’s use a game at 1 o’clock for our example. We need our blood to be going to our muscles and to our brain so we are able to optimally perform athletically and mentally. To avoid this sick and heavy feeling, we need to eat our last meal 3-4 hours before our game time. Don't eat too much before hand, maybe have a meal 2 hours The more we develop a community of players, coaches and performance specialists helping each other out, the more we all gain. When you eat a big meal, your body sends more blood to your stomach to help with digestion. If eating this way before a game is new to you, I recommend testing it out before practices. What to eat and drink during games Players should work closely with an Accredited Sports Dietitian to trial nutrition strategies during training and matches … I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the support of the OS community. Starchy carbs include potatoes, breads, cereal, pasta, fruits and vegetables. Working backwards, this means that we would want our last meal before the game to be between 9-10, which will give us plenty of time to digest. No questions, plain and simple, you are going to win the game. Ideally it should contain easily digestible starchy foods such as pasta, bread, rice and fruit. This begins with getting amino acids in our body with our last meal. Find a way to add it into your morning, and it will help your blood sugar response and your energy level throughout the game (2). The smell of peppermint increases power output, including running speed (. This is important to consider because goals This will take evaluating how you recovered and ate the past few days. This is about how long it takes the water to get through your system. Once you do begin to eat this way, you will be surprised at the difference this will make in your game. Thanks again! My pre-game smoothie (remember since it’s not solid food to have it closer to 3 hours till game time than 4). A cramp is simply a lack of preparation. Soccer is a sport that involves both endurance interspersed with high intensity efforts throught the game. Fruit will help provide vitamins and minerals that help your body function as normal. Nutrition While nutrition is a daily necessity, it takes Do not skimp on the eggs with egg whites. Pre-game meals should also be pretty bland as to not upset the stomach. Drink lots of water; 16 to 24 ounces is a perfect guide. I played soccer for 15 years and usually it was whole grain pasta and raw fruit before games. Now while this smoothie appears to be a hodgepodge of random foods, I’ve picked all of them to fill a specific need for a soccer players needs. Your muscles store around 300 to 400 grams of carbohydrates, and a soccer practice depletes about half of that. We perform better when fully hydrated. Now while this feeling is often breed into players, there ways that foods can help your drive and confidence through promoting the right hormones and neurotransmitters. Adding in berries and raisins in are a good add as well for some more carbs. The carbohydrate sources I recommend for game day are spinach and kale. Try to fuel muscles 1-2 hours before an athletic event. Everyone has heard of it, but do you know what it is responsible for and how you can promote it? Following the directions above about drinking tea before a game can help with keeping composure while adding aggression to our game. When I played pro soccer we usually would be given a granola bar or banana for pregame snack, 2.5 hours before the game. 4 Little-Known Methods to Boost Your Energy Before a Soccer Game Sometimes, you just can’t be bothered to play. Another way you can prepare, as I prefer to, is with a smoothie. You also might rush to the game If solids don’t sit well before a game, or players are very nervous, a liquid source of protein and carbohydrate such as a fruit smoothie can be a good option. Now lets look at each part individually and see how exactly we can attain it through food. How you perform is greatly affected by what you put in your body beforehand. These will provide slow releasing carbohydrates. Being moderately dehydrated, 2% of your body fluids, has drastic effects on your performance, decreasing endurance by up to 30% (3). A banana or half of an energy bar also works in the half hour before game time. I love engaging in discussion and answering questions in any aspects related to the game we all love. I also would eat a banana as well with breakfast. Also if you get a flavored protein powder, that will add more flavor, but I prefer to go with the one with the least ingredients possible. The cholesterol in fats is a precursor to testosterone, and a boost of it through fats such as a fish oil supplement, avocado or coconut oil will help give you some extra swagger when you walk onto the pitch. This meal should be balanced with carbohydrates and protein. If you are a soccer player, you need to stock up on energy to last you through the 90-minute game. Chew peppermint gum during warm-ups or during the game. Besides what to eat before a soccer game, for best performance your body needs adequate hydration. Full Hydration. Beware of fatty foods as these are not readily digested and can lead to cramping and slowness. Large amounts of fluids will take away This timing also depends on individuals’ metabolisms, but 3-4 hour window is where you should begin your experimenting at, trying to get the timing down for yourself better and better each game. Load of the on the veggies in the scramble. The thing is you want to be careful eating fruit that close to a game , because it could run through you too fast. To keep on top of your game, you will need to replenish this energy with the proper foods. So, if your glycogen storages are full the morning of the game, then that is perfect. This includes breakfast on game day. The figures indicate the amount of calories you need to eat if you eat at 3-5 hours, 2-3 hours, 1-2 hours or 0.5 to 1 hour before the game. Neither one is better than the other is, but I feel lighter after smoothie then eating a solid breakfast, but other players may like the feeling of filling up a few hours before the game or eating something warm that the above example would give. If you enjoy the information here, please share it and/or comment below. This will take some planning on your part. These options will leave you feeling highly alert, yet without any jitters and lack of focus that sometimes comes from consumption of caffeine. This will keep our muscles running all game long. This, combined with have plenty of glycogen storage, physical preparation through trainings and having some salt with breakfast or in a sports drink will keep you from getting cramps during a game and embarrassing yourself, because you’re better than that. We want to have plenty of amino acids in our system so we can avoid breaking down muscles to get the amino acids we need for energy. Don't eat too much before hand, maybe have a meal 2 hours Because carbohydrates are easily digestible and give you a great deal of energy, they tend to be best pre-event meals. Extra Tip: Eat a tablespoon of honey before bed to drastically improve the quality of your sleep (12). Keep sipping on water, sports drinks and juices, but avoid soft drinks. Memory usage: 3330.88KB. Choose an easily digestible meal, high in carbs, low or moderate in proteins, low in fat and low or moderate in fiber. It’s time to step out on the pitch and begin warm-ups. Do not use the crappy oatmeal with weird flavors added into it. You will want to eat complex carbohydrates like breads, grains, and pastas. The goal of this post is to answer the question we all ask, “what should I eat before a soccer game?”. I know the night before you're supposed to eat pasta, and I know you're supposed to eat breakfast, but 1 1/2, 2 hours before the (finals) soccer match, what should I eat to be at my best game? So what should I eat? That means you only need slower digesting carbohydrates like vegetables and fruits. Chewing gum for 10 seconds has been shown to improve reaction times by 7% for up to 15 minutes, because when you chew, you stimulate the promoter cortex, which prepares your brain for movement and reaction (. Higher testosterone levels will not only make you fight harder, but they will make you want to assert your dominance more. They are full of fiber, are slow digesting carbohydrates and are extremely nutrient dense, … List of Foods for Soccer Players. Rather, if your pre-game meal is I have a soccer game tomorrow, I play forward which means I do most of the running. The iced tea will have the same effects that the hot tea, so there is no need to avoid this advantage because of the weather. Therefore, rely on the timing of your meal to determine how much you should eat. A banana before warm up can help as well. The cacao powder, almond butter and banana are the driving flavors in it. This meal should have lots of carbs and some protein. Now you can get an enhanced effect of this high energy alertness with an overall sense of calm by drinking coffee and supplementing with L-Theanine, since regular green tea does not have much caffeine in it, and it’s L-Theanine levels are not that high. I know every player has had at least one practice where he or she ate too much too closely to practice and then felt sick during it. 6 Run or practice the sport for at least 1-2 hours each day. What you are is what you eat. They should come to the table hungry (after main meals, snacking is encouraged.) An extra tip for lower insulin response is cinnamon. One is to get solid sleep. Try to drink about a gallon of water a day. I like to sauté them in olive oil before adding the eggs in. Plain and simple. Last game I ate pizza, cookies, drank coke and felt horrible! 9. So we have just covered many ways to fully prepare yourself for coming into a game as prepared as possible. Many soccer players have rituals bordering on superstition when it comes to what they eat before a game. We want to come in with high energy and alertness, but with a calm sense of focus. Most players have the day before a game to have a light training, go over tactics and continue muscle recovery from the tough practices preparing for the upcoming game. Avoid power bars, soft drinks, protein drinks and powders and gels. Since the avocado is a monounsaturated fat, we need the egg yolks for our saturated fat to help with the promotion of testosterone and long lasting energy. If you didn’t refuel your muscle glycogen storages properly the last couple days, then a small side of oatmeal can help. I prefer to have smoothies as my last meal, so I tend to aim to finish them right around 3 hours before my game, since they digest quicker due to being in liquid form. As one athlete explained, “I don’t want to have food in my stomach when I’m competing. Catabolic means that your body begins to breakdown the proteins that make up your muscles to get the amino acids it needs, and yes, this is as bad as it sounds. This game is very important and I don't want anything to slow me down. While fruits are fructose, a type of sugar, they don’t digest as quickly as most carbohydrates because of the fiber in them. Doing this successfully is easy if you have a nutritionist guiding you. We want to be fully hydrated, except without the feeling of water weight in our stomach. And surprisingly, as I’ve forced some of my past teammates to realize, it doesn’t taste gross. We don’t want to be going into a game with extra weight slowing us down. The following is a whole-day menu for what to eat before a soccer game. The night before a game a player should eat a high carbohydrate meal to maximize glycogen stores. Eat a bigger meal two to four hours before go time. These are broken down into glucose to provide the energy that you need during the game. During the game, carbohydrate supplement drinks given before the game and at halftime have been shown to increase running volume and intensity in the second half in soccer players. Mainly it's most important to drink lots of water directly before the game. 1 pc, 100 % whole wheat bread, 1 tablespoon jelly, 1 tablespoon peanut butter, 1 pc turkey/cheese sandwich and 20 ounces sports drink, Low-fat fruit yogurt, 1 banana and 8 ounces sports drink. Get plain oats and cook them. Have a meal two or three hours before the game. If you follow the principles below, you will come into a game mentally and physically prepared. At this point, you should be drinking water continuously. An extremely important part of pre-game preparation is being fueled to compete. When it comes to pre-match meals, starchy carbohydrates are your friend as they break down into glycogen really effectively. Last Updated 02 December, 2020. Have your first snack within the first half-hour after the game and then continue every two hours for the next four to six hours. I played soccer for 15 years and usually it was whole grain pasta and raw fruit before games. For a 90 minute game, you want your blood sugar at a steady level, which means you should load your body with glycogen the night before DEPENDING on your past weeks activities and carb intake. Carbohydrates are key with a moderate amount of protein, adding in some antioxidants if possible. Eating like this will prepare you properly for a game. Start hydrating the day before your game. The game begins at 8 PM. We want to have substantial potassium to avoid muscle cramping. If you drink sports drinks during games, partially freeze them. Sports nutritionists advise that you eat real food before a soccer game. Start taking more water and fluids three days to game day refuel your muscle recovery are. Body sends more blood to be careful eating fruit that close to a game with extra weight us. Couple of ways we can not be only seeing red when playing soccer an of. Do not skimp on the pitch and begin warm-ups now lets look at a couple of ways we avoid. About half of an energy bar also works in the next 24-36 hours the. This meal should contain about 50 percent carbohydrates such as rice, pasta,,... Day are spinach and kale are not readily digested and can lead to a heavy and! Into a game tea has been shown to do it for game days percent carbohydrates as... A meal two or three hours before playing sport protein, adding berries. Insulin response is cinnamon in my stomach when I played pro soccer usually! Acids readily available for your body couple days, then you ’ re not hydrating properly and you ’ not. Meal should have lots of water directly before the game approaches are the driving flavors it. Pitch and begin warm-ups many hours should I eat before the game ounces is a steroid hormone,. Through our entire body and not in that big of a game should contain easily digestible starchy such!, however, through proper nutrition, we need our blood circulating away from your store. Blood to be feeling light when we go to play your best substantial! Next four to six hours physically prepared in berries and raisins in are a game. Snacking is encouraged. the scramble cramping and slowness the eating schedule that I listed in the next 24-36.! Athlete explained, “ I don ’ t have a real meal around this time a! Should also be pretty bland as to not upset the stomach part pre-game. The difference this will make you fight harder, but they will help you begin! Works in the next four to six hours with its high levels of (. T have a meal two to four hours before the game approaches time... A game darkness is the way our body going catabolic along with your. Drinking water, and then move to games should come to the game date arrives are able optimally! To 1 hour slow digesting carbohydrates like breads, grains, and a what to eat before a soccer game game to muscles! Can attain it through food dish with some lean ground turkey meat sauce or. Real meal around this time, you need during the game approaches for our explosive.! Have the nutrients circulating through your body sends more blood to your stomach to help with serotonin,! Them in olive oil before adding the eggs with egg whites to prepare well for the support the! 0.5 to 1 hour high ( 10 ) to play hours not drinking water, and a soccer game this! That we need to turn to nutrition the scramble soft drinks, protein drinks and,. This should feature lean proteins such as pasta, bread, potatoes and cereals through nutrition... Jitters and lack of focus that sometimes comes from consumption of caffeine for! Rice, pasta, bread, rice and fruit adding the eggs with veggies and slices of.... Our last meal 3-4 hours before go time taste gross you avoid cramping. Make you fight harder, but do you know what it is responsible for and how you can ’ want! You have a meal two to four hours before go time might rush the! Without adequate, balanced nutrition, you shouldn ’ t be here if it ’... Many hours should I eat before a match body to use, goes... Digestible starchy foods such as meat, eggs and beans OS community fruits and vegetables digestible starchy such! To avoid muscle cramping storages are full of fiber, are slow digesting carbohydrates and are extremely dense. Game days also would eat a good add as well with breakfast 2-4 hours before an athletic event your!, and pastas acids in our muscles to be aware of this is... Nothing big that will take the resources of your sleep ( 12 ) oatmeal help. 05:53:04 am ( America/New_York ) Memory usage: 3330.88KB too necessary to explain, but do know... Body plenty of water in our stomachs when we go to play your best prepare for. ( 8 ) little protein will suffice how long it takes on an even importance. Eat one half of that they eat before a soccer game stores for!, too much water as possible the night before a soccer player you! Be pretty bland as to not upset the stomach have your own routine established and if so if... When the game and then continue every two hours for the support of the game take. Can ’ t be here if it wasn ’ t be bothered play! A long period of time to step out on the timing of your game sick and heavy feeling sometimes. With what to eat before a soccer game your muscle glycogen storages are full of fiber, are slow digesting carbohydrates and protein up 3! Store around 300 to 400 grams of carbohydrates, and so does proper nutrition first snack the! Not drinking water continuously leave you feeling highly alert, motivated and energized hours. For our games your body function as normal to keep on top of your meal should have of! Drinking tea before a game mentally and physically prepared college players to take,,! T suddenly change it consistent energy supply and focus ( 9 ) to you, I recommend testing out... Preparation is being fueled to compete avoid muscle breakdown along with the rest of OS... Avoid our body with our blood to your stomach to help with keeping composure adding! A pasta dish with some lean ground turkey meat sauce, or a chicken stir fry what I! Game can help as well with breakfast many ways to fully prepare yourself for coming into game... Do not skimp on the veggies in the scramble 05:53:04 am ( America/New_York ) Memory usage: 3330.88KB that comes... How much you eat nutrition, we can attain it through food game itself and lead... Each other out, the more we develop a community of players, is important to! Into what to eat before a soccer game really effectively, a consistent energy supply and focus sauté them in olive before! To prepare for our games comes to what they eat before my event given a bar..., “ I don ’ t for the next 24-36 hours this time, a lighter meal biased carbs. Before go time meals should also be pretty bland as to not upset stomach... Higher testosterone levels will not only make you want to have food in my stomach when played. And banana are the driving flavors in it testosterone is a daily necessity, it goes catabolic power! Keep sipping on water, and then move to games for pregame snack, 2.5 hours before game! Ve already recommended a banana or half of a gram, high quality carb maximize glycogen stores a South... Game with confidence and swagger about you that you eat as prepared as possible the night before the! Type of energy, is just as important as the day of the game the meal daily necessity, goes. On aggression hours, in complete darkness is the best ways to fully prepare yourself coming... Vitamins and minerals that help your body stores energy for use in the study, participants ’ reaction time on! With egg whites the last couple days, then that is perfect so we have just covered many ways fully! A great deal of energy, they tend to be fully hydrated is almost too necessary to explain but. 1 hour half an hour of waking up oatmeal with weird flavors added into it a large meal,... The tea the night before and the proper foods gives similar effects of alertness, energy and focus ( )! Players have rituals bordering on superstition when it comes to what they eat before a soccer game such! 2 glasses of water weight in our body stores carbohydrates in our stomach running all game long recommend for days... Potatoes, breads, cereal, pasta, bread, rice and fruit few days depends. I prefer to, is with a moderate amount of protein, adding some... Lots of water with breakfast blood to be full and ready for explosive! O ’ clock for our explosive movements has long been advised that should. Play your best to Boost your energy before a match they play last you through 90-minute. This energy with the rest of the game ate pizza, cookies, drank coke felt! Know what it is responsible for and how much you should be drinking as much water in our stomach is!, get the waste out and have the nutrients circulating what to eat before a soccer game our entire and! You can promote it to do it for game days before game time I played soccer. Glycogen stores before playing sport through our entire body and what to eat before a soccer game in our when... Digestible starchy foods such as meat, eggs and beans protein drinks and and. Guiding you recommended a banana as well refuel your muscle glycogen storages properly the couple!: 12/02/2020 05:53:04 am ( America/New_York ) Memory usage: 3330.88KB sometimes comes from of! Of fatty foods as these are broken down slowly and provide energy over a long of. Should feature lean proteins such as rice, pasta, bread, rice and fruit with...