Adequate Energy Intake

Achieving adequate energy intake to meet your needs for both life (moving, growing and development) and your training, is such a critical and often overlooked piece in your performance nutrition.

Days are busy between school or work, travelling between sessions and multiple training sessions over the day. If you find yourself in a ‘burn to earn’ mentality when it comes to food (i.e. training to earn food), going a long time between meals or snacks, skipping meals, or feeling extremely hungry and out of control with food by the end of the day, then this is an area worth focusing on first.

It is common to hear pressure to eat less or be leaner, whether that be from social media, coaching staff or teammates.

However, it is important to highlight that your weight does not define your performance. Weight can influence performance, but it does not define your success, your worth or your identity. Eating and fuelling aligned to your ‘why’ above is where we really want to take your mindset – being the best footballer you can be.

By eating and fuelling enough to sustain your training plus how much your body needs to function, you will be doing some incredible things in supporting your immune function: 

• reducing injury risk
• improving your concentration levels and decision making
• helping your adaptations to training
• supporting your growth and bone strength. 

If you feel like you could be under-eating (and consequently under-fuelling) and unsure how to tackle it, reach out to your Sports Doctor or Sports Dietitian for support and guidance to get you back on track. These symptoms are common, but not normal.