Changing The Way We Eat
If you’re familiar with my recipes or my morning show segments, you’ve seen that I enjoy making sports food healthy. Now, that is not to say that I’m a proponent of healthy sports food all the time (I do let myself go from time to time and encourage you to indulge sometimes as well), but healthier sports food is how I personally have been able to keep off the 60 lbs I lost after college while continuing to enjoy what I love to nosh on while I spectate.
Recently, I’ve noticed healthier eating making a major impact in professional sports as well. In both the NFL and the NBA, we’ve seen some big changes in athlete nutrition as players are (finally) replacing cheeseburgers and fries with healthy vegetables and grains. Arian Foster was in the news when he announced he had gone vegan, and four months after his announcement he was running more yards than any other player in the NFL. Yet by going vegan, Foster had cut out eggs, meat, and all other animal foods, worrying his peers and fans alike that he might not be taking in a sufficient amount of protein and calories. A lack of protein and calories in a professional athlete’s diet certainly seem problematic but Arian’s success seemed to disprove this notion.
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Vegetables have become a staple for elite athletes.[/caption]
Fellow NFLer Ricky Williams became a vegetarian before his season with the Miami Dolphins and said it changed his body and game, and gave him “tons of energy”.
37-year old Ray Allen has had a noteworthy NBA career and he’s still at it. Ray Allen has said that he always assumed that carbs and sugar should be a staple in his diet due to his high level of activity. Yet sugars and certain carbs are known to contribute to inflammation in the body — a condition that had plagued the aging star and one for which he had to take constant medication. When Allen’s wife got him on the Paleo diet, it not only reduced his inflammation but helped him lose 10 lbs in 3 weeks.
Plenty of other athletes are taking up healthy eating and are working with nutritionists, including the NBA’s Blake Griffin and Roy Hibbert. I actually had dinner with Roy a few years ago and was amazed at how well well he ate. He combined great proteins with healthy grains and vegetables, thereby giving himself a variety of wonderful nutrients to best help him perform on the court and recover quickly.
If it’s working for world class athletes, then it may be worth it to you to more closely examine your diet to see if changing your eating habits can improve your life. An easy way to start is to begin substituting healthy, homemade meals for the classic fan fare. Luckily, I’ve got a few recipes to get you started-check them out!
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Have you made a change to your diet and experienced positive effects? Let me know what has worked for you and comment below!
