You can dine lightly and dine very well. It is just as bad to lie down with a stomach that is too full, as it is to do it when it is absolutely empty. If your daily physical activity is considerable, watching what you eat in your diet is more important than you think, especially at dinner time. Look at these basic rules of a healthy dinner for athletes that allow an optimal rest and favor a start to the day full of energy.
Nutritionists say that dinner foods should provide approximately 20% of the total calories we need daily for our body to function properly.
A nutritious and balanced dinner is part of any nutritional plan that aims to maintain your health and well-being. It should be borne in mind that, during night rest, caloric expenditure is minimal, but our metabolism remains active and needs to have enough energy to perform its vital functions. While we sleep our muscles rest, grow and repair their fibers. To do this, they need enough protein to make it possible. For all these issues, it is important to know how to prepare a healthy dinner that helps with sports activity.
The keys to a balanced dinner for athletes
The different foods gather all the nutrients that the body requires for its proper functioning. Having a good meal always implies eating foods that are low in calories but rich in essential macro and micro nutrients such as protein, vitamins and minerals. At night, forget about “fast food”, empty calories (alcohol) or Tran’s fats, especially present in industrial pastries. In addition, if you do not know what to eat after training or before going to sleep, a healthy dinner for athletes should take into account the following principles:
1. Optimal quality protein
The foods high protein must be predominant ingredients in the main course of dinner for athletes. Eggs, in any of its preparations, lean meats with a predominance of poultry (chicken and turkey) or fish, are ideal as a base for a dinner that helps to repair the muscles after a hard strength training.
2. Carbs, the fair ones
Each diet is different and depends largely on the activity we do. It is not correct to think that carbohydrates should be totally excluded from a healthy dinner for people who exercise a lot. Cereals, pasta or rice are an important source of energy and must be present in our diet on a daily basis. If we have already had carbohydrates during the day, it is better not to include them at dinner, but if they have not been present on the menu, they can also be ingested, always in moderation, at night, for example in the form of pasta or cereal salad whole grains that complete a dairy.
3. Cooking method
It is a very important detail to achieve an ideal dinner for sports. Before going to sleep, avoid fried foods in breaded or battered foods and opt for grilled or dread cooking. In this way, you will get all the nutrients your body needs without adding extra fat.
4. Combine ingredients and season well
A healthy dinner that helps sports does not have to be boring or “dieting.” Varying is important in the diet before and after exercising and you have a multitude of rich ingredients to be able to make dishes as original as they are healthy. Salads of all kinds, stews, and scrambled. Take a little imagination and don’t limit yourself to grilled breast. Remember that even the most humble dish gains flavor and nutrients seasoned with olive oil and digestive spices such as oregano, thyme, dill, pepper and other seasonings, including lemon.
5. And for dessert?
Dairy products are your best allies when it comes to achieving the perfect culmination for a healthy dinner for athletes. A yogurt, perhaps with red fruits full of antioxidants, a curd or some rich custard are ideal foods to improve sports performance. If you prefer, a good glass of milk, with a few tablespoons of cocoa, will help you fall asleep and get up ready to train hard and surpass your own marks.
