Pro Athletes Follow Strict Diets

Adhering to a healthy diet can be one of the most rewarding and occasionally challenging parts of sports. Almost everybody has a soft spot for a certain kind of junk food. But the world’s greatest athletes reached their elite level in part because they resisted the temptation of pizza, chips, ice cream, candy, soda and the lot. It’s not easily done, but a proper diet can get young athletes in shape and elevate them to new levels of achievement.

A lesson from the 3-point king

NBA champion Ray Allen, a man of legendary routine, learned the value of a proper diet the hard way.

“There was a time in college where before practice I went to McDonald’s and I had a quarter-pounder with cheese,” Ray Allen told NBC Sports. “I went to practice that day and I just remembered I felt so sluggish out there.”

While his teammates were fine, Allen felt completely exhausted. The experience led him to a massive change in his diet. He also began thinking about everything that he put into his body that had previously held him back.

Now Allen follows a strict, almost OCD nutritional system, and he recommends the same for other athletes.

Melbourne goes paleo

While few NBA players can match Allen’s dedication, a team-wide diet can be a good way for coaches to ensure proper eating and drinking habits for athletes. The Herald Sun reported that the entire Melbourne soccer team has begun adhering to the paleo diet, regularly referred to as the “caveman diet.”

The high-fat, low-carb diet forbids the consumption of bread, pasta, wheat, oats and most dairy, and has also become a sizable trend in the U.S. Actor Matthew McConaughey and NBA star LeBron James both use the paleo diet.

“More than anything, we want to put a discipline around their eating because the feeling was a lot of footballers eat for comfort rather than performance,” Melbourne elite performance manager David Misson told the publication, “and we felt our guys could benefit from following a really strong and structured diet.”

Not all young athletes come from a background of healthy eating. It can be tough for some to make the adjustment from sweets to healthier foods. However, coaches have a responsibility to elucidate different dietary strategies for their players. A sports team website can be a great place to list healthy options for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks and even dessert.