Are you looking for a balanced nutrition diet for baseball player? If there is a baseball player in your home or you yourself are a baseball player, then you should know the nutritious diet to be followed. With heavy workout and practices throughout the week, players need to follow a diet plan for giving them energy.
Every player is different, so the diet plan of every player has to be different. You need to contact a personal dietitian for this purpose. People who have recently joined baseball or parents whose kids are playing baseball they should make a diet chart to keep the player mentally and physically fit.
Baseball players need a few key points to increase their efficiency and performance level. The key points that affect baseball nutrition plan are:
1. Energy Drink: Baseball players need to consume energy drink to keep them hydrated. After a hard workout and tough practice session, baseball player needs energy drinks as it burns the fat. So, as a baseball player you should drink lots of water and energy drinks to keep yourself hydrated.
2. Eat at Short Intervals: every player should eat at short intervals so that can work out without filling their stomach too much. Players should eat at an interval of 3-4 hours; three meals plus 2-3 snacks daily. This helps in maintaining energy levels, the building of tissues and fast recovery.
3. Limit the Consumption of Junk Food: Player should not consume junk foods frequently as it affects the health and increases fat which is not at all good. You should consume candies, fries, soda, etc. once in a day to balance the sugar level in your body.
4. Consumption of Protein Food Frequently: the minimum amount of protein needed by a baseball player is 1.4grams per Kilogram of body weight. So, if you want a quick recovery from any injury, it is extremely important for you to take in protein in every 3-4 hours.
5. Intake Post-Recovery Snack: For fast recovery, you need to eat at an interval of 15-20 minutes after your workout lasting more than 2 hours. The snack should contain carbohydrates (30-60 grams) and protein (6-20 grams) to help in recovering fast.
Now you have got an idea how a baseball player can increase his potential and recover fast. Now you might be thinking of what should be the general baseball nutrition plan of a player? So, here is the answer to your this question.
A Sample Meal Plan:
This baseball nutrition plan is suggested for a player whose height is 6’3” and has a weight of 200 pounds. The player with this height and weight requires 4000 to 4500 calories.
Pre-Workout Plan [6-7 a.m.]
- 20-oz. electrolyte beverage
- 14g of carbs per 8 oz.
- 1 banana
Workout/Practice Plan [7-9 a.m.]
- 16 to 32 oz. of water/hour
Post-Recovery Breakfast Plan [9-9:30 a.m.]
- 3 oz. lean turkey
- 4 oz. whole-wheat bagel
- 8 oz. skim milk
- 16 oz. water
- 2 USANA Antioxidants
- 1 Bio mega
Lunch Plan [12-1 p.m.]
- 4 oz whole-wheat bagel
- 3 oz lean turkey
- 1 ounce cheese
- 1c raw vegetables
- 2 tsp of oil dressing
- 1 apple
- 1 Cranbran Vita Top
- 24 oz skim milk
Afternoon Snack [2-4 p.m.]
- 1 nutritional shake
- 10 almonds
- 16 oz water
Evening Meal Plan [5-7 p.m.]
- 4 oz grilled chicken
- 1C wild rice
- 1C corn
- 1C green beans
- 24 oz water
- 1 BiOmega
Evening Snack [8-10 p.m.]
- 24g NSF -certified protein powder
- 2C frozen fruit
- 8 oz skim milk
- 1 tsp peanut butter
With the help of the above sample plan you understood the minimum amount of calories, fat and proteins to consume. This plan will help you to build up your body structure and keep you fit for different matches
So, to become a good baseball player, the important elements and diet plan to keep in mind should be formulated either by you or by your nutritionist. You can also make a diet plan for a week, which might change according to you after consulting any nutritionist.
Players can also follow this baseball nutrition plan chart:
The above chart is also a clear example of a baseball nutrition plan that helps you to figure out which food to eat and the amount of calories, sugar, protein, sodium and fats contained in different products.
The above points explained the baseball nutrition plan for a good and healthy player. Now, you should be thinking which type of food should a baseball player eliminate from his nutrition plan? You will get the answer here only.
The Foods Which We Should Eliminate From the Baseball Nutrition Pan Are:
- Players should avoid eating energy bars or protein bars as they provide nutrients, but can cause diabetes or obesity. This might affect the life of the player adversely.
- Players should avoid frequent intake of soda as it might lead to loss of appetite and also leads to depletion of calcium, making the bones weak. Sodas have artificial sweetening which is not good for your health and doesn’t contribute to weight loss.
- Don’t drink excess of sports drink. According to nutritionists players should not drink sports drink if they haven’t worked out for at least one hour. So, it’s better to drink green tea, water or juice to keep yourself from dehydrating.
- The most important drink to avoid is alcohol. Alcohol affects the fitness of a player and can even destroy his career.
- High consumption of fiber and carbohydrates can lead to intestinal problems which might affect the player if consumed before any match. So, players need to limit the consumption of fiber and carbohydrates.
Occasionally, players can intake pizzas, chocolates, soda, pancake, whipped cream, etc. Players need to keep in mind what they should consume and when to keep them fit and healthy.
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