Eating for rugby

Today at any pharmacy you will see hundreds of supplements sold that promise all sorts of miraculous results. Its all rubbish and will not make one ounce of difference if you have not laid the foundation properly first. That basically means the rest of your eating. Every single rugby player I have worked has told me that he eats well. Yet when asked what he eats it always turns out wrong. Most tell me they eat a lot, this then ends up being bread and other forms of carbohydrates. After years of working with rugby players particulary at club level we know that not everything is as easy to do as it sounds, we also know that the reality is that many cannot afford what others take for granted. This means you have to fix what you can fix and do your best as you go.

The basic rule of thub is as follows

• 2grams of protein per 1kg of bodyweight, spread over 5-6 meals per day.
• That means if you weigh 80kg you need 160g of protein per day.
• Thats about 25g of protein per meal, just to maintain your weight ( 6 times per day )
• This will miantain muscle mass. ( Be careful you do not confuse muscle mass for bodyfat mass )

The first thing you can do is to start some planning, what can you do at home, what support do you have from those you live with, what can you afford, does your daily activity allow for a disciplined eating plan. These are ome of the questions you can ask yourself.

Lets look at the home first. Start with the following, remember we going to focus on protein first then carbs.

1. Where do you shop
2. When do you shop or does someone else shop for you.
3. Are you looking labels whe you shop, this is vital so that you know what you are buying and that you are getting value for money. Look for protein per 100g ( this is a legislated label requirement )
4. Now try to shop clever. Try to buy chicken, fish, meat
5. Now also make sure you have some of the basics like rice, past and potatoes handy.

The secret to your daily plan in my next blog.