Here is a very simple and short guide for all the women who are doing some kind of a sport. It will instruct you in the ways of a proper sport nutrition, food that you need to take as much as possible and those that you should avoid.This will be just a basic guide, that should be effective regardless of the sport you are active at.
First of all, there are 4 basic rules that I think it is important to point out before we start. Number one, drink plenty of water. This will help you keep hydrated enough. Most nutritionists agree that around 1.5 to 2 litres of water is necessary for daily intake. You can also drink juices, but make sure to avoid those with sugar as much as possible. Two, processed food may be easier and faster to make when you are in a hurry, but it will not help your organism much. You should also avoid starches, like pasta, breads and grains, or at least avoid eating them alone. And, finally, make sure that you eat a lot of lean meats, like poultry or fish.
For breakfast, you need an increase amount of protein intake, so a lot of fruit and vegetables, and one whole egg (complete with egg yolk and egg whites), plus 3 egg whites. And of course water. For lunch, you should eat fish, beef or poultry, together with plenty of vegetables with it and some fruit after that. And don’t forget water. Finally, the last course of the day, dinner. Basically the same as lunch, but in smaller doses. So that’s some chicken or other poultry, some fresh vegetables and some food and, again, plenty of water. As you can see, I don’t believe in that theory about more than 3 meals during the day as I believe that the organism needs some time to process that food, but now and then you should eat an apple or snack on something like that.
Before a practice, you should drink a sports drink. Many nutritionists will advise you against them, but they are the best way to replenish glycogen stores and they will also replace electrolytes that are lost during sweating. During half time or other break, like a quarter in basketball or a set in tennis, you should drink some more sport drinks and eat some fruit. Finally, after the match or game, more fresh fruit and some protein.
Avoid starches before a practice or a game always. They are quickly turned intro sugar. In turn, your body will recognize this and release insulin, the insulin will grab the sugar and start storing it as fat. Because it is now fat, your brain and body will not have enough of it to function effectively, so instead of being faster and stronger as a result of your exercises, you actually turn out to be slower, weaker, fatter and well dumber. So, yeah, I think that avoiding starches is a no brainer.