Ten nutrition rules to live by as a rider

In our sport, of course, it is not only the horse that has to be in top condition, but also the riders have to be in good shape to perform at their best. One of the pillars for this is of course nutrition. “Riders often have a tendency to skip meals or to eat something quickly between training sessions or competitions,” says a dietician. “However, this is not healthy at all”. Therefore: ten simple nutrition rules for riders to perform at top level!

  1. Always have a good balanced breakfast consisting of: bread and/or cereal, a milk product (possibly 20+/30+ cheese) or low-fat meat products and a piece of fruit or fruit juice. A mixed drink breakfast is also possible.
  2. Choose low-fat fillings for your sandwich (30+ cheese, 20+ cheese spread, ox sausage, ham, beef, spiced chicken breast, sandwich spread and/or apple syrup, fruit sprinkles, jam, honey, etc.).
  3. Eat at least 2 pieces of fruit daily! Plan on doing this at set times so that you don’t forget to eat fruit!
  4. Eat 200 grams of vegetables daily (frozen, canned, in soup and/or raw vegetables are also allowed) This is 4 scoops! For example, have some raw vegetables and/or soup with vegetables at lunch.
  5. Choose carbohydrate-rich and low-fat snacks such as Evergreens, Sultanas, egg cakes, raisin rolls, gingerbread, crackers or slices of bread with low-fat fillings and/or fruit.
  6. Correct timing is desirable: eat your last meal no more than 2 hours before intensive training. Drink enough throughout the day. Make sure that you divide your meals and snacks well throughout the day: eat/drink something every 2-3 hours and not in large quantities in one go.
  7. Always take a water bottle (preferably an isotonic drink) with you to training sessions and competitions. Drink regularly: a few BIG sips at a time.
  8. After intensive training/competition, always eat a meal or snack with carbohydrates and a little protein within 1-2 hours for good recovery. A good habit is to drink low-fat or semi-skimmed milk products after training. There are also special recovery sports drinks. These are useful during (foreign) competitions.
  9. For the preparation of the hot meal, the use of 1 tablespoon of liquid cooking oil or frying oil per person is the guideline. Fatty additions such as (whipped) cream, roux sauces, extra butter or oil, (cream) cheeses are not desirable in the basic diet of an athlete. Breaded products are also not preferred.
  10. If you want to eat something from the chip shop, such as chips with a croquette, frikadel or cheese soufflé, the advice is: no more than once a week ed-hrvatski.com.

 

Source: voedingadviesgroep.nl