As most people realize, nutrition has a huge impact on our overall health and well being. And for athletes, it’s optimal for achieving at their highest level while on the field as well as preventing them from injuries. It’s very important for athletes to have a structured nutrition plan. Being that the NFL is one of the most physically demanding professional sports on the planet, these players make sure they are consuming the right nutrients to be in their best shape possible. And I am here to talk about the impact nutrition has on NFL players performance and what they need to be consuming to optimize their performance

Now numerous factors come into consideration when deciding how many calories an NFL player should be consuming on a daily basis. Their weight, BMI, and age determine this number. For a 400-pound offensive lineman, he might have to consume roughly 8000 calories just to maintain his physique while a 190-pound receiver might only need about 3000. These athletes are also constantly active whether it’s on the field or in the weight room, so their calorie needs are a lot different as opposed to the normal human being even if they are the same weight. The seasons also determine how many calories a player should be eating. During the off-season, players tend to eat more calories being that they are trying to build muscle and size and they are constantly lifting. And during the season, they eat fewer calories being that besides the actual game, they are not working out nearly as much. And all these calories are used for recovery.

Players need to ensure they are receiving proper macronutrients to fuel their bodies for performing on the field. NFL players need to ensure that a majority of their calories are coming from carbohydrates. Carbs serve as our main source of energy and fuel and being that these players are constantly active, they need glycogen and glucose from carbs to ensure they are energized throughout the day. Protein is also very important for these players to consume. Protein has vital amino acids that are essential for building and maintaining muscle and also helps with recovery. And they mostly try to limit the amount of fat intake that they consume. Obviously, it’s important to get a little bit of healthy fats such as omega-3s, but for the most part, they limit their fat intake.

Now in terms of what types of food they should be eating, there are several essential foods that these players should eat on a daily basis to ensure they are in tip-top shape. For carbohydrates, players should look to get in a lot of slow-digesting carbs such as oats, potatoes, toast and etc. Slow-digesting carbs help lower blood sugar and give you more energy throughout the day as opposed to fast-digesting carbs. For proteins, it’s optimal for players to consume a lot of lean meat with not too much fat such as chicken breast, ground turkey, ground beef and etc. And for fats, these players should have a small amount of nuts and oils. Throughout the day, players need to be snacking on fruits and vegetables for quick energy as well as consuming and getting in all of their essential nutrients.

Diet and nutrition play a huge role in ensuring a player’s performance and shape are the best that it can possibly be. Like always, make sure to comment on anything you may want to add on about nutrition for these players. This topic isn’t necessarily talked about too often, so I would love to see your guy’s opinions on a topic that I’m not too familiar with. I leave you guys with a few questions: What is the most essential nutrient for NFL players? Should players take nutrition seriously or does it really not matter too much?

Make sure to ask me any questions you may have regarding nutrition being that it’s definitely a topic that should be covered more. I definitely am curious as to what you guys may want to ask regarding this topic. Make sure to like and subscribe to the blog and toon in tomorrow as I talk about how the game of basketball has evolved in the NBA over the past few decades and what players have changed basketball culture. Have a great day everyone!