What to Eat Before a Morning Soccer Game
What you eat before a morning soccer game will have a direct impact on your performance. Soccer games require the body to sprint, jog and walk consistently over an extended period of time, placing a high demand on the energy stores of the body. As well as the morning of the game, you should also aim to eat healthy for three to four days and in particular the night before the game. After all, healthy eating is a habit important to life as well as soccer.
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are the primary energy source for soccer performance. Glycogen will be your body's primary energy source during the game, and a diet in high-carbohydrate, low-fat foods will enhance performance during a morning soccer game. Try to incorporate pasta, rice, mashed potatoes, chicken or white fish into your breakfast before a morning soccer game. While not traditional breakfast foods, they will ensure you have adequate energy stores. If you wish to eat a more traditional breakfast, a whole wheat bagel with chicken or white fish would be a good energy source.
Hydration
Hydration is just as important to your body as what you eat. Your body's hydration level will be impacted by what you drink at least in the 16 hours prior to your morning soccer game. Many people enjoy fruit juice with their breakfast. This is fine, but only one is recommended because many fruit juices are high in sugar. Sugary foods cause quick energy, then a crash that hurts performance, especially in the second half of your morning soccer game as the body fatigues. Soda dehydrates the body and causes dehydration during sports.
Hydration is best achieved by the consumption of water and sports drinks, which should be consumed up to, during and after your morning soccer game. Sports drinks have the added bonus of carbohydrates as well as helping the body restore supplies of electrolytes and minerals, such as sodium, potassium and chloride, that the body loses through perspiration.
Timing
The timing of when you eat before a game is important. You do not want to have used your stores by game time, but it is also important to give your body enough time to convert food into energy before your morning soccer game. While no exact timing is scientifically recognized in sports nutrition research, you should eat between two and three and a half hours before your soccer game to have an optimal energy store. This means you should wake up early; if you have a 9 a.m. game and wake up at 8 a.m., eating your breakfast in the car on the way to your game, you are not allowing your body to convert your breakfast food into energy and will lack energy, leading to you fatiguing quickly during the second half of your game. Waking up early and eating good foods will help your performance and will be worthwhile.
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