The diet of a professional athlete
Find out what professional athletes eat.
Triathletes Jonathan and Alistair Brownlee
What is your typical daily diet when training for a big event?
Breakfast:
Alistair: Normally porridge with a bit of chocolate spread and some toast.
Jonny: I usually go for some cereal – muesli or something like that and toast.
Lunch:
Alistair: Something hot, a proper meal. I love a bit of barbecued meat in the summer.
Jonny: Similar to Al really, I like a sandwich sometimes though, or a few bagels.
Dinner:
Alistair: I'm normally very hungry so a decent meal involving some meat, I love steak, plenty of cooked veg (I'm not a huge fan of salad) and a warm pudding every time.
Jonny: I have a slow cooker now, so I enjoy doing a casserole of some sort and having some rice or potatoes with it. Definitely have a pudding every time as well.
Total calorie intake: 5000ish (Kcal)
How do you keep your diet varied and do you ever get bored with eating for your sport?
Alistair: Sometimes when you're very tired after a long days training cooking enough food to fill you up can be a chore, so in that instance I just go across the road to the fish and chip shop.
Jonny: I just try and eat as normally as possible to be honest. We're lucky because of the amount of training we do. I just eat a lot of everything so we don't have to constantly eat the same meals or food types.
What super food/juice/meal helps you get out of bed and motivated on those particularly dreary mornings?
Alistair: Bacon and black pudding sandwich.
Jonny: Yeah you can't beat a good bacon sandwich!
What's your trusted snack for an energy boost?
Alistair: A good bit of flapjack.
Jonny: Our neighbour Jan's 'crunch' - she makes it for us every week.
How do you stay hydrated when training?
Alistair: I always carry a water bottle around with me.
Jonny: I drink a lot and very fast! I never have problems hydrating.
When competition season is over what are your favourite food indulgences?
Alistair: Weirdly, I probably have less of an appetite for indulgent food when I'm not training.
Jonny: I love chocolate fudge cake, training or not training.
What would be your top diet and exercise tip for the amateur athlete?
Alistair: Eat balanced. Don't get caught up on any fad diets. Just train and eat consistently.
Jonny: Yes, plenty of fruit and veg and try to stick to eating at meal times. Don't snack on loads of rubbish. And Alistair is right; consistency in training is the key.
Freestyle skier Katie Summerhayes
What is your typical daily diet when training for a big event?
Breakfast:
I'll usually have porridge in the morning for a good source of carbohydrate, which keeps me energised for the day.
Lunch:
It's really hard on the mountain because you don't get that much time to eat and you can only have cold food. We'll normally have bananas and energy bars to keep topped up, or we might have a sandwich.
Dinner:
We'll have a big dinner when we get down the mountain. I normally have something with eggs – poached or scrambled.
How do you keep your diet varied and do you ever get bored with eating for your sport?
We travel to a lot of different countries so we do get quite a good variety of different foods all the time.
What's your trusted snack for an energy boost?
A piece of fruit, usually a banana.
How do you stay hydrated when training?
I drink water and caffeinated drinks when I need an extra boost.
When competition season is over what are your favourite food indulgences?
Chocolate cake – with ice cream or custard!
What would be your top diet and exercise tip for the amateur athlete?
Try and eat your breakfast, lunch and dinner at the same time every day, try not to have anything that's really bad for you and eat lots of fruit throughout the day. Also eat plenty of protein after you've been training to help rebuild your muscles.
Aside from your speciality, what is your favourite sport/exercise?
I really enjoy going to the gym and getting my strength programmes done. We also do a lot of trampolining and that's so much fun.
Do you have a favourite recipe you like to cook at home?
I'm not particularly good at cooking (though I like to think I am). I used to think I was good at poached eggs but then Anna Vincenti, another skier, tried making them for the first time and hers were better than mine. I was so embarrassed - I'd been boasting for ages about how good my poached eggs were!
Paralympic athlete James Roberts
What is your typical daily diet when training for a big event?
Breakfast:
Cereal and orange juice.
Lunch:
Sweet potato, tuna and salad.
Dinner:
Chicken, rice, vegetables and fruit.
Total calorie intake: 2,500 - 3,000 (Kcal)
How do you keep your diet varied and do you ever get bored with eating for your sport?
Making sure you are getting all the nutrients you need can be a bit boring at times - but it is fuel at the end of the day. Getting the balance right can greatly improve your athletic performance.
What super food/juice/meal helps you get out of bed and motivated on those particularly dreary mornings?
I love food so just the thought of breakfast is enough to get me out of bed in the mornings!
How do you stay hydrated when training?
A steady supply of water is obviously vital when you're perspiring through activity. Various sports drinks also offer hydration while providing a much-needed boost of energy.
When competition season is over what are your favourite food indulgences?
I love Italian food so I usually tuck into a big plate of pasta or a pizza when I feel like a treat.
What would be your top diet and exercise tip for the amateur athlete?
Making sure you're getting enough energy from your food to aid your training is vital, though overeating can be just as detrimental. My top tip therefore would definitely be, eat as much as you train. Try to work out how much energy you'll be expending and eat accordingly.
Aside from your speciality, what is your favourite sport/exercise?
I used to swim and row professionally so have a vested interest there, though my real passions outside of my own sport would have to be football and rugby.