How to eat like an Olympic Athlete
- Mary Lou Retton.
We adore this quote from Mary Lou Retton, the American Olympic gymnast, who has an incredible five medals to her name. For us, it sums up the spirit, determination and ambition at the heart of these games.
Because simply having natural skill isn’t enough - these athletes are totally committed to their training. Every single day, they take care of their body, train hard, and focus on their discipline. This is how you become the best that you can be.
Beyond their work on the field, healthy eating is a vital part of any athletes programme. In order to achieve the best that you can in a sport, it goes without saying that you have to eat healthy too.
But what do these top athletes eat? What do their healthy food habits involve?
Well, in this blog post, we’ve taken inspiration from the Olympics Tokyo 2020, and detailed the healthy eating regime of six top international athletes.
Read on to find top healthy eating advice, straight from the pros.
Madison Chock
Sport: Ice Dancing. Olympian and a two-time World medalist.Top tips: Madison avoids eating too much dairy in particular. Fish is a regular staple in her meals.
Her Typical Day of Eating:
Breakfast: Flaxseed porridge, topped with chia seeds and raisins
Lunch: Leftovers from last night’s evening meal. For example, three-bean chili
Dinner: A nutritious and filling dish, like tacos
Snack: Whole fruit, like oranges, or a spinach, oats, pineapple and chia smoothie with protein powder
Chris Mazdzer
Sport: Luge. Winter Olympian.Top tips: For his main meals, Chris always makes sure that the dish features a protein, a vegetable and a starch.
His Typical Day of Eating:
Breakfast: Avocado and egg sandwich, along with plain yoghurt, topped with chia and hemp seeds, and honey
Lunch: A sandwich and a salad, with olive oil and balsamic vinegar
Dinner: This depends on what he’s doing, especially when he’s on the road. But one of Chris’ favourite dinners is sushi.
Bryan Fletcher
Sport: Nordic Combined skier. Olympian competing from 2002 to 2018.Top tips: This incredibly intense sport requires an awful lot of energy. So, his diet needs to give him all the nutrition and calories that he needs for this level of physical endurance.
His Typical Day of Eating:
Breakfast: Seeded bread with grains, toasted. Topped with organic butter, eggs and avocado. With a cup of coffee
Lunch: Porridge (either sweet or savoury)
Dinner: A salad with meat (either steak, chicken or fish), with loads of vegetables
Liam Phillips
Sport: BMX cycling. Olympian and winner of the UCI BMX World Championships.Top tips: After a whole afternoon of training, you don’t want to have to then spend hours preparing your dinner. So, Liam has lots of go-to recipes for quick, 30 minute recipes.
His Typical Day of Eating:
Breakfast: Eggs are an absolute staple
Lunch: A dish with a base of rice or quinoa, topped with chicken
Dinner: A quick yet filling dish, like garlic prawn pasta with lemon and chilli
Snack: Protein-rich foods like Greek yoghurt or a boiled egg. Liam also really enjoys a cake and a coffee, as a treat
Jack Laugher
Sport: Diving. Olympian, competing in both individual and synchronised diving.
Top tips: Jack’s meals are all about providing filling and satisfying options, which will give him loads of energy for training.
His Typical Day of Eating:
Breakfast: Toast with scrambled eggs, a big cup of tea and apple juice
Lunch: Rice or pasta, with meat
Dinner: A hearty dish like lasagna, a roast dinner, or a Mexican meal
Snack: Chicken wings are Jack’s particular favourite
Daniel Purvis
Sport: Artistic Gymnastics. Olympian and three-time British all-around champion.
Top tips: Daniel really recommends protein shakes, and says that they are a fantastic post-training drink to help him refuel.
His Typical Day of Eating:
Breakfast: Wholemeal toast with poached eggs
Lunch: Chicken and pasta, with a side salad. Plus a protein shake to drink
Dinner: Meat with potato, fresh vegetables, and sometimes some wholemeal bread on the side
Snack: High protein cereal bars
As you can see, along with proteins and carbohydrates, it is imperative that these athletes take in plenty of nutrients. And this goes for everyone - not just professional sports people!
In order to take care of your body, and keep it working as healthily as possible, you need to take in all your key nutrients.
Alongside fruit, vegetables and fish, drinks are a great, convenient way to up your nutrient intake.
Health tea is the perfect drink to enjoy during your exercise regime. Not only does it taste delicious, but it is brimming with healthy ingredients. You can shape up your recipe depending on what you fancy, and vary it between each day, to ensure that your week is filled with all the nutrients that your body needs.
To help you create delicious, healthy tea throughout your week of workouts, you’ll need a kettle that’s up to the task.
Our iKettle makes it easier than ever to make healthy, fresh, homemade herbal tea at home.
FridgeCam is an extra help in your daily tasks. It's a smart camera for your fridge which works by sending a snapshot of the inside of your fridge, cupboards or pantry to your phone, every time the fridge door is closed. This means that when you head out for a shop, you know exactly what you’ve got at home.
In fact, we now have the full range of Smarter appliances in stock - the iKettle Original, Monochrome range, iKettle Limited Edition, Smarter Coffee and FridgeCam.
Visit the Smarter website to find out more about our iKettle and FridgeCam and treat yourself to one of your own.
Written by Josephine Walbank