Playing Sports on a Diet: Tips for Maintaining Energy and Stamina

Let’s face it, being healthy, staying in shape and playing sports on a diet can be tough. You have to have a lot of discipline in many aspects of your life, which is why a lot of people slowly get back to their bad habits.

There are many different types of diets out there that claim to be the best, and there’s a good chance that you’ve tried one or two of them. What concerns a lot of people is how they can be on a diet while still exercising and playing sports. The misconception is that dieting lowers energy and stamina, which makes it difficult to perform at the level you want.

Whether you are on a vegan, vegetarian or any other diet, you can still have the energy and stamina to play sports at a high level. With science today, there are plenty of foods that will allow you to stick with your diet, but still give you the nutrients you need to live a healthy lifestyle.

Being Strong on a Vegan Diet

Proteins and iron are the two main nutrients that people on a vegan diet don’t usually get. Those nutrients are most commonly found in meat and animal-based foods, so it can be difficult to get the proteins needed in a day. However, there are different types of proteins that we can use, and science has proven that many of them are just as beneficial as the protein that comes from meat.

Many plant-based foods contain protein, iron or vitamin C. If you’ve tried any no-carb or no-protein diets, you’ve likely felt some undesirable side effects. Poor digestion, low energy and moodiness are just some of those side effects that many people suffer from. Vegan diets still allow you to get the nutrients to be healthy by eating healthy fats like nuts, seeds, beans and avocados, which will all keep you energized.

Vegan diets shouldn’t be restrictive. Yes, there are a lot of foods that you can’t eat, but there generally aren’t limits to how much you can eat of the acceptable foods.

Eating Vegetarian Foods to Increase Stamina

If you’re wondering what foods you can eat to increase your stamina right before a sporting event, while on a vegetarian diet, you probably don’t have to look much further than your pantry. In order to increase your stamina, you need to eat foods that are high in fiber, vitamin C, protein or complex carbs. Some of those foods include:

• Bananas
• Oatmeal
• Sweet Potatoes
• Coffee
• Walnuts

As you can see, you probably have at least one of these foods in your house right now. Bananas are high in fiber and natural sugars that will give you a boost of energy before your event. Oatmeal doesn’t digest as quickly as other carbohydrates, so your blood sugar will remain constant after you eat it, which will help you avoid the sleepy feeling that you feel when you eat other carbs.

Coffee is good to have because of its caffeine content. Many people actually eat sweet potatoes after playing sports to keep their energy levels up. They will help restore muscles so you won’t feel as tired when you get done playing. Finally, walnuts provide you with the omega-3 fatty acids that you normally find in fish products. These are great for stamina and they won’t fill you up if you have a handful as you head for the door.

Things to Remember About Dieting

No matter what diet plan you are on, you have to remember to eat enough of the right foods to keep your energy and stamina up. Many athletes still perform at a high level even though they are on a vegan, vegetarian or any other specific diet.

If you’re struggling with your diet, and don’t think it’s possible to play sports while you are on the diet, then you need to make sure that you are eating enough.

The main thing to keep in mind is that you have to start slow if you decide to go on a specific diet with a workout plan, or while you are playing sports. Give yourself a cheat day every once in a while until you feel like you don’t need the cheat day anymore.

Playing sports requires a lot of energy and stamina in order to perform to the best of your ability. And there is nothing better than having natural energy by being healthy and in shape!

Sources: One Green Planet and Stay Wow