Four Sample Volleyball Meals Throughout the Day

By Etobicoke Volleyball Research Team

Good nourishment is important for future athletes. This is because eating properly allows your body to function properly. It will allow you to do your best at a game. That said, eating well is a prerequisite. It provides the body with plenty of energy for daily activities. Volleyball is a high energy sport so this is helpful. Another thing it provides is the brain having the energy needed to learn, concentrate and focus. In a tournament, if your head is not completely in the game, what are the chances of your team winning?

In this article you will learn about how a highschool or college level athlete in volleyball should eat in a day and terminology. More serious players usually have four meals a day instead of three which is the standard. The four meals can be called (to put it simply) breakfast, second meal, post workout meal and your last meal.  If you want to learn more, continue reading.

First Meal

As mentioned before, this is a meal plan for training highschool and college level athletes. That said, let’s learn about the first meal. Let’s say you don’t have training in the morning. If you don’t you should have a complex carbohydrate meal. What is that?, you may ask. An example is oatmeal because it digests slowly throughout the day. This means that you won’t have an insulin crash or spike. You should also have a protein to help with your muscle recovery. For example, eggs or protein powder. You should have three to four meals a day as well as a protein shake.

Carbohydrates also known as carbs are the primary source of energy for all activities. However, before the body can use the carbohydrates it must convert it to glucose. What is glucose?, you may wonder. Glucose is stored in the liver and muscles in the form of glycogen. Carbohydrates should make up 55-60 % of our daily diet. For volleyball, this can change depending per player. For example, if you need to gain some weight, more carbohydrates would be better, but if you need to lose some weight, less is better. This is because, 1 gram of carbohydrates = 4 calories.

Good examples of fruits that are carbohydrates are as follows: Apples, pears ,oranges, bananas, strawberries, blueberries, watermelon, mangos, tangerines, pineapple and grapes. Good examples of vegetables that are carbohydrates are as follows: Green beans, spinach, broccoli, cabbage, peas, beans, chickpeas, carrots , corn, potatoes and lettuce. Good examples of grains that are carbohydrates are as follows: Whole wheat bread, whole wheat pasta, cereal, brown rice and barley. Examples of unhealthy carbohydrates are as follows: Ice cream, donuts, pastries, cakes, chocolate bars, chocolate milk, soft drinks, cereal coated in sugar, potato chips, sugar, milk shakes, white bread and all products produced from white flour and white sugar.

Proteins are a vital part of every body cell building block of all tissues. They help build and maintain tissues such as muscle, bone, connective tissue. Proteins are made from building blocks called amino acids. They should make up 10-15 % of the daily diet.

Similarly to carbohydrates, 1 gram of protein = 4 calories of energy. Good examples of protein are as follows: Low fat beef, low fat pork, skinless chicken, all beans, low fat cheese, low fat yogurt, egg whites, low fat milk, tuna, salmon, trout, sardines, cod and walnuts, peanuts, pecans, cashews, almonds and peanut butter. Unhealthy examples of protein are as follows: Beef with fat, pork with fat, chicken with skin, cheese, homogenized milk, ice cream, fried meat, cold cuts.

Second Meal

This is the pre-workout meal. For this meal, you should combine a starch (for example a sandwich) and a fruit (like a pear or apple). Each of these have something known as their own transporter. Think of it as two lanes on a highway. One lane is in need of the starch while the other is using that fruit to provide nutritional balance.

You will want to have moderate protein as well. So, not too much but not too little. For example, low fat milk, walnuts, peanuts, pecans, cashews, almonds and peanut butter. You can also add caffeine as a supplement. This is because caffeine increases the rate at which carbohydrates go into glycogen. Before the body can use the carbohydrates it must convert it to glucose. What is glucose?, you may wonder. Glucose is stored in the liver and muscles in the form of glycogen. However, you shouldn’t have too much caffeine since it is not good for you since it increases one’s heart rate and blood pressure.

Post Workout Meal

This meal is one you consume after you workout. This one is the most simple. You could do just a protein shake or, if you’re going to workout again during the day, add another carbohydrate. Having another carbohydrate is good because it is vital for your glycogen source to be full. To put it in a fun way, imagine a car. Isn’t this vehicle more useful when it’s full as opposed to half empty?

Last Meal

If there are no more training sessions, eat moderate protein, moderate fat or/ and moderate carbohydrates. For this meal, you could have it more fat dominant like a spinach salad with chicken and avocado. This is because you focused on consuming the other two categories throughout the day.

The purpose of fat is to be used as long term energy supply. It cushions body parts, protects the body from injuries and insulates the body from cold. Fat should make up 25-30% of our daily diet. 1 gram of fat = 9 calories of energy. Less fat is consumed to maintain a healthy image. More fat is consumed if you are trying to gain weight. There are several things you can do to cut down on fat. Good examples of fat are as follows: Olive oil, corn oil, nuts including peanuts, hazelnuts, pecans, walnuts, almonds and cashews, fatty fish including salmon, tuna, mackerel and sardines. Unhealthy examples of fats are as follows: Butter, ice cream, palm oil, lard, cheese, fried foods, vegetable shortening.

Remember to keep hydrated throughout the day so you don’t get overly tired. Before game day, you should try and experiment with these meals to find out which is best for you and what you can change. Someone else’s diet may not work for you.

Thank you so much for reading this article. We hope that learning these diets according to each season and terminology will help in your volleyball journey. Remember that each part should feel right to you. Best of luck!