Training Diet

The foods you consume each day of the training week between matches have two important functions. They must provide all of the essentail nutrients required by the body, in the correct quantities for good health and they must provide enough energy to meet the demands of training.

To obtain all the nutrients essential for good health, foods need to be selected wisely. The healthy diet table below illustrates the different groups of foods and the relative proportions in which they should be consumed.

EAT LEAST
Lard, Butter, Oils, Cream, Mayonnaise, Alcohol, Margarine, Chocolate, Confectionary, Deep Fried Foods

EAT MODERATELY
Low Fat Milk, Low fat Yoghurt, Low Fat Cheeses, Fish, Legumes, Lean Meat, Skinless Poultry, Eggs, Nuts, Seafood

EAT MOST
Breakfast Cereals, Pasta, Pita-Bread, Muffins, Crumpets, Fruit, Barley, Noodles, Rice, Bread Rolls, Fruit Bread, Dry Biscuits, Vegetables, Potatoes, Oats

There are several key nutrients which are of particular importance to umpires.

Carbohydrate

It has been well established that one of the limiting factors to endurance exercise is the depletion of muscle glycogen stores. Depletion of glycogen stores results in fatigue and ultimately exhaustion. The body uses two sources of fuel to varying degrees during exercise. These are fat stored as adipose tissue and carbohydrate stored as glycogen. Whilst fat stores are large and used very efficiently, glycogen stores can be depleted by a single bout of exhaustive exercise. As the amount of glycogen stored is dependent on the carbohydrate ingested it is important that you eat a diet high in carbohydrates. You must consume enough carbohydrate to enable the body to replenish glycogen stores after each training session and game. It is recommended that 55%-65% of your daily energy intake comes from carbohydrate, and most of this carbohydrate should be in the form of complex carbohydrate with its associated fibre and nutrients. Simple carbohydrates may be included in smaller amounts to boost carbohydrate intake.

Protein

An adequate protein intake is essential to the umpire, for muscle tissue repair as well as many other metabolic functions. The amount of protein required each day varies from individual to individual, however most umpires will require approximately 1.2 - 1.6g of protein per kg body weight. These requirements can easily be met by the regular consumption of lean meat, poultry, fish as well as eggs and low fat dairy products. Good plant sources of protein include nuts, seeds and legumes such as lentils and soy beans.

Fats

To obtain adequate protein and carbohydrate each day, it is necessary to minimise fat intake. A low fat diet will also reduce your risk of excess body fat, heart disease and certain cancers. This can be done by limiting your intake of butter, margarine, mayonnaise, cream, fried foods, fatty meats, chocolate and high fat snack foods.

Fluids

Prolonged periods of intensive exercise can result in fluid losses of up to 2-3 litres. Dehydration will not only adversely affect your performance, but can also be very dangerous. Don't wait until you are thirsty to take in fluids as thirst is a poor indicator of fluid needs and you must get into the habit of regularly consuming water before, during and after training and matches. The best fluid during training sessions is cool water. During matches, however, umpires will benefit from a commercial sports drink which provides carbohydrate and fluid in a rapidly absorbed form.