If you are like and want to bring your badminton game to the next level, you have to eat right. Badminton players should be eating well in order to get the best out of their game. After years of playing badminton, I have learned and done research on the food I should be eating as a badminton player to perform the best.
Badminton players should focus on eating protein rich food. These include things such as lean meat, eggs, fish and chicken.
It is important to get a well-rounded diet as well as eating enough calories. Without those 2 things, you will feel lethargic really quickly when playing badminton. In fact, you will not be able to recover properly after a game without enough nutrients and calories. In this article, you will learn everything you should know about badminton players’ diets.
Food Examples
Having a well-balanced diet with a good mixture of protein, fat, and carbs is very important for badminton players. However, the one thing that badminton players should really focus on is a protein-rich food. I am not saying healthy carbs and fats are not important, I’m just saying lean protein is what they should focus on eating. The reason for this is because carbs and fats are much easier to consume enough of.
Protein Foods
These should include foods such as chicken, steak, eggs, low-fat dairy products, fish and etc. Protein is extremely important to the recovery of badminton players’ muscles and cells. As you may already know, badminton is a fast-paced intensive racket sport. You need to recruit a lot of muscle tissues when playing badminton.
When you do movements such as lunges, jumping, and smashing, your muscles are experiencing micro-fiber tears. If you eat enough protein, these micro-fiber tears will recover and that is how you get bigger and stronger muscles. On the other hand, if you do not ear enough protein, it will be hard for your muscles to recover from those micro-fiber tears.
For most people, it can be hard to eat enough lean meat because they usually taste bland and fills you up very quickly. Foods such as fried chicken should be avoided as much as possible. Even though it is high in protein, it is also high in unhealthy fats.
Moreover, they are also super high in calories which can get your weight up really quickly. As a badminton player, that is not ideal as more weight will slow you down when moving around the court.
Carbohydrate foods
When you hear carbs, you might think it is evil but it is actually not. Carbs are essential when it comes to giving you the energy you need to make those explosive movements on the court.
However, badminton players should aim to eat healthy carbohydrate foods that are low in unhealthy fats. These healthy carbohydrate foods include vegetables and fruits of all kinds to get those nutrients in.
Rice, bread, and potatoes are also a great option for energy but do not overeat them. Try to avoid unhealthy carbs such as french fries or chips as they will make you sluggish and also super high in calories.
Fat Foods
In a lot of people’s minds, fat is considered bad and avoided at all costs. That is completely false because fats are essential to keep your body functioning and producing the hormones it needs. That being said, you should aim to eat healthy fats such as olive oil, avocado, and nuts. Most of the time, people over unhealthy eat fats.
In fact, fats are the highest in calories (9 calories per gram) compared to protein and carbs (both with 4 calories per gram). If you find it hard to eat sufficient healthy fat in your diet, try to add some avocado or olive oil into your food (like salad).
Meal Example
If you still cannot picture the food that you should be eating as a badminton player, do not worry. Here is a breakdown of a full day of meal examples with snacks included.
Breakfast – Eggs, bread and milk
Lunch – Chicken, rice and vegetables
Snack (Between Lunch And Dinner) – Apple and nuts
Dinner – Fish, vegetables and potatoes
You can swap and replace any carbohydrate item with one another. For example, if you do not like potatoes, you can swap them with rice.
How Many Calories Should Badminton Players Eat?
How many calories you should eat will depend on many factors such as your age, weight, gender, and activity level. On average, a full-grown male badminton player should eat about 2,500 calories to stay at a healthy weight and 2,000 for females.
This number will vary a lot from person to person. The more active you are, the more you will have to eat to make up from the calories you burnt. From my experience, many badminton players do not seem to eat enough calories which are halting their progress.
Badminton is a sport that burns a lot of calories as it is super intense. Burning about 480 calories per hour playing badminton. This number varies depending on your current weight and gender.
That being said, if you want to progress and become a better player, maybe even elite, you have to eat enough calories. If you don’t your body will not be able to recover fully and grow stronger.
It can be hard to eat enough calories if you are not a person with a big appetite. If you are one of them, try to plan your meals and eat more healthy high calories food such as nuts, coconut oil, and olive oil. Again, do not stuff your mouth unhealthy high calories food.
A Quick Tip
If you really crave them (unhealthy food), control how much you eat. They should only be about 10% of your daily intake and 90% being healthy food. For example, if you are currently eating 2,500 calories a day. You can spare 250 calories for unhealthy food such as ice cream and chips. This will keep you sane and enjoy your life but eating well at the same time.
Conclusion
Badminton players should eat a relatively healthy balanced diet to get the best out of their performance. Mainly focus on eating enough lean meat and the rest will take care of itself as long as you make pick food that is relatively healthy. Protein is extremely important for proper recovery from the micro-fiber tears from playing badminton. Lastly, it is very easy to under-eat when you are a badminton player as playing badminton burns a lot of calories. So, make sure to eat enough calories to get your body recovering properly so you can gain new muscles and get stronger.
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