Why You Should Use Sports Team Catering
With the strides made in science, medicine, and nutrition today, we now know just how vital a role proper nutrition plays in the success of athletes and their performance. Without it, an athlete is sure to fail. This is because there are a ton of demands placed on a professional athlete, not just physically, but mentally and emotionally as well.
Not only does proper nutrition help to optimize their physical efforts and the results they get from those efforts, but good nutrition also helps with other aspects of fitness too. Proper nutrition helps athletes recover faster from a tough workout, lowers their risk of disease and sport-related injuries, and provides sustainable energy to power them through the day until they reach their goals.
Not to mention the key role that good nutrition plays in supporting other important functions, like the brain and other vital organs. The brain needs chemicals and hormones to communicate information to other body parts and tell them what to do. Not only can poor nutrition affect an athlete’s physical performance, but it can also affect their mood, mental clarity, and focus as well.
Nutritional Needs of Athletes
First and foremost, the impact of nutrition on athletes is vital to their health and performance. athletes need plenty of carbohydrates, especially healthy carbs like veggies, fruits, and whole grains. Carbs help to fuel the brain and the body’s muscles, keep the body running at peak energy levels, support the body’s recovery from strenuous exercise, and slow down the onset of fatigue while in the midst of working out. Some carbs are better than others though, so be careful. Consuming bad carbs or too many carbs can make you feel sluggish and hinder overall athletic performance.
Protein is used by the body to help build and repair muscle tissue and fibers, among other things. Though you do need protein, athletes don’t need to go overboard. They should only consume the amount of protein necessary for their body weight, fitness level, and energy expenditure. Athletes can also feed their body important proteins by consuming beans and dairy products.
Another key component to eating well is making sure an athlete gets plenty of healthy fats in their diet, to help them feel satiated and give them energy. In fact, some schools of thought believe that healthy fats are superior to carbs for fuel and energy. Others believe carbs are the superior fuel and energy source, especially for people who engage in vigorous exercise. There’s no right or wrong answer at this point in time and the needs of each athlete will be different.
In addition to the above, athletes need plenty of essential vitamins and minerals, which they can only get through food. By eating a healthy and varied diet, athletes are given more opportunities to consume the necessary nutrients. If an athlete eats the same foods day in and day out, their nutrition levels can suffer because there just isn’t enough variety to provide what they need. A deficiency in key vitamins and minerals can really affect the performance of an athlete and keep them from performing at optimal levels.
Remember, all of these dietary essentials work together to help an athlete stay fueled and focused on their objective. When an athlete’s body is not being loaded down with unhealthy fats, copious amounts of caffeine, or loaded with simple sugars that cause nasty dips and spikes in blood glucose levels, the body is free to simply do what it was designed to do.
Why Call in a Sports Catering Company?
Sports team corporate catering services can help fulfill a need and assist athletes in meeting their nutritional goals for the day. Every sports program and event tends to run large, with a lot of mouths to feed. By hiring a sports catering company, feeding multiple mouths both healthy and nutrient-dense meals becomes an exponentially easier experience.
You can hire a caterer to help feed professional sports teams and college level teams during special events. These might be team dinner meals or after-game meals. You could also hire a caterer food service to feed athletes that are in the midst of heavy training and don’t have a lot of time to break away, by offering a spread of food in the locker room for everyone to eat when they feel hungry. Many sports caterers offer organic catering services for banquet ceremonies and even tailgating parties for a sporting event too. Everyone likes to get together with family, friends, and other guests before a big game and enjoy themselves. By hiring a sports catering company, there’s no need to worry about food or service—one of the many benefits of catering any occasion.
If you are the head of a sports program yourself, then you already know how much better your athletes perform when well fed. You also probably know that, much like children, when left to their own devices, at least some members of the team may not opt for food that’s healthy or nourishing. Hiring a sports catering company is an opportunity for you to ensure that every member of the team is eating what they need to stay fueled and excel during strenuous training. You can make sure they’re getting at least one great meal a day, if not more, with Eco Caters’ extensive list of healthy lunch ideas for corporate catering.
Finally, another benefit to hiring a caterer for your sports team is that a good caterer can work with you to choose catering menu options designed to meet specific dietary criteria. Not all team members are the same and every player will have their own unique set of dietary needs based on their size, level of fitness, and how much effort they expend during training or a game. Your sports team caterer can help you conceive a menu that works for everyone and provides the fresh, healthy, nutritious, and delicious food your elite athletes need to be fueled up and performance ready.
Remember, a well-balanced diet is so important. Athletes require plenty of variety so that they can get the maximum amount of nutrition from their food possible. By utilizing the services of a sports catering company, you are able to provide exactly that. Food that tastes amazing, while still offering plenty of variety and nutrition.
Sources:
https://www.nestle.com.au/nhw/sports-nutrition/the-athletes-nutrition-needs