It’s the start of rugby pre season, so Dec is back in hard training in preparation for the first game at the London Double Header in September. You would think that the three weeks the boys have just had off would be a time for relaxing and letting the dietary regime go a little. But the pressure is always there to come back strong and lean, especially for the oldest man in the team.

During the holidays, as well as maintaining fitness with workouts 5 days out of 7, he also kept to a militant 3 hourly feeding regime. As a dietitian, I would prefer a more relaxed attitude to food, but in the world of professional sports, you’re only ever as good as your last training session. Any advantage no matter how small becomes fundamental.

As it happens, the right food and diet can provide more than just ‘an edge’ on your competitor. It can make a significant difference to strength and power, speed, performance and recovery. The psychological advantage should not be dismissed either…….knowing that your body is receiving the right fuel with the optimum ratios of macronutrients (carbs/protein/fat) as well as micronutrients (vitamins & minerals), will give that extra confidence.
So what does a professional flanker with a wife for a dietitian eat? If anyone is interested, I’ll post the meals and snacks as often as possible (within the realms of real life ie. caring for 3 children/mountain goats, shopping, cooking, cleaning etc.)
So, here’s what we had this evening at 5.30pm – early I know, but he gets hungry, as do I when my day starts at 5am.

Chilli: lean beef mince, 2 grated carrots, 2 onions, 2 cartons chopped tomatoes, tomato puree, worcester sauce, tomato ketchup, garlic, dried chillies and cumin. I forgot to get the kidney beans at Sainsburys.
Brown rice, broccoli.

One plateful, no seconds. Estimated 750 kcal, 35g protein, 60g carbs