Part II: Diet Analysis

Food Log

Student’s Name

Institution

Instructor’s Name

Date

Part One: Food Log

Sunday, January 31st, 2021

Breakfast

3.5% buttercream milk - 500ml

Bread - 4 slices with margarine and peanut butter

Water- one glass

Lunch

Fries - one serving

Roasted Chicken - quarter

Apple - one small

Snack

Biscuits - 20 grams packet

Yogurt - 450 ml packet

Dinner

White rice - one serving

Sauteed Cabbage and carrots - one serving.

Water- one glass

Tuesday, February 2nd, 2021

Breakfast

Porridge - One cup

Lunch

Rice - One serving (1/2 cup cooked)

Stewed Green grams - one serving

Steamed Spinach - one serving

Water- one glass

Snack

Sausages - two

Hamburger - one

Water- one glass

Dinner

Spaghetti - one serving

Stewed Minced meat - one serving

Orange - one medium-sized

Water- one glass

Wednesday, February 3rd, 2021

Breakfast

White chocolate - one cup

Bread - four slices

Eggs - one

Lunch

Roasted potatoes- one serving

Stewed fish - one medium-sized

Steamed cabbage - one serving

Water- one glass

Snack

Blueberry smoothie

Peanuts - one small bowl

Dinner

Vegetable salad

Pasta- one serving

Stewed beef- one serving

Water- one glass

Part Two

Food and fluids are essential before exercise. For optimum performance during an exercise, one should learn the right kinds and quantities of fluids, snacks, and foods that one should intake. That will affect a person’s level of energy, hydration, and thus their performance.

One should eat adequately before exercising. Approximately four hours before exercising, a person should eat a large meal that contains carbohydrates and protein. That will give the body enough time to digest the food and derive energy from the food. The amount of food and fluids are taken depend on the time before a person commences their exercise (Wardenaar & Hoogervorst, 2018). For instance, as a person is approaching the exercising time, they should consume food high in carbohydrates and moderate in proteins.

Before exercising, a person should avoid food that is high on fiber. Such foods include baked beans, broccoli, and high-fiber cereal. Such foods may cause stomach pains during the exercise as they pass slowly in the digestive system. However, such foods should be consumed when a person is not exercising as they are essential in the human body. Additionally, a person should avoid food that is high in dietary fat such as ice cream, cheese, and nuts. Such meals take longer to digest and thus they may lead to inconveniences when a person is working out.

Approximately 30 minutes to one hour before exercising, a person should eat fresh fruits or dried fruits, drink water, and also they may drink sports drinks. That gives a person the energy to exercise and hydrates their body. As one exercise, one perspires thus leading to dehydration in the body. Dehydration leads to a gradual reduction in a person’s mental and physical performance (Funnell, 2019). It also leads to increased body temperature and heart rate thus making it hard to continue exercising effectively. Therefore, before exercising, a person should be well hydrated. Additionally, one should make a schedule in between the exercises to hydrate depending on their sweat rate.

One of my favorite sports is lawn tennis. It is a very engaging game as one has to keep on running to hit the tennis ball. Lawn tennis also involves strategy, thus mental performance is also needed to win a game. Fluid intake and snacks affect the performance of a player when playing lawn tennis. To begin with, when playing, one needs to be properly hydrated (Campagnolo et al., 2017). Hydration boosts a person’s physical and mental performance. Thus, one is in a position to keep on running and coming up with strategies that can be used to beat the opponent. When one becomes dehydrated, the physical and mental performance reduces significantly. Therefore, one has to keep on hydrating during the game to ensure they portray optimal performance.

Since lawn tennis also involves a significant portion of a person’s physical well-being, a person needs a lot of energy to keep on playing and maintain the same level of energy. Reduced energy may affect the performance of a player negatively even though they are well hydrated (Parker-Simmons & Love, 2018). That brings in the significance of light snacks and energy drinks. Light snacks are easily digestible thus they do not cause discomfort when playing. They also ensure that the body gets more energy in the minimum time possible thus keeping a player energized. Therefore, energy and hydration play an integral role in promoting the performance of a tennis player.

References

Campagnolo, N., Iudakhina, E., Irwin, C., Schubert, M., Cox, G. R., Leveritt, M., & Desbrow, B. (2017). Fluid, energy and nutrient recovery via ad libitum intake of different fluids and food. Physiology & behavior, 171, 228-235.

Funnell, M. (2019). The effect of fluid intake during exercise on aerobic exercise performance and post-exercise recovery (Doctoral dissertation, Loughborough University).

Parker-Simmons, S., & Love, P. (2018). Sports Nutrition for Tennis Players. In Tennis Medicine (pp. 563-572). Springer, Cham.

Wardenaar, F., & Hoogervorst, D. (2018). Food Intake And Fluid Balance Varies Between Individuals During A 120 Km Running Race: 1305 Board# 113 May 31 8: 00 AM-9: 30 AM. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 50(5S), 309-310.