Whether we are playing for fun or taking our game to the next level, good preparation starts well before we pull on our basketball singlets and take to the court. Along with training and exercise, one of the best ways to stay in top shape is to keep a healthy diet.

Unfortunately, this can be easier said than done. Work and everyday life can often take up much of our time, making it easy to fall into bad eating habits. One solution to this problem is meal prepping. Meal prepping is a great way to ensure you have healthy and nutritious food ready every day. Not only will it help ensure you’re fuelling your body properly, but it is also a great way to save both time and money.

Check out our tips below, and you’ll be prepping like a pro in no time - leaving you with more time and energy to focus on your basketball practice!

WHAT IS MEAL PREPPING?

Popular amongst athletes and fitness enthusiasts alike, meal prepping is the idea of preparing multiple full meals ahead of time. This allows you to easily control portion sizes while ensuring you will always have a healthy meal option available, even when time is short.

So how do the pros do it?

Most professional athletes have help from dietitians and doctors, and if you are going pro, it’s important that you do the same yourself, to make sure you meet the unique needs of your own body.

But if you are simply trying to eat healthier and more consistently, there are plenty of good tips to help you get started.

Example 1: Video of athlete diet

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgrZdtJ8qzA

Donovan Mitchell is a professional basketball player who spends endless hours working out each week to prepare for the NBA. As different workouts require varying amounts of energy and nutrients (e.g. weights training needs more protein), Mitchell’s planned meals are tailored to his schedule.

Example 2: Video of athlete prepping

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qd43g4xgC0Y

Kristi Eramo O'Connell competes in the CrossFit games. Being a high energy sport, it is essential she gets the right amount of Protein (meat, legumes), Carbs (potato, starch) and Fat in her diet. Check out the video to see how she goes about making her meals for the week.

How to make meal prepping work for you

Preparing all your meals in advance might sound like things will get pretty boring pretty quickly, but that doesn’t have to be the case. Building up a library of healthy and nutritious meals over time means you can switch things up regularly. Remember, the same ingredients can be cooked in so many delicious ways!

Here are some other tips to help meal prepping work for you:

• Tailor it to your lifestyle
• Prep when it suits you (most people choose to do it on Sundays, but this is not a hard and fast rule)
• Make sure you include all the food groups to maintain a balanced diet
• You can always prep snacks that you can bring to basketball practice too!

Meal prepping is a safe, cost-effective and efficient way of keeping your diet in check and your physical health in top condition. By combining good habits, good food, sleep and practice, you are bound to reach your fitness goals in no time! And as we all know, a healthy body and a healthy mind makes for a healthy basketballer.