What can eating like a baseball player do for you?

Mar 20

Spring training is in full swing and especially if you live in either Florida or Arizona, hopefully you have had the chance to catch at least one game so far! While the stadium is busy selling beer and hot dogs, the players are eating a drastically different diet in the clubhouse. Pop culture is full of anecdotes about David Ortiz eating a “big Dominican lunch” and Babe Ruth eating an insane number of hot dogs. While these jokes may be grounded in some truths from decades past, this stigma couldn’t be further from the truth for today’s athletes. In general, they are very conscious of their health and the impact nutrition has on it. You might even be able to pick up a few good habits from them!

What are their primary nutrition goals?

Baseball season is 6 months long, and if you are lucky, 7! Once players report to spring training, the grind has officially started. They are at the field almost every day, on the road for half their games, and rarely sleeping in their own bed or even in the same time zone for more than 3 days at a time. To the average spectator, baseball might seem slow paced, or even lazy, but these guys are putting their body through the ringer! Most of us will have 48 days off (weekends), plus holidays over a 6 month span. Could you imagine if you only had 15 days off from your job AND were traveling to a new city each week? Those miles start to add up and fatigue sets in pretty quickly, especially once you add in the mental and physical demands of being a professional athlete.

So what do they focus on to survive the season? Most players will spend the off season in preparation for the season building muscle and healthy habits. The main goal during the season is to maintain both of these. Some top areas of focus for improving both health and physical performance are:

Maintain strength, body composition, and weight
Minimize soreness and promote recovery
Avoid injury and illness
Maintain sleep schedules and mental acuity

What types of foods do they limit?

Baseball players recognize that their nutrition plays a role in achieving their season long goals. Certain foods are going to hold them back and make it more difficult to stay healthy throughout the season. Here are a few guidelines that many of my athletes abide by:

No more than 2 alcoholic drinks in a day (many don’t drink at all)
- Drinking alcohol in excess can inhibit the natural production of testosterone and growth hormone having a negative impact on muscle mass. Alcohol can also have a huge negative impact on mental sharpness and sleep quality.
Minimal fried food
- Not only do these foods increase inflammation in the body, but can impact muscle recovery and ultimately health and career longevity. Most athletes will limit their fried food consumption to 1-2 times per week.
Limited sweets and processed foods
- Excess sweets, sodas, and highly processed foods can impact body composition, strength, and lead to weight gain which adds unnecessary strain to joints.

What types of foods do they add?

In addition to removing certain foods from the diet, baseball players will go out of their way to add other foods in. These foods help with achieving their performance goals and keeping their bodies performing well into October.

Heart healthy fats
- Players are adding avocados to almost everything, choosing salmon when possible, and munching on sunflower seeds all day long. They recognize that these types of fats are great for maintaining weight while also supporting brain health and reducing inflammation.
Fruits and vegetables
- At spring training it has been hard to keep the fruits and vegetables replenished on the buffet because so many people are loading up on them! These help with fighting off illness, reducing muscle soreness, and maintaining an ideal body composition.
Consistent snacks
- Even though some games might make it seem like these athletes aren’t doing a lot of activity on the field, they have a pretty packed day! In an average day they are doing some type of weight lifting, cardio, active stretching, batting practice/bullpens, fielding balls, AND playing in the game. Eating consistently ensures they have both the energy and the mental sharpness to accomplish all of these tasks in a day. On average, they will be eating 4 meals and 1-2 snacks in a day.

My challenge to you!

You may not be working out every single day, or struggling to maintain your current weight, but many of these healthy habits can be beneficial even if your sport is “desk jockey”. That being said, now that most of us have officially left our New Years resolutions in the dust, I would like to present you with your next health challenge. Can you eat like a baseball player for the next 6 months? Here is what this challenge entails:

No more than 2 alcoholic drinks in a day. Eliminate alcohol completely if you want to take it a step further!
Only eat fried food 1-2 times per week. This doesn’t just mean skipping the drive through on the way home from work, this also means subbing the fries for a side salad at dinner and skipping the donuts at the office!
Limit your consumption of sweets and ultra processed foods. If you are a big soda drinker, try not to have more than 2 sodas a week. If you never miss dessert, try substituting your cookies for some fresh fruit and yogurt. If you love your potato chips, swap those out for some baked chips.
Substitute some healthy fats. Add fish into your weekly meal plan, swap butter for olive oil, or choose avocado toast instead of cream cheese on a bagel.
Aim for 5 servings of fruits and vegetables daily! One serving is about the size of your fist. Incorporating one serving at each meal can make this goal feel less daunting.
Eat consistently by having 3 meals a day and one snack.

If you are up for the challenge, check out my recipes for some healthy meals that don’t taste like dog food!