Wellington Phoenix midfield general Vince Lia takes us through a typical week of nutrition, and reveals his guilty pleasure when he gets “hangry”!
BREAKFAST
I always eat breakfast.
It’s the most important meal of the day.
I eat Weet-Bix and banana with milk and a bit of cinnamon
Then before training I have a coffee with the boys.
AFTER MORNING TRAINING
I have a protein shake straight away which gets me through that initial hunger.
What I eat after that depends on what we’ve got on for the rest of the day.
If we have a gym session in the afternoon, I’ll get some protein on board.
I usually have eggs, salmon and avocado or I’ll make a wrap with some cottage cheese
LATE AFTERNOON
Once I get home, I normally have another shake around 4.30-5pm.
If I don’t have that, I get “hangry” and eat horrible food!
EVENING MEAL
It’s always healthy stuff.
I usually have a mix of vegetables, protein and carbs.
SWEET TREATS
I try not to have anything sweet.
If I do, I’ll have natural yoghurt with honey and some fruit which gets that sweet craving out of the way.
The trick is not to buy it.
If it’s not in your house, you don’t feel like it – that’s the key.
GAME DAY
I get up as late as I can to make the day as short as possible.
I’ll have my normal breakfast and then I go to the gym.
For lunch, it’s something light, like eggs or a wrap or sandwich around 1pm.
At 4.30pm, I’ll load up on carbs by eating pasta – either spaghetti or penne.
If I’m on my game, I would have made a proper sauce during the week and it’ll be ready in my freezer.
Otherwise I throw in some tuna, oil, fresh tomatoes and cheese with it.
BEFORE KICK-OFF
It’s more sugar around game-time.
I’ll eat a few lollies when I get to the ground and a fruit-bar or a gel before we go out.
I get some more sugar on board at half-time, which means I crash after the game!
POST-MATCH
We have a post-match meal provided.
We normally get wraps and meat and healthy fatty foods, like home-made pizza or home-made burgers.
I must admit I eat pretty unhealthy stuff after the game.
It’s probably not the best thing to do, because you’re supposed to get your fuel and your sugars and carbs back in.
But because we eat so well during the week, I think we need to let it out.
If you don’t do it after a game, it creeps in as the next game gets closer.
The night after the game and the next day is where I relax a little bit.
GUILTY PLEASURE?
For me, it’s lollies.
If I buy them, they’re gone, so I just don’t buy them.
Sometimes for my birthday or for a treat, my girlfriend will buy lollies and within an hour they’re gone.
Even when I buy them, I have to hide them, because every time I walk past the cupboard I know they’re there.
I just open the packet and have one or two on the way past and then the same on the way back!
