One question that Megan Rapinoe, US Women's National Soccer Team (USWNT) veteran of nearly 13 years, gets asked all the time is what her game-day rituals are. Any weird habits? Lucky pregame meals? Favorite warmup ab workout [1] she has to do?
"It's funny. I don't feel like I have any superstitions or anything like that, but I actually do the same things every game day," Megan told POPSUGAR. Her diet is one thing she makes sure to stay consistent with. "There are certain things that I need to eat to get ready for a game," she said. In fact, that consistency is so key that her game-day meals end up being pretty similar to her daily diet — whole foods [2] with minimal artificial or processed ingredients. Artificial ingredients "just really mess with me," she said, "so I'm not going to introduce that on game day."
Megan Rapinoe's Daily Diet
- Breakfast: A cup of coffee and a simple breakfast sandwich: two eggs with sauteed onions and spinach on an English muffin
- Lunch: Avocado toast [4] with a chicken thigh and a side of fruit
- Dinner or pregame meal (about three hours before kickoff): Two chicken thighs [5], a sweet potatoes and asparagus or another light vegetable (heavier veggies like broccoli "tend to stick with you for a while," Megan laughed.)
- Pregame or prepractice snack: A light energy bar or a handful of almonds
For hydration, Megan sticks with water throughout the day and an all-natural sports drink, like BodyArmor Lyte [6], before pregame warmups.
As Megan's diet proves, you don't need to get crazy or complicated to eat healthy and see the payoffs in your workouts. A simple, whole-food diet can go a long way, whether you're a regular Joe trying to get healthy or, you know, an Olympic gold medalist-slash-World Cup winner.