Why did Djokovic put bread on his stomach? Novak knows how he can get away from Nadal

10-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic just won his 22nd career major and caught up with record holder Rafael Nadal. The battle for Slams continues. Who will emerge victorious? The Serb seems to have a slight advantage. Not only because he is a year younger than the Spaniard, but also in something else.

“It wasn’t a new training program that made me from a very good tennis player to the best in the world in just a year and a half. It wasn’t a new racket, a new training method or even new food that helped me lose weight, gain mental focus and feel unusually healthy,” Novak Djokovic made such a resounding statement in 2014, when it was already hard to deny that the Serb is one of the greatest tennis players in history. In the book “Taste of Victory”, the athlete said that winning match after match was helped by a special diet that changed his life forever.

Strange test with bread – the key to success

The story of Djokovic’s remarkable transformation began in 2010, when Novak met Dr. Igor Chetoyevich at a tournament in Croatia. The doctor convinced the tennis player that he knew the reason for his failures and advised him to change his diet. Before doing so, however, he asked the athlete to do something strange.

“I had to put my left hand on my stomach and extend my right hand to the side. Then he gave me a slice of bread. Should I eat it? “No,” laughed Chetoevich. – Press it against your stomach, and extend your right arm again.” He pressed my outstretched arm once more, explaining that this preliminary test would show whether I had a hypersensitivity to gluten, a protein found in wheat, oats, rye, and other bread grains. The experiment seemed like a no-brainer to me. However, I felt a noticeable difference. When I pressed the bread to my stomach, my right hand withstood Chetoyevich’s pressure with great effort. I really became weaker!” – Djokovic shared his memories. That’s how he found out he was allergic to gluten and decided to eliminate it from his diet.

Over the years of the experiment, Novak thoroughly studied the topic and shared his findings with the general public. He described in detail the effects of celiac disease, a severe allergic reaction to gluten. Inflammation of the small intestine, fatigue, skin rashes, painful weight loss, anemia and osteoporosis – all these are symptoms of improper nutrition.

What foods the Serbian tennis player eats

There are a lot of products that contain gluten, mainly bread and other flour products, but the tennis player does not say to get rid of them “forever and ever”. He advises to try to give them up for two weeks and then see how your body reacts. Besides, Novak proves that even on a gluten-free diet you can eat delicious and nutritious food.

“The foundation of our lives is balance and moderation in everything: diet, exercise, work, love and sex (okay, I agree, sex deserves an exception, but overall you get my point). There’s an old saying about the four “white deaths”: white bread, white sugar, salt and white fat. It’s best, regardless of your body type, to avoid the above four, and when you do allow yourself to eat, eat in moderation. In general, I try to eat any food in moderation, even healthy foods. Wherever I go, I look for the following foods: meat, fish, and eggs. The most obvious choice for someone who has given up bread and sugar,” Djokovic wrote.

In addition to these foods, the Serbian piles on vegetables – the main natural source of almost all nutrients: vitamins, minerals, fiber, antioxidants. The only thing is that he does not dine on vegetables, which are high in starch and carbohydrates – beets, potatoes, zucchini and pumpkin. Novak prefers to replace them with salads, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans and asparagus.

The tennis player spoils himself with fruits when he wants a sweet treat. He gets useful fats from nuts and seeds, as well as various oils – olive, coconut and linseed. To keep his food from being bland, Djokovic adds condiments, but only those that do not contain excessive sugar – mustard, horseradish, vinegar, wasabi and others.

The rules of Djokovic’s champion’s diet

But it is not only the composition of dishes that determines the quality of nutrition, Novak says. There are also rules that must be observed. The tennis player has four of them.

“Rule number one: eat slowly and consciously. As an athlete, I have a fast metabolism. My body requires a lot of energy, especially during a match, so I want to digest food as efficiently as possible and maximize my energy. Remember your biology lessons: digestion requires a rush of blood. But I also need that blood when I’m on the court. And if I can get my digestive system working faster and better, I can get back to physical activity sooner with more energy.

Novak Djokovic

The second rule is to give your body clear instructions. Our body uses food for two main purposes: firstly, for energy – to keep our legs moving, our heart beating and our racket flying in our hands. Second, for repair, to undo the damage done during the day, whether it’s from a long workout or a full day at the office. Protein and other nutrients help repair muscles, produce new blood cells, and replenish hormone levels. That’s why the bulk of the calories I eat in the morning before lunch are in carbohydrates. By eating carbs and very little protein, I’m telling my body, “I need energy, process as needed.” At night, I don’t need energy. I’m tired and want a good night’s sleep. So at dinner, I tell the body, “I need you to fix everything I’ve done. Please take your protein and do what you need to do.”