Sports
Athlete Diet: João Cardoso Details School Routine
The young runner reveals his US meal prep strategy, supplement choices, and meal-weighing discipline.
Athlete João Cardoso shared the details of his nutrition and supplementation routine while attending school in the United States. To sustain high performance and bypass typical cafeteria fare, the runner prepares and weighs his own meals.
Maintaining top-level athletic performance requires discipline on and off the track, especially when dealing with long school days. Speaking on Stemma Performance, hosted by Bruna Mahn, athlete João Cardoso shared how he manages his daily nutrition and supplementation to handle heavy training loads.
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Supplementation and energy choices
To ensure he has the energy needed for workouts, João uses carbohydrate gels from Z2 Performance. Among the flavors in his rotation, the runner highlights Tropical Fruit (his favorite), Pitaya, Coffee, Pineapple Mint, Banoffee, and chocolate. During a recent trip to Brazil, he made sure to stock up on a box of gels to take back for his routine.
Despite his strict athletic regimen, João admits having a sweet tooth for candy and chocolate, balancing his personal cravings with the metabolic demands of high-intensity training.
Meal prep strategy and US school routine
The biggest challenge in João's school routine in the United States is eating during breaks in his 9:20 a.m. to 4:20 p.m. schedule. Because typical cafeteria options often center on pizza and nuggets—foods that do not fit his athletic diet—he solved the problem by bringing healthy meal-prepped lunches to heat up at school every day.
To stick to his nutrition plan, João partnered with a local restaurant called Goritos, which provides five complete meals a week for his school days. In addition, the athlete took charge of his own kitchen: he learned to cook staples like eggs, rice, and pasta, and made a habit of strictly weighing his portions before leaving home, maintaining a pro-level routine and mindset.
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