Here is a link to the orignal article. http://sports.sina.com.cn/k/2002-12-10/1146363096.shtml My translation below. What does Yao Ming eat everyday? It is an interesting questions for (Chinese) fans. Ming's mom cook for him 3 meals a day. So his diet is similar to what he had when he was in China. Breakfast: soft rice + bread. When not on the road, Ming gets up about 8am. His breakfast is prepared by his mom, which usually consists of soft rice, bread, and sweet (muffin?), sometimes green vegetables. When on the road, Ming eat with his teammates. Usually, he will visit the local Chinese restaruants [Translater: any chinese restaurants open for breakfast? ] If he cannot find any Chinese restaurant, he will settle for hambuger or pizza. Ming says he like simple food. Easy to fill up. Lunch: vegetables + meat. Usually, Ming goes home to eat lunch with his mom. It is the main meal of the day. Ming's mom always cook good food for him. She is also careful about nutrition balance. Green vegetables, baby ribs, potato soups. Every it is different. Ming does not like baby ribs. But she keep insisting that it is good for his nutrition. Dinner: vegetables + soup. In China, Ming eats light for dinner. Here the dinner is simple too. Fried green vegetables and soups. Light for Ming when he is tired. Mom's meals are tasty. Ming likes it. Whenver he is in Houston, he always go home to eat. [Trasnlator's note: Hopefully there is a professional nutritionist that watches Ming's diet. Vegetables + soup for dinner? Don't Ming need to eat a bit more? ]
I'm not the greatest nutrition expert, but I would have thought that professional atheletes tend to stay away from junk food. I'm not trying to dispute anything...simply querying. I know that in sports such as tennis the diet is VERY strict. Sampras once said that he rewards himself with a hamburger if he does something good...like winning Wimbledon...sheesh. Can NBA basketballers get away with eating a bit of junk while still maintaining the condition to be effective in the league?
IMO, there is a difference between what is "junk" food for a typically overweight sedentary 180# person and someone who is extemely active and needs the approximately 5,000 calories to maintain nearly 300#'s of body weight. "Junk" or processed foods are usually high in simple sugars and/or saturated fats. If Yao Ming or another athlete has already eaten a healthy supply of veggies and lean meats, a slice or two of pizza to maintian caloric intake is inconsequential in the big picture.
Actually, this sounds like a pretty sensible diet, at least for right now. Carbohydrates in the morning for energy throughout the day. Good choice. Also, having your big meat meal at lunch time is a good move too because it gives your body the rest of the day and night to digest and process it. (Meat takes the longest to digest). Even the idea of keeping his late meal small when he is very tired is wise because it takes energy from your body to digest it which could otherwise be used for recuperation purposes. If you don't believe me wait till you come home exhausted one night and eat a big meal an hour or two before you go to bed. Then see how much energy you have the next morning. Then, repeat the process only don't eat anything(or just soup or something light) the next time and see how much more energetic you feel the next morning. With Ming being so tired from non-stop playing, plus having to adjust to adjust to playing an even greater concentration of games than before in a more physical league, I think he needs to stay as close to his familiar diet as possible for a while, till he starts to regain energy. It's going to be extremely hard to try and bulk him up at all this first year, he may even lose mass for a while. Once his energy reserves build back up and he gets used to the nba game/schedule he could start eating more meat, maybe add a little in his soup at night. Or have a few light energy/protein snacks during the day. The best advice would be, if your tired, rest, don't eat. If you are hungry, eat something healthy, complex carbohydrates early in the day, and protein/vegetables at night. If you listen to your body it will let you know what's right and wrong. note.. I'm certainly no nutritionist, but I have studied Chinese nutritional theories/herbology to an extent on my own and they are extremely sound. They have over 5000 years of experience of determining what works and what doesn't. I would venture to say that Yao Ming has a more nutritionally sound diet than just about anyone else on the Rockets, with the possible exception of Steve.
Wow. I thought with a rigorous NBA schedule and weight training, he would mix in a little more protein a little more often.
Of course, he will also need more complex carbohydrates since he is doing a lot more running than before(fast breaking). The point I was trying to make is that when you are exhausted, you're not going add muscle very easily until you build your energy reserves back up. His body has enough of a shock in trying to get used to the nba schedule, especially since he was already exhausted before he got here. I would not go changing too much of his diet right away(especially since it sounds like he already eats pretty healthy), that would be even more shock to his system. I would concentrate on getting him to feel fresh and energetic before I would concentrate on getting him bigger/stronger. Once he starts to feel better energy-wise, then you can start adding different things to his diet. If you are doing more you will start eating more eventually, but I would just give him some more of what he is used to eating(like the baby-back ribs), at least for a while. Again, this is just IMHO.
