The basketball player of Movistar Estudiantes, Jayson Granger, remembers perfectly the turning which led him to change his lifestyle habits for healthier ones. “I always say it. I was about eleven years old and a little chubby. … In Uruguay, we eat a lot of sweets, a lot of cakes, alfajores, dulce de leche… And my coach told my mother that if I wanted to dedicate myself to this professionally, I had to change my diet. Later, as I grew up, over the years, I learned and worked with professionals and understood that my body is my work tool.
The athlete, who is participating in the third edition of the Aramark project “Feeding the Future of a Generation”, makes this confession after his weekly training at the Caja Mágica, where the team prepares. “Fortunately – he recognizes, grateful and sincere – I was lucky enough to have good mentors who, since I started working at the professional level, when I was 17 or 18, explained and taught me good habits so that I could perform not only on the field, but on a daily basis. Ultimately, it takes a lot of time to follow consistent routines and habits. And that’s over nineteen years as a professional, playing at the highest level and obviously taking care of myself to be able to function.
A normal day in the life of an Uruguayan begins “with breaking the fast with a protein shake or a fruit, continues with lunch, which varies depending on the day, how you feel, and ends with a dinner, low in carbohydrates and high in protein to be able to face in the best possible way the training or whatever happens to me the next day. I also drink a lot of water, it’s very important. In addition, this professional athlete attaches great importance to quality of sleep. “I try to sleep between seven and nine hours even though I have young children and one of them is diabetic so sometimes it’s complicated,” he admits.
All athletes who participate in the Aramark initiative are an example for children and adolescents. What would be, let’s say, the key elements of the message that you would like to send to them about food?
I get it and understand that sometimes what tastes delicious is what does the worst for your body. But it is true that there is a healthy diet that takes time and dedication and is also very good. Fortunately, today we have widespread access to healthy food, which is essential. I think eating well is closely linked to family and the fact that parents try to instill in their children from a young age the importance of eating vegetables, fruits… which is perhaps not as common as you might think. The family is a key element for the child to learn to eat for the future. But it is true that what they can give you at school is also crucial. I always tell my personal experience. I took my children to a center where food is essential. They offer them menus that I would love to eat at home too!
It is true that for many young people, especially in adolescence, eating healthily is difficult and not easy.
It’s not easy. I’m 36 and it’s hard for me. (Laughs). I mean, I’m not going to tell you it’s easy, but hey, I think ultimately if you create the habit from a young age, it’s automatic and your body and mind will thank you. We must be aware that this will benefit children who play sports, who study… In the end, I think that everything is linked in the same circle, it’s a bit of a chain. I think they will feel much better and in the long run they will be grateful, because good habits are important even to stay focused while going to class, listening to their parents…
Coming back to the Aramark initiative, the truth is that adolescents who study and also do a lot of sport, despite the distances, obviously, are at an enormous level in terms of caloric expenditure.
Exact. In my case, maybe I can afford to skip dinner, but a child has to have dinner, breakfast, lunch, dinner, and at each meal eat their bits of fruits, vegetables, proteins, carbohydrates… Ultimately it’s an accumulation of things but I think it’s much more important to monitor this during growing age and adolescence. This is why it is important to learn, know yourself and find habits that will benefit us in the long term.
Do you have any recommendations to give to these minors to build their habits?
Ultimately, in my case, I was lucky enough to have great people who, at seventeen, taught me what it was. I was lucky to benefit from a very good environment, although I am aware that not everyone will be this lucky. My recommendation would be to inform yourself, to seek information on what can help you or be useful to you. The ideal is to find that point where life will be much more bearable. And there are currently a million recipes and options that anyone can access for a healthy diet.
Are we giving hydration the importance it deserves?
The truth is that we don’t give it much importance but it is undoubtedly fundamental. And not just for athletes. Everyone says to drink two or three liters a day, but I’m not sure what that does. And I insist, this is essential, since we are essentially made of water, and if we drink another soft drink instead, the body will notice it. I should drink three liters. How can I do it? During my training, I drink one and a half liters, and at home, another one and a half liters. It depends on the day but when I don’t do it, my body notices.
He also placed a lot of emphasis on rest habits. What would be your recommendation in this regard for students who, according to studies, are often sleep deprived?
Let them try to fall asleep at the same time every day, which is very difficult. That suits me well, but I know that today it’s complicated because at these ages, they have exams one day, football another, or swimming, basketball… whatever. But if they’re able to fall asleep within their parameters, say, between nine and eleven at night, or find an intermediate point at ten thirty, if they know that the next day we get up at seven… Their thing is to find a little bit of that balance, which helps to create this healthy habit. Rest is essential. It’s true that in my case I get up very early because I like it, and around nine thirty, “the blinds go down”, the PC as I say. After all, I’m up again at six in the morning.
Sport involves many lessons that are useful for life. Which ones would you highlight?
From my point of view, through team sports, camaraderie is very present, resilience, so fashionable today, the fact of not giving up, of wanting to improve, of creating habits, of being responsible, of being punctual… There are a hundred thousand values that practicing sport instills in you. I could give you a long list, but I think I will stick to respecting what you have in front of you, which is essential.
What would be your final advice for the 7,500 schoolchildren affected by this Aramark initiative?
That they learn about themselves, that they try to create healthy habits, that they have fun and that they try to have a healthy life, that it is an investment for the future. It’s something you might not see at 15 or 23, but in ten years, your body and your mind will thank you. Knowing how to take care of yourself means loving yourself.
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