The Kansas City Chiefs' dietitian shares how much carbs and protein players eat to build muscle or lose weight

• Leslie Bonci has been the Kansas City Chiefs' dietitian for nine years.
• She plans meals based on whether players want to lose weight, gain muscle, or recover from injury.

Leslie Bonci is a 33-year veteran NFL dietitian and has spent the last nine years working with the Kansas City Chiefs, who will take on the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2023 Super Bowl.

With 53 athletes currently on the active player list, Bonci's job involves a lot of coordination, she told Insider.

What's more, the athletes aren't always particularly interested in eating the nutrient-dense food they need, she said.

"They're not always focused on health," Bonci said. "It's performance, it's career extension."

Planning meals to align with the goals of every team member is a challenge, so Bonci makes life simpler by dividing the meals provided into three categories: "gaining plates" for those who are trying to build muscle, "trimming plates" for those trying to lose weight, and "healing plates" for players focusing on recovering from injuries.

"Eating needs to be the comfortable part of the day, because football is not a comfortable sport," she said.

Bonci told Insider what each plate entails and how the team eat to perform at their best.

Players eat different meals depending on their goal

It's a misconception that all football players eat vast quantities of food, Bonci said. Some only eat around 3,000 calories a day — the average man who isn't a professional athlete is advised to eat around 2,500, but individual requirements will vary depending on various factors — while others need considerably more, she said.

Most don't want to eat big lunches because they train in the afternoon, Bonci said.

When they sit down to eat, there are lots of foods on offer but they fall into the three main categories.

'Gaining plates' maximize calories

"Gaining plates" are usually 60-75% protein and carbs, for example pasta, rice, or potatoes, and a smaller amount of vegetables.

"It's not that I don't want them eating vegetables, but we've got to maximize the calories on the plate," Bonci said.

The meals include calorie-dense foods like avocado and nuts, and drinks are usually juice or milk instead of water — they take up the same space in the stomach but provide extra calories, Bonci said.

Sometimes players say they want to try fad diets like keto, but Bonci steers them away from these to ensure they get all the nutrients they need, she said.

'Trimming plates' focus on high-volume, low-calorie foods

"Trimming plates" aren't smaller meals, but are simply lower calorie thanks to high-volume foods.

The meals are designed "to fill you up not out," Bonci said. "It takes up more real estate in the stomach, you feel full and don't walk away hungry, but it's a lower-calorie cost."

To preserve muscle and lose fat, protein is important and makes up at least one-third of the plate, Bonci said. Fruit and vegetables are 50%, and the rest is carbs.

In a stir-fry, for example, Bonci would ask the chefs to put in more shrimp and vegetables and less rice.

For drinks, players losing weight have unsweetened tea, seltzer water, or a splash of juice mixed with carbonated water.

While some players want to get ripped purely to have rippling abs, but Bonci warns them that dieting down to that level of leanness would cause their performance to suffer.

'Healing plates' are nutrient-dense

"Healing plates" focus on foods that can help decrease inflammation and boost recovery and restoration. For example, Bonci ensures injured players get plenty of omega-3s, whether through fish oil supplements or fatty fish.

The plates are heavy in phytonutrients in the form of fruits and vegetables, whether in salads, roasted veg, or smoothies.

Protein and carbs are important, even if a player isn't as active as normal, Bonci said. "That doesn't necessarily mean a sleeve of Oreos, although I would never say you can't eat them," she said. "It's oatmeal, wholegrain bread, rice, or pasta, so really quality carbs."

"Eating alone isn't going to get somebody back within a shorter period of time, everybody's response to injury is individual. But we know that providing these things regularly may help mitigate some of the inflammation and discomfort," Bonci said.

Some players eat breakfast foods before a game

Most of the players eat breakfast and lunch in the canteen, and they all have the option to stay for dinner or take food home too.

At breakfast-time, there's always eggs made to order, pancakes, French toast, omelets, turkey sausages, and bacon, Bonci said.

"Breakfast is always a big hit, their favorite meal of the day," Bonci said, and some players eat breakfast foods before a game because they find it sits most comfortably in their stomachs.

However, many love their favorite foods like wings, burnt ends, and mac and cheese: "It's Kansas City, so barbecue is big," she said.

The team will eat a big meal three to four hours before a game, but then will have plenty of snacks like granola bars and oranges on offer to keep them going.

After a game, sometimes the players have too much adrenaline to eat straight away, but Bonci encourages them to replenish their glycogen stores with more snacks like trail mix, fruit, and smoothies before eating properly later on.

"I'm hoping for champagne on Sunday, we shall see," Bonci said.