5 QUESTIONS TO: Niko Datkovic
Quick facts:
- Niko Datkovic is a professional footballer, a representative of Croatia. He has been a player of the Cracovia club since 2018.
He began working with Be ComplEAT at the beginning of the 2019/2020 season.
A few months ago, he suffered from injury, thanks to dietary support and cooperation with specialists from Croatia, he managed to return to trainings, faster than planned.
On the daily basis, he shares training sessions with online studies.
In his free time he likes to go for long walks, read spiritual books and watch “Friends” series.
1. Why did you decide to work with us? What we helped you with?
I decided to work with Be ComplEAT team because I wanted a good nutritionists to follow my career path with me. I had a very good recommendations from more than one source to hire Be ComplEAT team and I never regretted it. They helped me to understand food and my habits regarding eating and training. Also they explained me how much should I eat and what should I eat in every situation or occasion. They are a big support for me both as a person and as a football player.
2. What has changed since you started the cooperation?
Before I started working with Be ComplEAT I was afraid of food. I was cutting down carbs in order to stay lean but I was doing the wrong thing. My body didn’t have enough energy to keep up with all the trainings and games, so injuries were coming more often. I had a big misunderstanding about food, how much calories should I eat daily and what sort of food is best to fuel my body and keep my muscle mass. Now I eat more than ever and I have less body fat and more muscles. Even when I have a cheat meal, or going out to dinner, I know how to handle it and stay in a good direction after it.
3. What was the most difficult aspect of changing your nutrition?
The most difficult aspect of changing my nutrition was my head. I needed some time to understand why I need more calories and why should I eat more. I was afraid to get fat because I taught I know my body better than everybody else. Aga and the team proved me wrong and now I eat more than ever and I feel better than ever. I am not afraid to eat chocolate sometimes, like before, because now I know what comes with eating it and how should I compose my meals and my trainings before and after . Also they kept in mind what I like and dislike when composing my diet so I didn’t have to stay away from the food that I like.
4. What gives you having a nutritionist alongside? What surprised you?
Having a good nutritionist alongside means so much. Aga and Be ComplEAT were my big support during hard times of my injury. They are following my training schedules with diet instructions and I can call them any time if I have a doubt about something. I feel I am in a better position comparing myself to others because my body is ready for every training now and it is recovering faster than before. It means less injuries, harder workouts, more muscle mass and less recovery between sessions.
5. With your injury – what were the key components of a successful recovery process?
I was lucky to meet Aga right before my injury. I think the work that we have put in my recovery has shorten it a lot. Usually the players who suffered the same injury as me are out from 6-8 months minimum and I was sprinting after 4 months. It is because I was eating the right amount and kind of food depending on how much I was able to move and train. My muscle mass didn’t fell down a lot when I was on crutches and it got back very soon after I started training again. I also lost some body fat even though It was not our main target. We needed to keep my muscle mass in this period as much as possible. Aga helped me also to keep away negative thoughts in this hard period and to stick to my plans and goals. I think the key factors to fast recovery is to stay positive, be clear with your goals and stick to it, have a good nutrition plan and training schedule and of course have faith in yourself. You need to surround yourself with the best people who can help you and trust them. How much work and energy you put in, more chances that you will reach your goal.
Dietitian: Agnieszka Kułaga
