During this offseason in Atibaia, the red-and-black athletes have been training hard, under the supervision of the highly qualified professionals on the coaching staff. Less seen and discussed, off-field activities are also an important factor in this process. Required to perform physical exercises on the field and in the gym, the athletes need to be well-fed and hydrated. This responsibility falls to nutritionist Léo Acro, who is responsible for the players' seven daily meals.

The professional explains that, when concentrated, the red-blacks cannot eat anything that is not served by the club, because, even if they wanted to, the hotel is not authorized to allow anything that deviates from the pre-established menu.

"Each player has their own unique needs, but for every meal, I provide a menu for each athlete to meet their individual needs. For those who need to gain muscle mass, I provide appropriate nutrition and supplementation to support proper training. A person who is not well-nourished or well-supplemented, if supplements are needed, will not perform well in their workouts. The pillars or foundations for good preparation during this off-season are training, nutrition, and rest," he explained.

Léo Acro has worked with athletes of different nationalities. The current squad includes two Argentinians, one Paraguayan, and one Colombian, meaning they have different eating habits and must adapt to Brazilian cuisine to ingest the necessary nutrients. At the club since 2012, Cáceres, for example, used to avoid beans, but now consumes them twice a week, after daily monitoring and discussions with a nutritionist. However, he emphasizes that heterogeneity is common in any group and does not depend on the presence of foreigners.

"We have four foreigners in the group, from different countries and, consequently, different cultures. The Brazilian group also has a heterogeneous mix, as there are athletes from different parts of Brazil, from the south to the north, with different eating habits. Therefore, I have to find a balance, find a middle ground. In general, everyone responds very well. There's always a dialogue with the athletes, I ask what they like and what they don't like, and, depending on their daily situations, I make them feel more comfortable or not," he said.

Léo guarantees that this week will be very productive, because he can have total control over all the athletes, including their rest periods, in addition to the structure allowing for different types of training, but, for the second time this year in Atibaia, he says that, at this point in the season, the objectives are different.

"When we're at the beginning of preseason, they're returning from vacation, a period when they're more relaxed. There's no dietary control, and there's still Christmas and New Year's, days when food is plentiful. So, I check each player's condition, perform physiological work, biochemical tests, and, based on these assessments, we begin to guide their diet. Both those who have to lose and those who have to gain go through a kind of 'cleanse,' with the healthiest diet possible to eliminate the excesses committed during the holidays," he explained. "Now, I have to provide Mello with the perfect conditions for every training session. Feeding an athlete for training is a 'but,' but recovering them after each training session is different. I have to keep them well-fed so that their glycogen stores and muscle tissue repair are always optimal."

To keep everything under control, the nutritionist talks to the kitchen chef and tells them what needs to be present in the players' meals, providing options for both those who need to win and those who need to lose weight. 

"Every day, the menu offered to the athletes is revised. We have salads and some dishes like beans, rice, and pasta every day. I make changes to the way I prepare each dish and each protein. One day I'll have a stew, the next, grilled, and so I always gain some and lose some. I balance it out as the days go by. Eating has to be enjoyable," he explains.

"Essential for the athlete to carry out the morning activity."

"Fruit, cookies, coffee, water, coconut water, and electrolyte replacement are offered. With these foods, I'm sure I've managed to replenish some of the glycogen stores that were lost during the first activity of the day."

"We are concerned with meeting the individual needs of athletes, looking closely and recommending what they should eat."

"In both, we offer the same thing as in the morning after training. Before training, to stay light and able to perform the activity well, as if it were a game situation. And, after training, to avoid muscle degradation."

"I monitor everything that was done throughout the day, I check with the physical trainer what the training sessions were; with the physiologist, I check the condition of each athlete and, from there, I direct the nutrition and supplementation for each of them."

"Around 22 p.m., we offer low-fat cheeses, turkey breast, cereals, fruit, yogurt, and soup. This way, we ensure we have enough food for a day of training."