 What is eaten before competition has four main functions:  Prevent hypoglycemia  Settle the stomach  Absorb gastric juices  Decrease hunger  Fuel muscles  Glycogen stores  Glycogen present  Pacify the mind

 Why are pregame meals important?  What should we eat?  What should we avoid?

 Sports nutrition benefits begin days in advance.  Every day  Eat adequate high- carbohydrate meals  Fuels and refuels your muscles  Food eaten within an hour before exercise  Reduces hunger  Maintains blood sugar  Doesn’t significantly replenish muscle glycogen stores

 Exercising minutes eat  Complex carbohydrates  Slowly enter the bloodstream as they are digested (low glycemic index)  Rice, pasta, yogurt, oatmeal, bean soup, lentils, apples, or bananas  When eaten an hour before exercise  Digested enough to be burned for fuel  Provide sustained energy during the long workout

 Less than an hour snack on foods that  Digest easily  Settle comfortably  High-carb, low-fat choices  Bread, english muffins, bagels, crackers, and pasta

 Limit high-fat proteins  Cheese, milk, steak, hamburgers, and peanut butter  Take longer to empty from the stomach  Results in  Sluggishness  Nausea

 Be cautious of  Sugary foods (such as soft drinks, jelly beans, and even lots of maple syrup or sports drinks)  Carbohydrates which quickly enter the bloodstream as they are digested (potatoes, honey, or corn flakes)  May cause  Drop in blood sugar  Tiredness, light- headedness, and fatigued  Experiment and learn how your body responds

 High calorie meals take longer to leave the stomach than do lighter snacks  Allow  Adequate food digestion time  3-4 hours to digest a large meal  2-3 hours for a smaller meal  1-2 hours for a blended or liquid meals  Less than an hour for a small snack

 Learned how to best fuel your bodies  Some athletes eat before exercise  Others abstain until after exercise  Exercise increases blood flow to muscles  Decreases blood flow to digestive organs  Stomach irritation

 Eat familiar foods before a competition  Don’t try anything new!  Carries risk of settling poorly  Intestinal discomfort, acid stomach, heartburn, or cramps  Drink plenty of fluids

 Why are we told to carbo-load?  Who should use carbo-loading?  What benefits do we receive?  What are the drawbacks?

 Store maximum amount of glycogen prior to an event  “Super-compensate” for glycogen depletion  Endurance athletes with events longer than 90 continuous minutes  Examples: Long-distance runners, swimmers, bicyclists, and cross-country skiers

 Other athletes that benefit  Involved in prolonged movement sports with varying intensities:  Examples: Soccer, lacrosse, ice hockey, and tennis

 3 days of high intensity training  Deplete glycogen stores  5g/kg/day of carbs  Minimum amount recommended  The first day  90 minutes of intense training (at 70% of VO2max)  Followed 2 days  40 minutes of intense training

 Taper intensity over the next 3 days  Increase to 10g/kg/day of carbs  Followed by 1 day of rest

 Weight should increase 1-3 pounds  Water is stored with glycogen  May feel sluggish and heavy  Eating too many carbohydrates can lead to intestinal distress

 Choose wholesome, fiber- rich carbohydrates  Keeps system running smoothly  Pasta, rice, bran muffins, whole wheat bread, bran cereal, fruits, and vegetables are good choices.

 What should we eat after the game?  What will help our muscles recover?

 What you eat after does affect your recovery  Foods eaten after require the same careful selections as before exercise

 2 or more workouts per day must be concerned about recovery diet such as:  Competitive swimmers  Triathletes  Aerobics instructors  Basketball players  Football players at training camp  Athletes have reasons to not eat after exercise  Don’t feel hungry  Don’t have time

 Recommendation is 1.5g/kg body weight  Mr. Young  Easily achieved with a banana, 10oz of sports drink, and a bagel  Muscle glycogen replaced better with smaller frequent meals  Larger meals  Blood glucose and insulin rise rapidly  Return to baseline quickly  Blood glucose levels sustained for a longer periods of time with smaller meals

 Research indicates  2 hours for carbohydrate reloading .75 to 1.5g/kg consumed each of the next 3 hours  Ideally, consume within 15 minutes after workout  Enzymes that make glycogen are most active  Most rapidly replace depleted glycogen stores

 Liquids and solid foods will refuel muscles equally well.  Liquids should contain glucose rather than fructose  Fructose does not result in glycogen synthesis rates as high as those with glucose  Solid foods should have a high glycemic index  These are most effective in enhancing the resynthesis of glycogen  Ex: white bread, corn flakes, baked potatoes, white rice, pancakes, bagels  Many “energy bars” have a high glycemic index

 Protein intake after exercise is important for muscle anabolism  Recommendation is 6g immediately after exercise .1g/kg body weight  Good examples of proteins are:  Yogurt with fruit in the bottom  Chocolate milk  Turkey sandwich

 Some protein can actually enhance glycogen replacement in the initial hours after hard exercise.  Protein eaten along with carbohydrates is recommended

 Sweating not only causes water lose but also some minerals (electrolytes) such as potassium and sodium that help the body function normally.  Electrolyte losses are primarily responsible for muscle cramping and intolerance to heat.  Most athletes should be able to consume more than enough electrolytes from standard post-exercise foods.  Salt tablets or special supplements are rarely needed