4. Jim writes:
How critical is it to get protein on Saturday night (or in between days one and two of a tourney)? Should you still be focusing on getting in carbs or is protein really key? Also, after tournaments it is kind of traditional to go get cheap food and eat a ton of it- say Mcdonald’s dollar menu. This is sort of “The fire is hot, anything will fuel it” mentality. Is this really hurting your body or does it not matter much?
JAMIE NUWER, Sports Medicine
Post-tournament nutrition is just as important and pre- and intra tournament nutrition. In the first hour after exercise, you should try get carbohydrate snack with a high glycemic index to replenish your carb stores for the next day. In the first hour after exercise, your body is primed to absorb nutrients. Researchers have found during this window of time that the body can absorb more nutrients than they can after this time frame ends.
TYLER KINLEY, Captain of Seattle Sockeye
On Saturday night I DEFINITELY eat proteins, and would not recommend a carb-loaded meal that doesn’t include some form of protein. That said, I’m not a stickler about relative quantities, personally, just that I eat enough to be full. My diet also does not run the risk of too little protein, so take that for what it’s worth.
As for the post-tourney fast food run, I’ve found that’s a product of needing food badly but also wanting to get home at a reasonable hour (especially with a long drive/flight ahead). It’d be optimal to eat a great meal of fresh food, but the key here is eating quickly after you’ve finished your games. Your muscles have a small window of time – roughly an hour, give or take – where they really need proteins and nutrients, so if the only option is fast food, eat it. That said, I’d recommend Subway over McD’s, and I usually push for Chipotle.
MELISSA WITMER, Kinesiology
Protein is important after any hard workout because is will help your muscles to repair themselves more quickly. However, the protein won’t do much good unless you eat carbs with it as well. If you’re eating protein with muscle repair in mind, it is imperative that you eat it within an hour of when you’re finished (the sooner the better). Some excellent post-workout/post-tournament snacks if you need something to tide you over until dinner would be chocolate milk, milk and cereal, peanut butter (or other nuts) and a banana, fruit and yogurt, cheese (or peanut butter) and crackers, even a Snickers is better than nothing. Any protein-plus-carb snack is a good idea asap.
I realize that it is accepted as normal for players to eat ridiculous amounts of food post-tournament. I believe this indicates that players are not eating nearly enough during the day. As I’ve gained tournament experience, I have learned to eat a lot more. I would estimate that I eat nearly twice as much as the average player on tournament day. This makes a world of difference in my ability to continue sprinting late in the day and in my ability to maintain focus. At dinners after tournaments, I eat no more than I usually do.
LESLIE WU, Mobile Health
I recommend eating between 1-2 palm-sizes of protein at every meal, tournament or not. The reason folks recommend higher-carb intake is that it’s easier to turn carbs into the glucose required for the glycolytic system used in your energy systems. The body also has a fairly small glycogen supply (80-100g in the liver, 300-600g in the muscle) which needs to be replenished regularly, particularly if you take part in high-intensity exercise.
Cheap food “Pro’s“: Cheap, lots of energy-dense, refined carbohydrates.
Cheap food “Cons”: May lead to gastrointestinal distress, corn-oil fried foods will contain high-levels of Omega-6 and other things you may not want, leading to higher levels of inflammation.
I guess I’d say go to a place where you can afford to eat as much as you want after a tournament. If you have more money to spend, why not eat higher quality food? Otherwise, it may not make a big difference if it’s only one day in a week.
5. itoner90 asks:
My question is two-fold
(a) what is the best nutrition plan for tournament mornings – something light and carb-heavy, like instant oatmeal, or something heavier and more protein/fat-packed like a McDonald’s McGriddle? Or something in between/more balanced, like oatmeal with fruit?
(b) what is the best nutrition plan during tournament days – should you try to refuel every hour/two hours with something like a Clif Bar? Should you try to eat something more substantive (like a sub?) less frequently?
JAMIE NUWER, Sports Medicine
See question 1 and 2
TYLER KINLEY, Captain of Seattle Sockeye
(a) Often, it depends on your belly, but if you can, getting both carbs and protein is best. A bigger breakfast is better, and you’ll want both protein and carbs. However, if you wake up 20 minutes before your game, a massive meal is not a good idea.
I can personally eat a big breakfast, but some teammates peck away at crumbs because any food makes them feel terrible in the first game. Try a few options and see what feels best for you. I’m a fan of oatmeal and hardboiled eggs.
(b) This also depends somewhat on your own comfort and timing. During tourney days, eat – and drink – a little bit constantly. Eating a bunch at once will take some serious digestion time, and lots of blood will rush to your stomoach to do the job. If you play soon after a big meal, you will notice this. However, if you have 2 1/2 hours before your next round, feel free to grab a sub or something, as you’ll definitely have time to digest and will have great energy for the game.
With a 2 hr bye at ECC, I ate a 6″ sub, because I knew I could digest a larger portion over that time period. With a 30 minute window before a game, I’ll eat a Clif bar, banana, and pound a ton of water.
Finally, as both a captain and player, the last thing I want myself or my teammates worrying about is food, especially Sunday morning of Regionals. Use the season to figure out your best dietary habits– it is practiced as much as anything else. Learn what works for you so that all you don’t even need to think about it.
MELISSA WITMER, Kinesiology
(a) I believe that what a player eats for breakfast is a highly personal decision. Every player is going to be different in how they process different foods first thing in the morning. The right decision also highly depends on how much time there is between breakfast and your first pre-game warmup. There will be a tradeoff between getting up early enough to eat for real and digest everything versus getting more sleep and having to eat less.
I personally enjoy eggs, walnuts, and a banana. Sometimes a Luna bar too. Sometimes coffee, sometimes not.
(b) I eat at a tournament as if I were backpacking. Which means I am eating and drinking whenever I am not doing something else. Even if you are on a large team not playing all the time, you are still moving constantly walking and on your feet. Eat! If you’re cheering from on the opposite sideline take a snack with you. Grab a bite of a cliff bar between points. Eat a little more between games-never too much at one time. That’s my strategy and it works well for me. I use this strategy for long weekend practices too. For the high school team I coach, I tell them to think about having an eighth of a stomach full at all times. Of course you have no way to measure it but visualizing it can help you not to eat too much at once while always having something going on in there.
LESLIE WU, Mobile Health
A good breakfast will balance high-fiber carbs (whole wheat toast, oatmeal), protein, and healthy fats.
Here are a few ideas from CorePerformance.com:
Egg Sandwich: Whole Wheat English Muffin, 1 slice of Canadian bacon, 1 slice of 2% cheese, mustard.
Oatmeal: 1 serving of oatmeal, spoonful of peanut butter, 1 cup of berries. (One trick is to carry whey protein powder and add it to oatmeal in the morning after you cook it.)
In general, I recommend high-fiber / lower-glycemic index carbohydrates early in the morning, while decreasing fiber / glycemic index carbs during the day. Especially if you handle, you want to even out your blood sugar (spike the disc, not your blood sugar :) during the day, whereas after exercise you want simple sugars/carbs, fast.
Whether you eat fewer meals or more meals may be a personal preference, but it seems easier to manage one’s blood sugar with more, smaller meals, which may also be easier to digest. One suggestion is to consume about 1g of carbohydrate per minute of exercise (liquid if possible).
Clif Bars are pretty good. I’ve been working on baking my own Clif Bars from scratch but haven’t figured out yet the brown rice syrup bit. One day!
Advanced Sports Nutrition (p.141-142) suggests two strategies, after you take in a high-carb meal 90 minutes before exercise. To avoid low blood glucose before competition begins, you can either:
1. Liquid carb sports beverage using sipping strategy, 60-120 mL every 10-15 minutes
2. Snacking on low-fiber, starchy foods (such as saltine crackers) every 15 min, washed down with lots of water.
During exercise, consume liquid carbs and food, to maintain blood glucose (and liver glycogen supplies), maintain BCAAs, inhibit cortisol, and preferentially use glucose from blood rather than muscle glycogen.
Consume 6-7% carb solution, 120-240 mL every 10-20 minutes (depending on sweat rate).
Thanks to all of our amazing panelists and for all those that contributed questions. If you have additional questions for our panel please ask in the comments.
Consume high glycemic carbs (200-400 kcals or 50-100g) immediately after exercise (first two hours), medium glycemic for another two hours, and medium to high-glycemic for the rest of the day.
[Low glycemic index = pasta, orange, apple. Moderate GI = orange juice, rice, instant oatmeal, whole wheat bread. High GI = baked potato, honey, white bread.]
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