What to Eat and Drink before Practice
and Meets
Pre-Practice or
Pre-Meet: What, How Much, and When
When: about 1-4 hours BEFORE the practice
or meet
What: fuel up with primarily
carbohydrate
How much: 0.5-2.0 grams of carbohydrate per pound of
body weight
If
you weigh…..
50 pounds, eat 25- 100 grams carbohydrate
100 pounds, eat
50-200 grams carbohydrate
150 pounds, eat
75-300 grams carbohydrate
Some examples of
pre-practice fuel with carbohydrates:
1 bagel (cream cheese
counts as fat) 60 gms carb
2 cups pasta 60 gms carb
2 cups Wheaties w/ 8oz milk and banana 130
gms carb
Smoothie made with 1
banana, ˝ cup frozen
strawberries,
1 cup vanilla yogurt, ˝ cup orange jc 72 gms carb
AVOID sugary foods
which spike your blood sugar and then run out quickly. You may have energy at
the beginning of practice but it won’t last.
EAT complex carbs (whole grains, starchy vegetables, pasta) which will
fuel your body for longer, without the peaks (high blood sugar) and valleys
(low blood sugar)
SPREAD carbs throughout the day by eating small meals and snacks
INCORPORATE fat into
the day at times NOT close to the workout
v
Fat does not contribute to the workout or the
immediate post-practice recovery period
HYDRATE (DRINK)
You need to drink
plenty of fluids ALL day BEFORE practice!
Best choice: WATER
Other liquid
choices:
v
100%
fruit juice (not fruit “drink”, make sure it says 100% fruit juice for maximum
nutrition)
v
Milk (6
and unders need 3 cups per day, everyone else needs 4
cups per day)
v
Soup (Soup
has lots of water and nutrients)
v
Fruits
and vegetables (these are naturally high in water!)