wellbeing & health ; part two.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Okaaay, part two for wellbeing and health. In the previous post, we went through a list of food needed for an average male swimmer for a day. Basically, those are all mainly Australian and New Zealand food. In this post, we are discussing on eating before and after excercise, suggested food before competition and food that needs avoiding.
What an athlete consumes before, during and after exercise is important for comfort and performance during exercise. Eating before excercise is important as it can prevent the distracting symptoms of hunger during exercise. The major source of fuel for active muscles is carbohydrates.
When to eat :
Exercising on a full stomach is not ideal. Food that remains in your stomach during an event may cause stomach upset, nausea, and cramping. To make sure you have enough energy, yet reduce stomach discomfort, you should allow a meal to fully digest before the start of the event. This generally takes 1 to 4 hours, depending upon what and how much you've eaten.
What to eat :
Because glucose is the preferred energy source for most exercise, a pre-exercise meal should include foods that are high in carbohydrates and easy to digest. This include foods such as pasta, fruits, breads, energy bars and drinks.
Suggested foods :
- 1 hour or less before competition
-fruit or vegetable juice such as orange, tomato, and/or
-fresh fruit such as apples, watermelon, peaches, grapes, or oranges and/or
-up to 1 1/2 cups of a sports drink.
- 2 to 3 hours before competition
-fresh fruit
-fruit or vegetable juices
-bread, bagels
-low-fat yogurt
-sports drink
- 3 to 4 hours before competition
-fresh fruit
-fruit or vegetable juices
-bread, bagels
-pasta with tomato sauce
-baked potatoes
-energy bar
-cereal with low-fat milk
-low-fat yogurt
-toast/bread with limited peanut butter, lean meat, or low-fat cheese
-30 oz of a sports drink
Foods to avoid before excercise/competition :
Any foods with a lot of fat can be very difficult and slow to digest and remain in the stomach a long time. They also will pull blood into the stomach to aid in digestion, which can cause cramping and discomfort. Meats, doughnuts, fries, potato chips, and candy bars should be avoided in a pre-exercise meal.
[http://sportsmedicine.about.com/sitesearch.htm?terms=eating%20after%20competitions&SUName=sportsmedicine&TopNode=99]
Hafeezhah ;p
