Would you like to improve your performance? If so, take a look at your eating habits so you can gain the competitive edge! If you make time to play hockey, you should take the time to eat properly so you can play at your best. Healthy eating can be easy. It involves making better food choices most of the time. What you eat over weeks and months determines how healthy your eating patterns are. Good food and good food choices will help you perform better by improving your strength, endurance and concentration. There is plenty of information offered on sports nutrition, but some of the messages may be confusing. Read on to get the facts straight. Eat by The Guide You should eat a variety of foods each day to get all the nutrients you need. Canada s Food Guide can help you to make good food choices. These are the four food groups from which you should make your selections: Grain Products Vegetables & Fruit Milk Products Meat & Alternatives In order to have enough energy for your game or practice, you should be eating at least the minimum number of servings from each group. As your activity level goes up, you should increase the number of servings. In order to have enough energy for your game or practice, you should be eating at least the minimum number of servings from each group. As your activity level goes up, you should increase the number of servings. Snacking Made Easy Healthy eating is important for everyone, especially you, a hockey player. When you are training or competing, your muscles need energy to work properly. Food gives you this energy so that you can perform at your best. Every time you play, you use up some of your stored energy. You should eat snacks in between practices and games to keep your energy levels up. Here are some points you should remember about snacking: Eat well-balanced meals with healthy snacks in between so that you don t get too hungry. Once you re hungry, you may not care about what you eat, and you may grab the quickest and easiest thing ?which might not be the healthiest. As well, when you get really hungry, you might crave sweets and then eat too much. A sugary treat can fit into a well balanced diet. There s nothing wrong with a cookie or a piece of cake eaten for dessert after a meal. The real problem is when you have cookies or cake for the meal and forget the healthy foods. If you crave sweets, look at what you have eaten earlier in the day. Chances are that you haven t eaten enough and that you ve let yourself get too hungry. Try not to eat a high sugar food in the half hour to one hour before you play hockey. The sugar may give you a short-term energy boost, which quickly drops. This may cause you to feel dizzy, weak, shaky, or sick to your stomach. The safest way to get an energy boost is to maintain your energy level throughout the day. Who Says That Snacks Have to be Boring? There are many ways of putting interest into your snacks while still getting good nutrition: For a change, try bagels or rolls with your favorite filling; muffins; cheese and crackers; flavored yogurt; or even cold pizza. You could take a number of individual items, which can be cut into pieces and wrapped. Try raw vegetables such as carrots and celery or fresh fruit or fruit juices. To school or to the game, you could take dried fruit such as raisins; trail mix; toasted sunflower seeds; or unsalted peanuts. You could even try some munchies like oatmeal cookies; pretzels; or air popped popcorn for a crunchy filling snack. Keep in mind, in order to feel your best, train hard and be in good condition, you need to eat healthy all year round. During competitions you should watch what you eat, how much you eat and when you eat. More Power With Carbohydrates No matter what the day ? competition or training, you should always choose high carbohydrate foods. This means that you should eat more foods from the Grain Products group (breads, cereals, crackers, rolls and pasta, rice) and the Vegetable and Fruit group. The only difference is that on a game day, you should choose foods lower in fiber since fiber stays in your stomach longer, which can cause stomach upset. Low fiber examples would be white bread, white rolls, low fiber cereals, fruit juices, well-cooked vegetables, etc. The pre -game meal should also be low in fat and protein. Fat takes a long time to digest and you may get an upset stomach if you eat foods high in fat prior to a game. As well, if you eat foods high in fat, you are not eating enough carbohydrates and your performance is then likely to suffer. Try to eat very little meat or meat alternatives during the pre?game meal. You need to have energy to last you the whole game through so don t skip meals on competition day. Try to eat meals three to four hours before the event to allow for digestion. High calorie meals take longer to leave the stomach than lighter snacks. Generally, allow three to four hours for a large meal to digest (e.g. pasta, rolls, salad, etc.), two to three hours for a smaller meal, one to two hours for a blender or liquid meal, and less than an hour for a light snack. Try to eat extra food the night before so that you can build up extra energy for the next day. Water, Water, Water Don t forget water! You need it to perform at your best. Drink water at every meal as well as in between meals. If you don t drink enough, you may get headaches or muscle cramps; you may feel dizzy, nauseated or weak; or you may find it difficult to concentrate. All of which prevent you from performing at your best! Don t wait until you are thirsty before drinking. You should drink as much water as you comfortably can before, during and after exercise. During any sporting event you should start drinking fluids early to prevent dehydration. What you drink at the start will invest in your finish. Here are general guidelines to follow to make sure you re drinking enough: Two hours before exercising, you should drink 2 cups of fluid. Don t worry about running to the bathroom during your game or practice. Your kidneys only need about 1.5 hours to process excess liquids so you ll have plenty of time to go before your game. Fifteen to twenty minutes before exercising, you should drink 2 or more cups of fluid. This fluid in your system will be ready to replace sweat losses. Every 10-15 minutes during exercise, you should try to drink 1/2-cup fluid. To make sure you drink enough, fill a water bottle and take it to the game with you. What About After The Game Or Practice? Make sure you drink fluids after the game. Try to plan ahead so that you ll have water, juice, pop, etc. ready to drink after the game is over. You should replace fluids that you lost during the game. Try to eat high carbohydrate foods after you exercise so that you will store energy for your next competition, During the first 2 hours after exercise (preferably the first 20 minutes), energy is being stored most efficiently. By wisely choosing your foods and fluids, you ll recover more quickly for the next game or practice. Healthy Eating Away From Home Healthy eating away from home can be easy even when you are traveling for competitions. All you need is to plan ahead. Traveling is not the time to experiment with different foods, however. Eat foods and beverages that you are used to. Anything different may cause stomach upset! When you travel to play hockey, plan to bring healthy snacks with you. Some suggestions for healthy snacks to take with you would be the following: Cereals mixed together or mixed with raisins, dried fruit, or cinnamon Juice packs Fresh fruit, or dried fruit for a more concentrated energy source Crackers, bagels or pretzels. If you aren t able to pack these items before leaving home, go to the nearest corner store when you get there. When you go to restaurants, choose foods from the four food groups without a lot of extra fat. Pasta restaurants offer many healthy suggestions. Choose pasta with tomato sauces rather than cheesy or creamy sauces. Order salads on the side and order extra plain rolls, rather than garlic bread. Try to avoid fast food restaurants. If you must eat there, choose hamburgers that aren t fried, eat plain hamburgers rather than cheeseburgers, and choose a baked potato rather than french fries. You don t have to give up on healthy eating as soon as you leave home. Try to plan ahead so that you will have healthy food choices available that you will enjoy. Eat healthy foods before and during the games. After the entire competition is over, treat yourself to whatever foods you want. Want to gain the competitive edge? If so, think good nutrition. Give some of these suggestions a try. Your performance on the ice will rely on it! How To Make New Habits Part Of Your Life 1. Try to think more about nutrition and your eating habits. 2. Look closely at your personal goals and food choices so that you can decide which changes, if any, are needed. 3. Do not make all of your changes overnight. 4. Do it gradually so that you can live with your decisions. Remember, an occasional snack won t hurt you. It is your total diet, not each and every food that counts in the end. Healthy eating does not mean you can never have your favorite food again. You may like to set aside one day as "treat day" where you have your favorite food while having healthy foods for the other days of the week. Having a treat once a week will not ruin your efforts to eat healthy. Nutrition will not work miracles overnight, but proper nutrition throughout the year can make a difference. The key to learning new habits is to remember that small changes one at a time do add up. It is your total diet, not each and every food that counts in the end. The goal of your nutrition game plan should be to choose more of the best and less of the rest. In the long run, a few minutes of planning is a small investment in your health and performance. Cheryl Turnbull-Bruce is a Registered Dietitian and Nutrition Consultant working in private practice in Charlottetown, P.E.I. She shares office space with Fit Company in the Royal Trust Tower, 119 Kent Street. If you want to know how to eat better to improve your athletic performance, call Cheryl at (902) 566-4847 for your personal or team consultation. 2008 Blanchard Goaltending. All Rights Reserved
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