Count Back To Be Ahead Of The Pack
The fuelling strategy that works every time
One of the most challenging aspects of training and competition is knowing when to eat. And not only when to eat, but when NOT to eat. Then there’s knowing which foods are best. And in what amounts. It can feel complicated and overwhelming.
You might train every afternoon, but your competition takes place in the morning. How do you fuel for that? Or perhaps you play a sport that competes at a different time every week. Or maybe you have multiple events on the one day.
No matter what scenario you find yourself facing, the following guide will help you devise a strategy to ensure you are always well-fuelled and ready to win. (yes, we can win at training, too!)
This is how it works… in a nutshell
Write down your training/competition start time
Your last large meal can be 3-4 hours before that start time
A substantial snack can occur 1-2 hours before that start time
A small “top up” snack can be 30-45mins (or less) before that start time.
Let’s explore these options below!
The Last Supper: 3-4 hours before start time
This is your last large meal before training/competition
This meal needs to be made up of:
mostly carbohydrate foods
a moderate amount of protein
minimum fat
minimum fibre, ie: vegetables.
Carbohydrates are important because they are your body’s main source of energy. Depending on the intensity and length of your training session or event, you may need a normal, large, or very large serve of carbohydrate foods at this meal. Examples of carbohydrate foods to eat at this meal include pasta, rice, potatoes, bread, cereal, fruit, and yoghurt. Adding a glass of milk and/or juice alongside the meal is an easy way to get more carbs in.
Protein is significant at this meal because it helps with satiety. Remember, this is your last large meal for a good 4+ hours (depending on the length of your training session/event). We don’t want hunger to take your focus off performance. Many athletes find fish, chicken, minced meats or eggs are the best sources of protein to eat at this time because they don’t feel so “heavy” in the stomach. However there are no hard/fast rules that a steak can’t be eaten at this time (more on this in “Tips” below).
Minimum fat and minimum fibre (veggies). Healthy fats and veggies take some time to be digested and absorbed. In every day-to-day life, this is great because these nutrients help us feel fuller for longer, and keep our blood sugars stable. However if you’re about to start a race, game, event, training session, etc, you don’t want food still digesting through your gut. Hence, we want this last large meal to contain minimum fats and veggies to ensure the meal is fully digested and absorbed before start time.
Examples
Wraps filled with grilled chicken, rice, and simple salad (eg: lettuce, tomato, peeled cucumber, grated peeled carrot)
Grilled fish and rice
Sushi
Eggs on toast
Spaghetti bolognese
Pancakes topped with maple syrup + lean bacon. Side of yoghurt and fruit
Bagels/rolls with deli meat, simple salad, and a small amount of avocado or cream cheese.
It can be difficult to decipher how much to eat at this meal. Trial and error before training sessions (not events) is the best way to find your sweet spot. The Athlete’s Plates below may help -
Snack Attack
This is a substantial snack 1-2 hours before training/competition
This snack should be primarily carbohydrate-based. Why? Because we want to ensure your body and muscles have enough energy on-board in the lead-up to training/competing.
A small amount of protein and fat is ok!
You might skip this snack if your last meal (“The Last Supper”) was quite large.
These substantial snack options are great for in-between heats when you need to keep your energy levels high but you don't want to feel too full or too “heavy”.
Examples
Cereal with milk/yoghurt + fruit
Overnight oats with milk/yoghurt + fruit
Thick rice cakes topped with peanut butter, sliced banana and honey
Fruit smoothie made with milk/yoghurt, fruit and honey
Fruit muffin
Pikelets with butter + canned fruit
Energy bars, either homemade or store-bought. Look for a bar with more than 20g carbohydrates per serve.
Remember, fuelling is completely individual! Some athletes can eat larger snacks at this time, such as eggs on toast, noodles, dumplings, Subway rolls, etc. It’s important to find what works best for you.
The “Top-Up”
This is a small snack 30-45 minutes before training/competition
This small "top-up" snack should be purely carbohydrate-based.
The aim of this small snack is to ensure you have an immediate source of energy to start your training session/event.
This snack is especially important if your last meal was "The Last Supper", ie: 3-4 hours ago, and you skipped the “Snack Attack” option.
You might skip this “Top Up” snack if you ate 1-2 hours ago.
Examples
Fruit such as a banana, or an orange, or sliced watermelon (these seem to appeal to most athletes).
2 Medjool dates
A few sips of a sports drink (this might be the best option if you’re feeling nervous and your stomach is summersaulting)
One slice of white bread topped with honey or jam
A small milk coffee (added sugar or syrup is ok at this time because it’s giving your body extra energy… just don’t make it a daily habit)
A few soft lollies such as gummy bears or snakes.
Key Tips
The above guide and examples are fluid - this means they can be a little different for every person.
The best way to discover what foods work best for you is to trial different foods and different amounts of food before training sessions.
NEVER introduce new foods on competition day. I would also be hesitant to introduce new foods on the day before competition day. You never know how you’ll react to that mulligatawny soup!)
If you’re unsure where to start, working with a sports dietitian is a great way to establish your own personalised competition nutrition strategy. Please reach out and I’ll point you in the right direction depending on your sport.
