What is the best nutrition before a sports competition?

We all know that nutrition before a sports competition is important and can affect the athlete's performance. Not paying attention to proper nutrition is like trying to enter a rally race without gas in your car!

Undoubtedly, paying attention to nutrition before a sports competition will make you perform better on the field and achieve brighter results.

But what is the best nutrition before a sports competition? What should we eat as nutrition before a football match? Join us as we tell you all about the best pre-race snacks and meals.

What nutrients do you need before a race?

Did you know that pre-race meal planning is one of the keys to athletes' success? An athlete's diet and lifestyle should be geared toward his long-term and short-term goals. Long-term nutritional goals include:

• Adequate hydration to the body
• Choosing a rich and nutritious diet that promotes muscle growth while meeting daily needs.

But the short-term nutritional goals include preparing the body in terms of nutrition to perform any sports activity. In this section, we will tell you which food group the most professional athletes use before the competition.

The night before the race

Starchy foods such as whole-wheat pasta, rice, potatoes, beans, salads, and grilled chicken are a carbohydrate-rich meal with enough protein to provide energy for tomorrow's race as well as protein for recovery. It is also recommended to avoid new foods that may upset your stomach during the game.

Anything that is too fatty, such as fast food or cream, is digested slowly and makes athletes feel sluggish and sluggish. Athletes should also avoid high-fiber foods such as beans, fruits, and vegetables that are difficult to digest and may cause digestive issues on game day.

Promise before the race

Staying hydrated on game (or match) day is very important. Drinking enough water is very important. The important thing about fluids is that they provide the electrolytes you need. Electrolytes, such as sodium, potassium, and chloride, help maintain electrolyte balance in the body and prevent fatigue and lack of energy.

The meal you eat before the race should be at least 4 hours before your race. This meal should be rich in carbohydrates and lean protein.

Exactly one hour before the race

Be sure to snack on carbs as you approach race time. For example, suitable options for snacks and nutrition before sports competition are:

What food gives you energy before a race?

If you are looking for the best pre-race energizer, we must say that there is no special pre-workout energizer bomb, and don't pay attention to supplement ads. You should maintain your basic nutrition until the day of the match and an hour before the game and don't have extra stress about the “energy bomb”.

Also, avoid energy drinks! These drinks may cause adverse effects such as headache, stomach ache and heart palpitations. Now we introduce some suitable and useful foods as nutrition before sports competition.

• the banana: This fruit is an excellent source of fast-digesting carbohydrates. Bananas contain potassium, vitamin B6 and fiber, which are useful for maintaining energy.

• Bread: Especially white bread contains fast-digesting carbohydrates, suitable as a quick source of energy for pre-race. You can have it with jam or walnuts.

• Macaroni or pasta: These foods provide you with a lot of energy.

• Peanut butter sandwich with apples

What food is suitable for pre-football nutrition?

The first and most important thing about pre-race nutrition is that the food you choose should contain the key elements of carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins and minerals, but the most important part of your pre-race meal is carbohydrate Is. You should be careful to consume more carbohydrates; Because it will play the main role of feeding your muscles during the football match.

This is exactly like filling up gas before participating in a rally race; Before you want to participate in a football match, you should make sure that your glycogen (carbohydrate) source is full; Otherwise, you will not be able to use all your strength and show off your abilities in the competition.

First class carbohydrates

Like gasoline, which has different ratings and you can choose between normal and super gasoline, carbohydrates also have such ratings and you should choose the best type of carbohydrate for refueling.

The best carbohydrate for refueling before a soccer match is the starchy type, which breaks down into glycogen better than other types. You can get starchy carbohydrates from foods like potatoes, bread, pasta, fruits, and vegetables.

The reason why we recommend starchy carbohydrates in pre-match nutrition is that the rate of digestion of this type of carbohydrate is gradual and it takes at least two or three hours until your carbohydrate reserve is depleted.

Carbohydrate intake

Another question that comes up about nutrition before a soccer match is the amount of carbohydrates you consume. Vitamin's recommendation is to consume 1 to 4 grams of carbohydrates per kilogram of body weight. Of course, this is the recommended amount for a football game, if the match lasts more than 60 minutes, consume more carbohydrates.

Be careful that eating too much will also make you heavy. The amount of carbohydrates required for different people is different; For some, one gram per kilogram of weight will be the answer for 40 minutes of play. You should also try and see how much carbohydrate intake meets your needs for a 90-minute game; For example, if a 70 kg person wants to participate in a football match tomorrow, it is suggested to consume 70 grams of carbohydrates the day before the game.

Time to consume carbohydrates

Suggestions for choosing the best time to consume carbohydrates vary and depend on two things.

1. Your personal preference
2. eat what you want For example, if you want to eat a smoothie before a meal, it will definitely be digested faster.

Vitamin's recommendation is to consume carbohydrates preferably one to four hours before the game. The best time is two and a half hours before the start of the race to make sure that your food is digested.

Pre-race carb loading

Many athletes think they need to carb load before a race, thinking they need to eat bowls of pasta to have energy for the race, but in reality, the daily carb intake is 7-12 grams per kilogram. is body weight.

So you see that 1 to 4 grams per kilogram of body weight is not a strange amount; This amount is a natural requirement that you will provide by consuming the best and highest quality type of carbohydrates.

What should we eat before football so we don't get short of breath?

In order not to get short of breath while playing football, in terms of nutrition, you can consume carbohydrate and sugary foods that provide you with a lot of energy and do not make you feel weak. Another recommendation is to avoid consuming large and heavy foods; Because it makes you feel heavy and short of breath.

What should we not eat before the race?

Before the game, (here we mean the exact day of the game) avoid any food that causes discomfort, lethargy or negatively affects your performance. In this section, we bring a list of foods that you need to “avoid”.

• Fried foods and fast food: Chicken nuggets, chicken wings, cheese balls, fried potatoes, fried onions and fried mushrooms, etc.
• Fatty foods: Burger, steak, hot dog, sausage, bacon, cheese, pizza, sauces and alfredo pasta
• Protein-rich foods: Large portions of meat/poultry/fish, protein bars, beef.
• Spicy foods: Hot sauce, jalapeno sauce, spicy Mexican food, chili powder, paprika
• High fiber foods: High fiber grains, raw vegetables, heavy salads, beans/lentils
• Foods that cause gas: Broccoli, garlic, onions, ginger, beans/lentils, cabbage, soda, as well as carbonated beverages can cause bloating and discomfort.
• Highly processed snacks: Chips and puffs, cookies, cakes, donuts, ice cream, etc

Tips you need to know about nutrition before a sports competition!

Any of these food groups can cause digestive problems on race day. Even “healthy” foods like beans or vegetables can cause problems if eaten directly before a race. That is why it is important not only to eat the right foods, but also to eat at the right time. Also, pay attention to a series of nutritional tips before the competition:

• Do not eat new or unfamiliar foods: To avoid any unexpected reactions, only eat foods that you are used to and know that your body digests them well.
• Do not drink too much caffeine: A moderate amount of caffeine before exercise and competition is a good option; But excessive caffeine consumption may lead to irritability and stress, increased heart rate, and dehydration.
• Do not eat sweet snacks: Foods high in added sugars, such as candy, sweets and sugary cereals, can lead to a rapid spike in blood sugar followed by a sharp drop in blood sugar, ruining your performance on the field.
• Do not eat too much and heavy before the race: Large meals can divert blood flow to the digestive system and make you feel sluggish. Choose smaller, balanced meals instead.
• Do not take the supplement arbitrarily: In sports, especially in football, the body endures from the lowest to the highest pressure. A very important point in a football player's diet plan is that he should not take nutritional supplements arbitrarily, because each person's body is completely different from another person, and this difference is related to height, weight, respiratory, cardiovascular, and postural capacities. It depends on the game and the state of physical fitness. Therefore, the use of nutritional supplements for a football player should be in accordance with the volume and intensity of training and competition.

final word

Meal planning is necessary for every athlete. Having proper nutrition before the competition will make you perform better on the field and increase your chances of winning.

The best option as pre-match nutrition is rich sources of healthy and starchy carbohydrates. In this article, we introduced the best food options before the competition and training.

References: nationwidechildrens-uchicagomedicine