|
Three or four hours before a practice, workout, or competition:
- Choose foods with lots of carbohydrates, such as rice, pasta, potatoes, yogurt, fruit smoothies, vegetables, fruits, crackers, breads, rolls, or muffins.
- Drink plenty of water or sport drinks. One hour before a practice/workout/game:
- Have a snack of an energy bar, a granola bar, ½ bagel, large banana, or four or five graham crackers.
- Wash the food down with at least 1½ cups (12 ounces) of sport drink. Hint: 1 swallow or gulp equals about 1 ounce.
- During halftime or time-outs, drink water or your favorite flavor of sport drink. Both water and sport drinks will hydrate you. A sport drink will also give you fuel and replace sodium that is lost in sweat. The sodium in sport drinks helps your body hold onto the fluid.
- After you work out, drink about 3 cups (24 ounces) of sport drink or water for every pound of body weight that you lost while you were active.
- Check the color of your urine. If it looks like apple juice, you are dehydrated and need to drink more. If it looks like lemonade, you are getting enough fluids.
- Eat something within 30 minutes of the end of your practice, workout, or game, especially if you train hard every day
When you eat out, choose:
- Single burgers, instead of “monster burgers” with bacon and cheese.
- Sandwiches with turkey, chicken, or roast beef, instead of tuna salad, chicken salad, or salami. Pile on the veggies!
- Grilled chicken sandwiches or grilled chicken salads, instead of fried chicken.
- Grilled meat or grilled fish, instead of fried meat or fried fish.
- Pasta dishes with lots of pasta and red sauce, instead of pastas made with a lot of meat, cheese, and cream.
- Stir-fried vegetables and steamed white rice, instead of dishes with a lot of meat or fried egg rolls.
- Waffles, pancakes, grits, scrambled eggs, or grilled ham, instead of bacon, sausage, or biscuits.
- Pizza with thick crust, vegetables, and canadian bacon, instead of a pepperoni, sausage, or “meat lover’s” pizza.
|
