WAG Eating before practice

[munchkin3]

So I am starting to notice some problems with my DD when it comes to what and how she eats before practice. She eats lunch at school (home lunch) around 12. Then she eats around 3:30 and practice starts at 4:30. I TRY to make sure she eats a good meal at 3:30, like some pasta and salad, or veggies and rice, etc. Since I'm at work, I can't always pull it off, so if she eats whatever, with the sitter, I notice practice is off.
Last night she was complaining of almost throwing up, and it was a day I could not prepare her food......I am not sure what she ate.......
Anyone have any suggestions.......her practice is very long. 4 hours......we are all having a tough time making the BIG meal in the middle of the day......I am trying to get her to eat, eat, eat from breakfast until 3:30.....it's so hard with everyone at school and work.

 

[my4buffaloes]

Actually I think athletes perform best when they are slightly hungry. So stuffing her full of food is certainly going to make her stomach hurt at practice. My kids are on the same schedule as you. For before practice snack they usually eat things like peanut butter crackers, granola bars, pretzels, or crackers along with fruit, cheese, yogurt or veggie. All items are easily portable and I frequently pack them in the am before anyone leaves for the day. I try to balance a carb with protein. Dinner is served after practice between 8 and 9 pm. they do get a snack break though.

 

[z2akids]

Most of DD's practices are 3 hours, but even on her 4 hour days, she eats pretty much the same sort of thing. She has cheese and crackers or hard boiled egg. She eats a big dinner after practice.

 

[ollieblueeyes]

My DD does not eat much of a lunch, so I make sure she has a protein packed snack. She most typically has scrambled egg-whites with a ton of cheese. Other times she has homemade bean/beef burrito that I freeze in bulk. She has never complained that it caused her any issue.

 

[Ali'sMom]

My daughter has lunch around 11:30. Home at 4:00. Practice 5:10-8:10.
Between 4:00 and 5:00, she'll have something quick and easy. I have the freezer stocked with small microwave meals, chicken tenders, and even some frozen chimichangas.
They aren't all the healthiest of snacks, but I do choose the best possible frozen things for her.
Mini chicken sandwiches that she puts in the microwave have a lot of protein. Also on days that she's just not hungry before practice, she will have a clifbar

If find if she eats too much, she's sick when she gets home. I'd much rather her be "staaaaarving" on the way home than feeling sick.

 

[COz]

..., like some pasta and salad, or veggies and rice, etc. Since I'm at work, I can't always pull it off, so if she eats whatever, with the sitter, I notice practice is off.
Last night she was complaining of almost throwing up, and it was a day I could not prepare her food......

It's sounding like (as suggested above) she might be OK on lighter meals that don't contain protein.
Like the others mention, I would normally get a small amount of protein into mine. Cheese and crackers or a chicken sandwich. Not a big amount. Plus a glass of milk. All of this is easy to prepare in advance.

Is she vegetarian?

 

[Rockygym]

I agree that maybe she is eating too much right before practice. My DD has a very similar schedule and we do a snack around 3:15 (crackers, yogurt, cheese etc), she has snack midway through practice and then dinner after practice usually around 8:30. Not ideal, but it works for us. I think it is ideal to have a "big" meal at least 2-3 hours before significant physical effort.

 

[myliljunebugs]

DD definitely can't eat big right before practice, which means dinner is when we get home at 8:30. She has a light meal or heavy snack before we leave and that's it. If she eats heavy she gets sick to her tummy during practice.

 

[wnl256]

Before practice she needs carbs (preferrably complex ones that take time for her body to burn). Save the big protein helping for after practice when it will be most beneficial to the body.

 

[Clover]

Wnl is right. Proteins are tough for the body to digest. Stick to carbs before practice.

 

[anothergymmom]

Mine usually needs to eat a quick snack on the car ride between school and gym. I do try to pack in some good energy foods then too since they don't always get a snack break during practice. Bananas can be good choice--carbs and easy to pack! Sometimes 1/2 PBJ. I often put a chocolate milk in her gym bag for the break. A yogurt is great ( but not so good for the car); but my daughter doesn't like to practice right after eating yogurt. Some kind of powerbar can do the trick too. I am always looking for more ideas so I look forward to seeing what others do.

 

[munchkin3]

Ok, today I will try lighter. I'm home today, so I will make something.
I will give her more of a snack at practice, like a sandwich and some fruit. This way, she can take a bit here and there.
Tonight she will have a regular dinner.....no she's not vegetarian.

 

[kimute]

Before practice, we offer DD low glycemic index fruits like berries, whole grain toast or crackers, some carrots... No way can we cook another meal at that time! Primarily carbs. This works well for her.

More for endurance athletes, but given the length of practice, I try to follow it for my DD too... "Research suggests that endurance athletes may benefit from eating low-glycemic foods before exercise because these foods release glucose slowly into the bloodstream, which can help to sustain blood glucose levels"

In following this myself, I was shocked to learn that bananas are a high GI fruit!

 

[COz]

In following this myself, I was shocked to learn that bananas are a high GI fruit!

Well it is absolutley full of sugars just like most fruit!

Have a search for snacks, meals etc on this forum. I'm not saying to have a steak beforehand, but there is lots of advice here about having a small amount of protein an hour or so before training. It makes a big difference to how mine feels, I'm sure it varies between kids.

 

[Iwannabemargo]

mine loves either pasta or pizza before practice, we get home from school about 3.45 and leave at 4.30 so it has to be quick, she will then have a snack half way through if her practice is 4 hours, usually some chicken and a bun (her choice)

 

[twinmomma]

DD has literally an hour between school getting out and gym starting, which means she also has to come home, change, eat, and be driven there during that hour. Generally she eats something quick and easy like trail mix, fruit and crackers, etc... She brings snacks for the mid workout break, which usually is only a few moments, so she grabs a couple of bites of a peanut butter granola type bar or some dry cereal, or fruit snacks. Not ideal, and she's been known to grab doritos from the gym vending machine too. She HAS to eat before and during practice. When she doesn't she gets stomach cramps, nausea, shaking, etc....

 

[GymRays]

How about some sort of pasta/casserole dish in a crockpot that will be ready when you need it?

 

[JessSyd]

In following this myself, I was shocked to learn that bananas are a high GI fruit!

The GI of bananas changes across their lifespan as the complex starches in them change into simple sugars as they ripen (a change that is very easy to taste). According to GI tables that give multiple values for bananas, a barely ripe banana that is mostly yellow with a little green is low GI. A fully ripe banana that is yellow with some brown is high GI.

My daughter eats a barely ripe one before gym. They are less messy in the car on the way there too than the riper ones.

 

[Faolmor]

Mine will usually eat a chicken and salad wrap about 1 - 2 hours beforehand, usually with some milk. On the way, she might snack on a chocolate coin or two (or three...cough). They don't get a snack break during training, because they're not really there long enough yet. But she always comes out starving, so on the way home, I usually have some snacks prepared like fruit and nut bars, cheese and crackers...something with a protein element, anyway.

 

[munchkin3]

Yesterday she ate some pasta at 2:30 right after school. She took a few little snacks for gym, and she said she wasn't even hungry. She had a great practice.
A nutritionist friend of mine said to remember to try and feed her a lot the first half of the day. Big breakfast, good lunch, like a sandwich, salad, and healthy dessert. A carb snack before practice, and that should mostly do it for the day. Obviously after practice some protein, so I gave her some chocolate milk and a cheese stick and a piece of baguette, or ciabatta.
She is very small too so I must remember that it doesn't take a lot of food for her, but it does run out quickly....