Pre-meet fuel

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SeaActually

Proud Parent
As you all know, sometimes the meets can be LONG! My daughter (9 year old L4) seems to run out of gas by the last event. Unfortunately that was bars in the last 2 meets! She takes a water and gatorade to the meet but does not like to eat anything during. What's the best thing to eat before that will keep her going? Some protein and complex carbs, right? Oh and of course she is a picky eater.
 
I would say to keep her eating what she usually eats before, and try to convince her to eat something during. In reality with the work she is doing, there is little that will keep her going that long. you don't want to change her normal diet too much. At her age, I would just explain to her that she needs something about mid way through the meet for her body to keep working. Make it a piece of fruit with cheese or something light and easy that will stick with her. I think she will notice a difference too.
 
This may make me a terrible parent, but I always throw a Hershey's bar into DD's meet bag. If she eats one (or part of one) when she starts flagging during warmups for a late event, it generally picks her up enough to get through.
 
I've noticed that Dd, although not a picky eater doesn't like to eat when feeling stressed .... ( if only I could catch that lurgy :D)

Luckily she great at eating a power snack before training/ comps but during comps when the pressures on I've found an orange juice in a small separate container to her water bottle helps.
 
I was told by a nutritionist who came to the gym not to let them drink gatorade. No idea why. My DD loves those flavored waters, and there are also these flavored water drinks called neuro that i get for her and actually gives her a boost and helps her concentrate more. They also sell jack link beef jerky in little containers and she really likes those.
 
A lot of it is looking at the packets.

If it contains something unpronounceable and has a shelf life of more than a week (unless tinned) I wont buy it or give it to my children. A bit of old fashioned fruit squash if they want flavour in their water, personally mine has water at practice and then hot chocolate afterwards.
 
I would try to get her to eat a nice balanced meal before a meat, definitely carbs and protein if possible. My kids have a hard time with this when the meets are in the early morning, I get them to eat what they can. They do eat snacks during the meet though.

Can you get her to eat a quick snack just before arriving or upon arriving at the meet, to add some extra fuel to her body? Maybe some apple slices and a cheese stick or yogurt tube or a smoothie packed with fruits and yogurt.
 
What about chocolate milk? Easy to drink and carry. Has sugar, protein and rehydrates.

I also heard to avoid sports drinks.

Mine loved Rose's lime cordial in their water.
 
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My dd often eats peanut butter toast or apples dipped in peanut butter before the meet. It seems to keep her going for the duration of the meet, though by the end of the meet she is usually hungry.
 
I have made these for my daughter for before/during meets and practices: http://www.gimmesomeoven.com/no-bake-energy-bites/
You can change up the recipe to suit your needs/tastes. I have added dried fruits, different kinds of nuts, white chocolate chips instead of the regular chocolate chips, a little Nutella with the peanut butter...the possibilities are endless.

I also buy the shelf-stable individual cartons of chocolate milk to have on hand. They are great for in the car after a practice or a meet. I have read that chocolate milk is one of the best ways to refuel after a workout.
 
I spoke to the owner of one of the sports drinks companies (who I know) and was told to steer well clear of using sports drinks for DD. Lots of reasons as stated above but also that the salts in them are generally way too high for children.

Pre-meet I let DD eat what she fancies within reason as she is more likely to eat it! I send a variety pack up of food with her in the hope that there is something she fancies, I remember competing (another sport) and despite having food not being able to face any of it so variety generally helps. Dried and fresh fruits - dried apple rings go down well as does dried mango, crackers, chopped veg, cheese, frozen yoghurt tubes, small bite size sandwiches/wraps and plain cooked pasta shapes. UHT milkshake cartons so they don't go off.
 
I have made these for my daughter for before/during meets and practices: http://www.gimmesomeoven.com/no-bake-energy-bites/
You can change up the recipe to suit your needs/tastes. I have added dried fruits, different kinds of nuts, white chocolate chips instead of the regular chocolate chips, a little Nutella with the peanut butter...the possibilities are endless.

I also buy the shelf-stable individual cartons of chocolate milk to have on hand. They are great for in the car after a practice or a meet. I have read that chocolate milk is one of the best ways to refuel after a workout.

These look really good. I am going to make some, thank you! And pick up some of the horizon box choc milk as well.
 
For during meets, what about the types of nutrition that distance runners use? My daughter is pre-team so we haven't faced this situation yet; but, I distance run and use things like gu and chomps during runs. My favorite is honey stingers. They are almost like oversized gummy bears -- chewy and taste great but give her an energy boost while not overloading her tummy?
 
For during meets, what about the types of nutrition that distance runners use? My daughter is pre-team so we haven't faced this situation yet; but, I distance run and use things like gu and chomps during runs. My favorite is honey stingers. They are almost like oversized gummy bears -- chewy and taste great but give her an energy boost while not overloading her tummy?

I don't think she would like GU (maybe chomps) but I did actually think about honey stingers! I used to run 1/2 marathons and learned after my first one that I really didn't need or want any fuel during the race. I actually ran about 7 miles with a honey stinger in my sports bra before I chucked it at the water station.
 
DD likes a good breakfast for her meal before a meet: eggs, bacon, organic oatmeal and water. We avoid milk before practice or a meet because when Dd gets hot, she gets a tummy ache if she has milk in her stomach. For meets she has a water bottle, peanut butter sandwich, Fritos, and dark chocolate to chose from. After a meet, she wants a big glass of chocolate milk.

The Fritos are a good luck thing for her. At her first meet ever, she ate all her food waiting to warmup (nerves? ;) ) and we bought a bag of Fritos quickly for the meet from the concession stand. She won AA, so she insists on a bag of Fritos being in her backpack.
 

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