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It is important you maximise on your physical skills, mental agility and overall fitness, to reach your potential on the day of your game. For the body to perform optimally it needs to be well nourished and hydrated.

Eating Pre-Game!

Eating the right foods in combination ensures good blood sugar balance, which not only increases focus but also ensures your nerve-muscle reflexes work thereby optimising your game. Having blood sugar lows cause adrenal stress, and reduces nerve-muscle function.

It is important to eat whole grain, fresh foods that provide the vital minerals and vitamins your body requires. Ensure your meals provide essential fats, protein and slow releasing carbohydrates. It is important to grazing and not gorge. If you feel hungry it means that your blood sugar level has already dropped, reducing your ability to play your best. So eating three healthy meals a day with snacks ensures good blood sugar stability.

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day!

Ensure you eat breakfast at least an hour before your game and be sure to combine protein and carbohydrate together. Eggs and wholemeal bread or nuts/seeds and oats ensure this combination. Think colour and add berries to breakfast or tomatoes, peppers to your eggs. This increases anti- oxidants, which is important to protect against damaging oxidative stress, which occurs during exercise.

Hydration

Do’s and don’ts!
Caffeine may initially feel it increases your mental focus but it upsets your blood sugar levels so can leave you feeling irritable and it can upset nerve function. This is because it is causing dehydration in the body. Aim to avoid caffeinated drinks and high sugar sports drinks such as Gatorade, 100 Plus. Water is the best hydrator or indeed coconut water as it is high in natural electrolytes. Hydration is important as it reduces the likelihood of injury as it nourishes your tissues. Keep drinking through out the game and in a tropical climate aim to have at least 2.5 L.

Snacks for the Course!

Good snacks to take on the course include health bars, fruit, nuts and oatcakes. Snack bars can be very high in sugar, trans fats and fast releasing carbohydrate, so choose carefully. Organic bars such as Trek, Larbar or Nak’d provide the perfect combination of protein and slow releasing carbohydrate. A piece of fruit and handful of raw nuts and seeds are easy to transport. Avoid bananas as they cause a blood sugar surge. Apples and blueberries are best. Oatcakes are excellent and NAIRNS are packaged them in handy pocket size packets. Avoid the Snickers bar just because peanuts are involved doesn’t mean they’re a healthy snack! If you love chocolate go for a Dark chocolate with a high cocoa content (70-80%) as it provides anti oxidants so it is a healthy choice with a handful of your favourite raw nuts.

A gentle reminder that as much you might enjoy that glass of beer over lunch remember that it is dehydrating so for every glass you should ensure you drink two of glasses water to compensate.

These simple steps should support you in optimising your game!

Susie Rucker
Nutritional Therapist