The week leading up to our first real college tournament of the 08-09 season is upon us. I know I have butterflies of excitement!!!
Start preparing now. Plan ahead with school stuff so you wont have so much homework to do on the ride up/saturday night/on the ride down , get enough sleep every night but not too much that you are tired, and eat right. What you eat this week leading up to a tournament is crucial. Not life and death, but I have defintely noticed a difference in terms of energy, fatigue, and overall performance and recovery.

What I have attached for you is the so called Ultimate Diet . It is something that I follow every week before a tournament. Read it. Or not. Do it. Or not. This isn't scripture so don't take it as such. But in my opinion, it helps. Here is a basic breakdown: Mon/Tues - Protein Loading. Wed/ThursDay - Vitamin Loading. ThursEvening/Fri - Carb Loading. Now you should be getting protein and vitamins everyday, but I make sure that every meal I eat on a specific say is heavy on the specific thing I am Loading.

Example. Instead of cereal on Mon/Tues morning, I will eat an omlette with turkey, maybe some ham, with an egg on the side. Have chicken or another meat meat meat item for lunch and dinner. (Veggies out there, there a lot of protien options out there that are not meat, but you know better than I.) On Wed/ThursDay I eat more fruit and veggies than usual. Bananas in my cereal. Maybe a fruit smoothie. Green it up. And the end of the week is when I say "Hellzzzz Yes!" Carb Loading time!!! Pasta, pizza, potatoes, BREAD!! You get the picture. I am not sure what goes on in the dorm cafeteria, but I am sure that you can make it happen if you want to. Again, this is something that works for me, and many people agree as well. You dont have to be uber anal and eat crazy healthy, but I cut back on the nutella and halloween candy. Just make sure you eat enough, maybe this week you can make sure to take your vitamins. Your body on Sunday night/Monday will thank you.

(During the tournament, normally sports drinks are good, snacks high in protein, and salt. Fruit. Whatever works for you.)

Hope you enjoy this little light reading, and I'll see you all Monday night under the lights!! 

~krisztina


For those of you who don't want the word document to keep for future reference, here it is:


Ultimate Diet

Monday/
Tuesday    Protein Loading

•    Why:  Body cycles protein slower than other food constituents.
•    Protein loading allows storage of long-term energy.
•    What to Eat: 3/4 meals per day, with at least one meal being primarily a main protein source (meat, eggs, tofu). Better if two meals focus on protein. Avoiding fat is nice, but no more necessary than on any other day.
•    Omelette for breakfast, chicken or fish for dinner will do it, as long
as everything else is balanced.
•    When this will help: Throughout the weekend, but primarily after
burning through daily reserves.
•    Think "second-wind" on Saturday/Sunday afternoon.


Wednesday/
Thursday    Vitamin Loading

•    Why:  Body processes require vitamins to function.  These cycle more quickly than protein, but can still be stockpiled during the week.
•    What to Eat:  At least one large, complex salad each day. Focus
here is on eating balanced meals that will allow intake of excess vitamins and minerals. Drink a smoothie. Balance the other food groups, and make sure you get some protein (especially because you will likely be recovering from a practice or workout on 3-4 of these days). Steam, don't boil, your vegetables...and drink the juice. A Vit C pill isn't a bad idea. Garlic is amazing.
•    When this will help:  Any injury or illness you pick up over the
weekend needs to be fought off quickly, which your body is fully able to do given the right materials. Saturday night you body will heal as fast as you allow it to through what you eat on these days.


Thursday Night/
Friday    Carbo Loading

•    Why:  The levels of enzymes that use carbohydrates to make energy can be raised by intaking large carbohydrate meals, and this will also store energy in the short term in sugar form.
•    What to Eat: At least one full meal of a carbohydrate like bread,
pasta, or rice. The more "hippie" it is, the better, meaning go for
whole-grain instead of bleached white. Keep balanced meals. Get more fluids to help digest (and to hydrate). Keep hydrated, but DO NOT drink gallons and gallons of water solely. This throws your mineral/water balance out of whack just as much as losing all of your water.  Actually, pounding salt-water mixes helped a former team of mine. Hyperhydration is a serious threat in hot temperatures: it manifests as the same symptoms as dehydration (cause the same water/mineral imbalance is happening) or as heat exhaustion except without the raised body temperature.
•    When this will help: Your maximum stored energy will be on
Saturday, and this might give you an extra boost in terms of energy usage.


Saturday Morning    Pre-Game Meal

•    Why:  You are about to play 4 games.  You must have fuel.
•    What to Eat:  A mix of carbohydrates, simple sugars, and protein.  Fruits/vegetables will help keep mineral levels high, but right now you are mostly concerned with energy for the day.  Pancakes/waffles make for good carbohydrate energy.  Do not neglect protein, though – fats and proteins make for longer energy throughout the day.  No sense in crashing after game #1.  This is why Sausage McMuffins and the like are more than just a humorous choice – they actually give a pretty good spread of carbs, protein, and fat.  Those with "weak" stomachs will want to eat at least an hour before you hit the field to allow digestion and give blood that localizes to the stomach time to spread back out.  This requires, of course, that you get up earlier.
On-Field Meals    Recovery and Fueling
•    On the field, you need a mix of fluids and food.  Quick energy like "Gu" is great when you have to have it now, but if you can, try to eat immediately following games, to maximize digestion. Drink sports drinks or something similar to keep water/mineral levels high. Get some protein: sausage or Clif Bars are good for fat/protein intake.  A head of lettuce (green) is basically like eating a cup of water with a vitamin pill in it.  Pickles, a tried and true favorite, are great for salt (minerals) and for vitamins from the vegetable.  Drink more.  Do not allow yourself to EVER feel hungry on the field. Hunger will lead to your body pulling resources back for safety, leading to lowered energy availability.
•    Eat before you are hungry.


Saturday Night    Recovery Mode

•    One day down, one to go.  You need to heal all the damage you have done and maximize your chances of waking up Sunday feeling good.
•    Eat soon after playing. Cagging at the field is fun, but you have
a 90-minute "glycogen window" after exercise in which to replace sugars, or else the body will start to break itself down to feed metabolism. If dinner is going to take a while, eat something right then, to stave off the breakdown.
•    Eat a balanced meal. You need some of everything to maximize your recovery: minerals, vitamins, protein, carbs.  A big plate of Mexican food gives a great mix of resources.  Indian food is good. Saltworks II is optimum. Drink water and sports drinks.