Hello Health Champion!
I’m loving the awesome feedback on our 4-Part Fueling as Champions series!
Please keep sharing your thoughts and ideas, it helps our entire Venice Nutrition team create cutting edge nutrition and fitness content designed for you.
As I shared in the first article of the series, we are all Athletes at heart so this series if for everyone and anyone who is active regardless of age or athleticism.
If you missed the first two articles of the series, you can check them out here:
Part 1 – PRE-Exercise Fuel – Eating Like Champions
Part 2 – IN-Exercise Fuel – Keeping Your High-Powered Engine Running
Now this third part comes at a perfect time. Abbi, Hope and I are off to North Carolina this weekend to watch Hunter play a couple soccer matches.
Whether you’re playing back to back matches like Hunter or working out multiple days in a row, HOW you recover after each competition or workout determines how strong you are the next day.
So it’s time to optimize your POST-Exercise Fuel, let’s dive in….
Your PRE-Exercise Fuel ensures your body is ready to optimally perform at the start of the competition and the high-quality foods will maximize your glucose stores for energy.
Your IN-Exercise Fuel keeps your engine strong, concentration laser focused and performance powerful throughout your activity so you’re at your best when it matters most.
Your POST-Exercise Fuel is designed to fully replenish your body fuel and hydration stores. The faster you can replenish your body the quicker you recover and are ready for the next match.
Now your post-exercise meal recommendations will be similar foods to your pre-exercise meal recommendations.
One important note is that depending on your intensity level, you may have an increased appetite for the rest of the day due to the amount of energy your body expended (this happens to me all the time after a long soccer match or basketball game!)
All you need to do is continue eating PFC Every 3 balanced meals when you’re hungry (even if it’s before 3 hours), as this will ensure optimal recovery.
Here are your 3 POST-Exercise/Competition Eating Guidelines:
1) Guideline 1 – Eat a high or medium quality meal within 30 minutes after your competition so you can start replenishing your fuel.
Since this is POST-Competition and you may be celebrating with your victory or hanging out with your team, it’s all right to eat medium quality foods for this particular occasion, but definitely avoid them PRE-Exercise/Competition.
Make sure to drink at least 2-4 cups (8 oz. per cup) of water within 60 minutes after your competition to ensure you’re rehydrated
2) Guideline 2 – Choose from the list of high or medium quality proteins, carbs and fats to ensure that your body digests them well and provides a feeling of replenishment.
Your PRE-Competition meal is all about feeling light and fast, your POST-Competition meal is designed to leave you feeling replenished.
Remember the note I just shared, if you expended a lot of energy, your appetite may be stronger than normal; if you’re still hungry after you eat, increase your portion sizes for that meal.
Important Note: You can have a protein shake, bar or meal replacement if whole food isn’t available immediately after your competition. But primarily focus on eating whole food PRE and POST-Exercise/Competition and using shakes and bars for IN-Competition fuel.
3) Guideline 3 – We all love a great POST-Competition dinner, especially if the match went well! Simply apply these same eating concepts when eating in a restaurant.
Here are four meal examples of what a great POST-Competition/Exericise Meal looks like for all athletes (simply adjust to your portion sizes based on your gender):
There you have it, with this article you now have a full game plan for PRE, POST and IN-Competition/Exercise fuel. Next week I’ll dive into the best Foundational & Performance Natural Supplements to help maximize your athletic results.
It’s now time to take your Performance to the NEXT Level!
