Question about fueling for tournaments ... page

[PrimalEagle]

I am less than a week into PB and my carbs are staying below 50. I have scaled back my typical exercise to be more "primal", meaning I lowered my kickboxing sessions (high intensity at a dojo) from 5x a week to 2x a week and stopped doing run/walk intervals and instead started walking for an hour each day. BUT I have a competitive 2s sand vball tournament this weekend -- we will likely play 7-10 games over a 6 hour period or so in the hot Arizona sun ... anyone have any suggetions as to how I should fuel for this and what kind of food I should bring with me? Typically I eat a whole wheat tortilla filled with chicken, eggs and veggies for breakfast and have a turkey bagel sandwich for lunch along with bananas and trail mix throughout the day (not to mention some gatorade). Most (if not all) of that stuff is out now ... any suggestions to avoid a "bonk"?

[ToniWA]

I have some suggestions for how I fuel for vball tourneys, but it might depend on what you like to eat. I eat most of my calories in the evenings so have a good, fatty meal closer to bed the night before and if you're not hungry in the morning, skip breakfast. I personally don't like to start out with food in my belly. As the day progresses, eat as you feel hungry. I'll assume you're bringing a cooler...I bring tuna/mayo/pepper/chopped pickle and maybe some avocado mix that I snack off all day. Larabars are great, too. I'd go with light, easy food. Have you tried protein pancakes? They're a quick bite to eat, too. Fruit is always a great snack so bring on those bananas. Occasionally, they're great especially with the amount of energy you'll be expending. Save your real meal/refeed for after the tourney when you can really enjoy what you're eating.

Good luck and I'll try to control my envy of being able to play sand vball in warm weather!

[MichaelA]

Are you doing ketosis or not?

[PrimalEagle]

@Toni: Thanks!

I'm not sure -- I haven't bought any of those sticks to check. Instead, I'm just keeping my carbs under 50, with some days under 20 depending on what I eat. Even on Saturday I would prefer to stay below 50 if possible but not if it results in a "bonk" Maybe I'll try to find a recipe for those protein pancakes. As for the tourney, they are really tight about us bringing stuff in other than water so I'll have to hide whatever I bring and it will have to withstand the temps. They have food there so I can always run upstairs and grab a burger, I was just more concerned about how I would feel with a lack of carbs.

[ToniWA]

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/athlete-training-advice/

Just noticed this...

[PrimalEagle]

@toniWA: thanks! I was really hoping to not have to reintroduce actual carbs -- I know my cravings will go through the roof. I'm going to try this first one just upping my fruit and nut content and eating a high fat meal the night before and see how it goes. Hopefully my partner won't kill me if I'm low energy, and hopefully the bananas will ward off any cramps. I may bring a small thing of gatorade just in case.

[PrimalEagle]

So I completed the tournament. Interesting results -- I was definitely more easily winded during the course of the games and felt lacking in energy, but after the tourney was over I didn't conk out like I normally do and felt fine the next day instead of being sore. Strange.

I wanted to try it without any kind of carbo-loading so I ate some steak and guac in the morning and then just snacked on trail mix (nuts and dried fruit) and 1 oz of cheese throughout the day, as well as 2 banans (warding off cramps). I knew I would need more carbs than my standard diet and hoped the nuts and bananas would compensate. I got home and ate some more steak and grilled broccoli and then went out with the boy for a skeeball tourney and was hungry at 9:30 pm and ate the filling of a philly cheesesteak.

The day after the tourney I woke up RAVENOUS, may be a result of the extra calorie burn form the tourney? Had 2 eggs and 5 slices of bacon for breakfast, took the dogs for a 50 minute hike, IF'd lunch b/c I was out but was STARVING when I got home and ended up snacking on too much trail mix and 2 oz of cheese before finally eating a chicken fajita salad I made (salsa as dressing). Had 2 squares of dark chocolate as well. This morning I was up another pound. The only truly non-primal thing I had was one glass of Coke Zero yesterday.

Happy overall but always bummed when the scale goes up. Not sure what to do about future tournaments.