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[ The Weekend Warrior ] [ Carbos for the Trail ] [ Rebuild Glycogen Stores ] [ Post-Work Out Cravings ] Nutrition for the Weekend Warrior I think winter brings out the weekend warrior in many of us. The first “skiable” snow fires an adrenalin rush that moves normally complacent Midwesterners to show emotion and act irrationally, dumping all work and social obligations.
But then you ski. And it feels wonderful. The problem is, of course, on Saturday you ski too long. And get very hungry. Like many a “warrior”, you eat too much, too late, and then crash with exhaustion. Sunday morning brings on a new kind of challenge: getting up and getting moving. Your legs are unresponsive; they feel like lead. Your back is stiff, and muscles beg to stay in bed. Last night’s meal is still heavy like sludge; you feel like going into hibernation. If you’re prone to weekend warrior behavior, then these nutrition survival tips are mandatory reading material. They’re guaranteed to help keep you moving for an entire weekend’s worth of fun.
Last year my first road trip to go skiing was a nutrition disaster. Ski buddies and snow cover were plentiful – the food supply was not. Already bonking by the time the trailhead came back into sight, hunger compelled us to stop at the first possible food source, which happened to be a bar. Fries, greasy burgers and beer are hardly the stuff champions are made from. So the first nutrition tip I offer to my fellow warriors is: be prepared. How original. You may have heard that advice somewhere before. Plan to fuel up regularly while you’re out on the trail. That means packing along at least 30 grams of carb for every hour of skiing, plus 16 ounces of fluid. For 3 hours of skiing, that’s 2-3 packages of GU or other brand of carbohydrate gel and 48 ounces of fluid - at the minimum. Some other quick carb solutions for on-the-trail energy include small boxes of raisins, or any high carbohydrate sports bar.
Rebuild Glycogen Stores Quickly For many years, endurance athletes were told to eat simple carbohydrates within the first 30 minutes after exercise to restore glycogen levels quickly. New evidence suggests that carbohydrate alone is not the best choice after all. Research on cyclists conducted at the University of Texas showed that after 2-1/2 hours of intense exercise, a snack consisting of 80 grams carbohydrate and 28 grams of protein was significantly more effective at restoring glycogen levels than 80 grams of carbohydrate supplement alone. What’s more, raising the carbohydrate content up to 108 grams (which made it equal in calories to the carb-pro snack) did not significantly improve the amount of glycogen stored. So the message here is: for faster recovery, choose snacks that have about a 3:1 ratio of carbohydrate to protein. Translated into actual food choices, here are some recovery snack suggestions that are easy to throw in a pack: Clif’s MoJo bar, peanut butter sandwich, West Soy individual soy drinks, or string cheese and a bagel. For those who remember their skis, but forget the recovery snack, hit the dairy case at a local a gas station. Single servings of low fat milk contain enough protein to partner up with any high carb sports bar to make a good recovery snack.
Be Smart About Post-Work Out Cravings After a long workout many skiers talk about certain food cravings they experience. Is there any truth to the notion that your body craves what it needs? Maybe. While it isn’t likely your body sends specific messages like “order a double cheese pizza with the works”, there are built in physiologic mechanisms for survival to correct low blood sugar and restore glycogen-depleted muscles. In scientific terms, your body is sending out signals for calories and fluid. How you choose to fulfill those needs is usually based on previous learning experience. Pizza tastes good, it’s a convenient and available food, and eating it becomes associated with a pleasant experience. So you do it again. The same could be said for other favorites like a steak dinner, or juicy bratwurst. Weekend warriors are susceptible to giving in to food cravings that aren’t necessarily the best choices to rebuild glycogen levels. They tend to choose foods for a psychological lift to boost up sagging energy levels that follow back-to-back days of exercise. Many of the traditional favorite post-workout foods are loaded with calories from fat. The result is a diet that does supply adequate carbohydrate and protein, but at the cost of a whole lot of calories. Not convinced? Here are some examples: 2 slices of a large Meatza Feast pizza from Domino’s contains 753 calories, but supplies only 78 grams of carbohydrate and 35 grams of protein. Almost half of the calories from the pizza are from fat, which totals up at 35 grams. If you compare that to a plain cheese pizza, you lose 238 calories, but still get 75 grams of carbohydrate and 21 grams of protein. What is really reduced is fat: now at a reasonable 15 grams for a 2-slice serving. Of course, not all fat is bad, but not everyone can afford to take on extra fat calories just to meet protein and carbohydrate requirements. What’s more, a late night high-fat meal is hazardous to the arteries, no matter what your weight status. Pasta dishes are another post-workout favorite. Avoid the fat trap in restaurant foods by ordering entrees with a red sauce base, and asking to hold the cheese sprinkles on top. Last, be mindful of the dabs of butter, sprinkles of cheese, and dollops of sour cream which seem like insignificant additions to many restaurant entrees. Most of these added touches are high in saturated fat, and average 100 calories per tablespoon. This is not the type of food, which will enhance performance or restore your get up and go. If a warrior weekend is in your future, then use these suggestions to make the most of it. Remember, plan ahead, bring some snacks, and keep your recovery foods high in carb with moderate amounts of lean protein. You just may have enough energy to make it to work on Monday. Services offered by Endurance Sports Nutrition
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Warrior weekends require a high level of motivation. It takes a mountain of energy just to assemble ski gear put hastily away in March, get it packed in the car, and then drive for 3 hours on a Friday night through total darkness and heavy snow.