Pre Practice Snacks!

QHealth Tips is written by Martha Cardenas, a Holistic Nutrition professional. Q Swimwear publishes it as general wellness information for swimmers. It is not medical advice — talk to your own healthcare provider before changing your diet, supplements or training.

Pre-practice Snacks

Eating the right foods at the right time significantly improves performance, weight, and future health and well-being. Just as you put fuel into your car before you take it for a drive, you want to put fuel in your body before you practice. According to Nancy Clark, RD, pre-exercise fuel has four main functions:

1. Prevent glucose from dropping; this would feel like being light-headed, fatigued, or having blurred vision.
2. Ward off hunger, settle your stomach and absorb some of the gastric juices.
3. Fuel your muscles.
4. Give you peace of mind from knowing your body is well fueled.

There is no unique food for performance; there is no one magic meal that will ensure top performance for everyone. Each athlete needs to learn through trial and error during training and competition what works best for his or her body. Your intestinal tract needs to tolerate pre-exercise fuel; work up from a teaspoon of natural honey, for example, until you can enjoy about 200 or 300 calories within the hour before you work out.

Most people get good results from 0.5g of carbohydrate per pound of body weight one hour before moderately hard exercise. Here are some examples for a 150lb man:

• ¾ of a regular banana
• 1 medium peach
• ¾ cup granola (recipe below)
• 1 cup blueberries
• 1 cup pineapple
• Half of one recipe of the fruit salad

Rainbow fruit salad

1 large mango peeled and diced · 1 cup fresh blueberries · 1 banana sliced · 1 cup strawberries, halved · 1 cup seedless grapes · 1 peach sliced · 1 kiwi peeled and sliced.

Honey orange sauce

Combine and add to fruit mix: 1/3 cup freshly squeezed orange juice, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1½ tablespoons raw honey, ¼ teaspoon ground ginger, a dash of nutmeg.

Granola with almonds & maple syrup

¼ cup avocado oil · ½ cup organic maple syrup · ¼ cup raw honey · ¼ tsp unrefined sea salt · 4 cups oats · 1 cup chopped almonds.

Preheat oven to 325°F; lightly grease a baking sheet (12 × 15in). In a big bowl beat oil with maple syrup, honey, and salt. Mix in oats and almonds with a wooden spoon. Spread evenly on the baking sheet, and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, mixing every 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Let cool completely. Store in an air-tight glass container for up to 2 weeks.

To learn more about Martha or book an appointment, email her at martha@marthacardenas.com or follow her on Instagram at @marthacardenasnutricion.