Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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When I say "major" I mean major to me. I have a summer hockey tournament at the end of this week. It's my first big multi-day event since going strict paleo, and I'm wondering how I should approach my food intake before, during, and after. The tournament involves five 60-minute games over two and a half days. A game for me means about 30 total minutes (2 minutes on, 2 off) of "interval" effort that involves sprinting (on skates), pushing, shoving, and a little trash-talking (low intensity).

I'm currently in a low-carb paleo phase plus an autoimmunity protocol (no nightshades, no nuts, no dairy, zero starch) to deal with my arthritis. Diet mostly consists of fat, meat, starch-free veg, and a little fruit. I generally don't do anything special around my usual weekly game, but this will be much more energy demanding and require quick recovery.

Given those parameters, how should I prepare over the next few days and recover between games?

flag	asked Jul 12 2011 at 13:48 Riveted 3,717●1●5●20

	Man...my trash-talking is always at least moderate intensity! :) – StephNY Jul 12 2011 at 14:26
	if it's like any of the hockey tournaments i've been to...watch the beer intake after games in the change rooms - it's really easy to crush a couple of beers after a game! – Thumper Jul 12 2011 at 15:35
	I'll count those beers in my 50-100g of carb refuel. – Riveted Jul 13 2011 at 13:05

sherpamelissa · Answer 1 · 2011-07-12 14:01:22Z UTC

I don't think you should change very much at all. To confuse your body while you are giving it this much work to do would most likely be bad. I know for endurance training they want you to stick with what your body knows and not change it just for race day.

I would pack lots and lots of food that you know you can eat to keep yourself energized for the games. I would probably do more than your usual "little fruit" just because it's easy and portable and the sugar will probably help.

Pack water with electrolytes or just salt added, hard boiled eggs, cheese, beef jerky, fruit and make sure you feed and hydrate yourself between each game.

Don't think about it so much! You'll do great!

JakeA · Answer 2 · 2011-07-12 14:07:43Z UTC

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Riveted, lucky for you this question has already been asked to someone much smarter than me... Welbourn!

Check out this answer to game day nutrition on talk to me johnnie: http://talktomejohnnie.com/diet/game-day-nutrition

answered Jul 12 2011 at 14:07

JakeA
5,657●12●31

JitzGrrl · Answer 3 · 2011-07-12 14:46:21Z UTC

When I do a tournament, I've got two food goals: replenish gylcogen between matches, and don't upset my stomach. Under your scenario above, I'd bring leftover sweet potato, carrots, coconut treats (unsweetened coconut + coco oil; add a mild amount of chopped dried fruit if you'd like), fruit you tolerate, some lean protein. Personally, I'd also bring almond butter and full-fat yogurt-

You've got a puzzle ahead of you if you're really committed to zero starch and low-carb; when I was eating with those parameters, I found it extremely difficult to recover and be ready for any exercise within 48 hours of my last exertion. Perhaps rice? Rice, fruit, (honey?) might be great options to get some sugars to refuel. I try for ~50-100 g carbs between each match, and protein/fat to mimic my usual 'meals'; so this would be + 2 sweet potatoes, 2 bananas, 2 c carrots, (2 c yogurt)...bring lots of food. lots and lots. Have fun! Lots of water, lots of shade, skate your butt off!

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