Playing hungry....or should I say on a empty stomach

46n2

SILVER ELITE
Not sure of the science behind it , but what's everyone thoughts on fuel for the body.
Early morning 8am game vs 2pm vs 7pm.
Personally my group we'll eat good all week but early morning games theres very light food , seems like 2pm games are struggle to get them to eat and 7pm are light snacks too.
Might be nerves, may be my cooking , am I doing it wrong?
 
Not sure of the science behind it , but what's everyone thoughts on fuel for the body.
Early morning 8am game vs 2pm vs 7pm.
Personally my group we'll eat good all week but early morning games theres very light food , seems like 2pm games are struggle to get them to eat and 7pm are light snacks too.
Might be nerves, may be my cooking , am I doing it wrong?
It's hard sometimes to eat before those early morning games, but I always make sure my kid has something that is easily digestible - a banana or piece of toast or bagel. Sometimes even a protein shake. It's a long time to go without food (fuel) especially if you have to drive far to get to a game.
For the afternoon games, we go with a sandwich usually - maybe some pasta if available. And finally in the evening, my kid will either have an earlier dinner or a heavier snack - like a quesadilla.
The most important thing my DD does is hydrating before games. He will start drinking more water starting at least a couple days before a game. Not sure if that really helps or it's mental. :)
 
We are just trial and error. For early mornings, it’s by no means perfect, but we usually stop at jack in the box for a breakfast jack no cheese (so, basically an egg on bread). Knock on wood, it’s light and plain enough that it doesn’t come back up or during a game or slow them down but still gets something basic in the stomach. DD will even do the plain breakfast jack before noon games.
 
I thought I was the only Jack in the Box person...

On the way for morning games, we get Sausage breakfast jacks and orange juice. They never complain about it, so I don't think it's too heavy for them. It might just be a habit.

Otherwise, nobody really likes to eat for later games, mostly a sandwich and/or fruit. Nothing heavy until after the game. If it's a late game, I try to give them a bigger meal, but early in the day so there's time to digest it.

Hydration is usually the problem that most kids are going to fight. I'm on my kids to drink plenty of water every day, not just day of or the day before. It's the biggest problem that my kids and other kids on the teams have dealt with. We learned the lesson early, so we are aware of it and try to stay on top of it.

At one of my youngest daughter's games, two players came out for that reason. One of the kids' mom wanted to give her a Coke to help her.

I've seen the same thing at my a few of my son's cross country and track team. Parents show up with no snacks or liquids for their kids in these sometimes day-long events.
 
I couldn’t imagine eating eggs and sausage before playing. Especially on a hot day.
Gotta do what works for you though.
For the kids, We usually do a bit of carbs pregame.
Bagel. Maybe some pancakes without syrup.



For me- when I play in my old man league at 8:30pm at night- I need to eat. I don’t like to play hungry. I’ll have a normal dinner and try to eat by 6:30. There have been times though where I’m slamming a drive thru cheeseburger in the parking lot. Not ideal but I’d rsther play full than starving.
 
Individual preference really. If we were all the same, we'd be able to all work from the same "perfect pre-workout meal" articles online!

Generally speaking though, you don't want to be digesting food while playing a high intensity sport and the only way to avoid that is to eat at least a couple of hours before the game. Not always possible very early in the morning and so that's where faster digesting options like fruit are ideal. If it's possible to plan ahead, eat a bigger meal (carbs and protein) the night before as a 'carb loading' approach and then either don't eat anything in the morning or have something small and easily digestible like fruit before the game.

Individual trial and error is the only way. I used to make sure I ate a lot the night before and then had carbs (usually pasta) 3-4 hours before a game, regardless of what time we kicked off and it worked well for me. (Very occasionally I'd be hungry and stuff a mars bar in my face 90 mins before kick off though!)
 
Individual preference really. If we were all the same, we'd be able to all work from the same "perfect pre-workout meal" articles online!

Generally speaking though, you don't want to be digesting food while playing a high intensity sport and the only way to avoid that is to eat at least a couple of hours before the game. Not always possible very early in the morning and so that's where faster digesting options like fruit are ideal. If it's possible to plan ahead, eat a bigger meal (carbs and protein) the night before as a 'carb loading' approach and then either don't eat anything in the morning or have something small and easily digestible like fruit before the game.

Individual trial and error is the only way. I used to make sure I ate a lot the night before and then had carbs (usually pasta) 3-4 hours before a game, regardless of what time we kicked off and it worked well for me. (Very occasionally I'd be hungry and stuff a mars bar in my face 90 mins before kick off though!)

I like your posts but I can't endorse the bolded part. Just a simple shake or juice with a snack bar/banana/slice of toast will make all the difference versus playing on an empty stomach.
 
I like your posts but I can't endorse the bolded part. Just a simple shake or juice with a snack bar/banana/slice of toast will make all the difference versus playing on an empty stomach.
I’m not looking for anyone to endorse it but I did make it clear that individual preference is key and I appreciate everyone is different. For me, I liked playing feeling ‘light’ if it was an early game (when I had eaten a lot the night before). I think most people prefer something in their stomach but like I alluded to above, any kind of digestion that’s going on inside your stomach/digestive system isn’t going to help sports performance. Certainly not high intensity sports anyway.

Do what works for you; nobody can give better advice than that.
 
oatmeal, toast (the brown variety) or something simple. even a clif bar. your body will break down the sugar no problem running around for an 1hr+. Carbs start breaking down in the mouth and are body's main source of energy. Protein takes longer to break down and FAT takes even longer then protein. Most kids arent trying to burn fat themselves so no need making their insides feel like they are eating themselves due to not having some source of fuel to supply the energy - skinnier kids going to feel it more than someone who might have some meat to burn.
 
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