1. Obviously all sweets, candy, pop and basically anything with sugar in it.
2. Do not believe the hype that 'diet' foods, 'low fat', 'low carb','lite' anything or anything that is labeled as a diet food is good for you. Example: Diet Coke is worse than regular cook because they load it with nutrisweet and/or other artificial sugars that are terrible for you.
3. Try to avoid white processed food like white bread, white pasta,e tc. Try to eat whole grain pasta or bread, etc.
4. Try to avoid cooking anything in a microwave for they kill all the nutritional value in foods.
5. Avoid Fast Food at all costs (Subway would be an exception - Try to stay with lean meats like chicken and turkey)

1. Whole grains
2. eggs
3. WATER...and LOTS of it
4. Gatorade or any sports drink...However, don't drink it socially. Drink it only during or immediately after games and practices.
5. Chicken
6. FRUIT...especiall before a game

"Most college teams have planned pregame meals, but what should you eat if you're in high school or on a college team that doesn't coordinate team meals?

It's important to make sure that you eat enough protein and carbs, but you don't want to eat so much that you blow your brains out. Here are some foods you should eat in moderation before games or meets. 

Pasta: Pasta is an obvious choice because of the carbs. It doesn't have to be at a fancy Italian restaurant, something quick like Fazoli's is a fine choice. Coach Pitino, why didn't you have your players eat pasta before the WKU game? Maybe if you did they wouldn't have shot 27% from the field. 

Eggs: Many sporting events take place in the morning or early afternoon. Obviously, you're not going to have pasta at eight o'clock in the morning. Any way you like them, over-easy, fried, scrambled, omelet, or hard boiled, eggs are a great choice because of the protein they provide. College baseball players are notorious for heading to McDonald's and getting a couple bacon, egg and cheese sandwiches. These athletes are also known for being obnoxious and yelling Mickey Deez nuts on the way out the door.

Subs: Granted your not trying to be Jared from Subway and lose weight, but Subway is an excellent choice for a quick pregame meal. You get a big chunk of bread, loaded with carbs, and you get to choose whatever kind of meat you want...Ah just what you need before a big game-a big, thick footlong. 

Chicken/ Steak: Chicken is great for females before games and steak is good for males before games. Both of these have tons of protein and the sides that go with them compliment them well. A baked potato and salad will fill you up, but not slow you down. Hey if it's good enough for the number one college basketball player Tyler Hansboro, it should be good enough for you. For Psycho T, meat, veggies and fruits are the way to go. 

Remember, even if you aren't an All-American or playing for a ranked team, you can still eat like a champion. Every little thing you can do better than your oppenent is bound to help you out in the long run. If you find something you like and that works for you--stick with it. Don't change up your routine and take your little brother to Qdoba one day just to be nice. Trust me, you'll end up tearing your ACL and ending your college basketball career.... cough, cough.. story of my life."

BEFORE THE SNAP

by Abigail Funk

Abigail Funk is an Assistant Editor at Training & Conditioning. She can be reached at: afunk@MomentumMedia.com.


“I can remember back to high school when we had team spaghetti dinners the night before a game—that was our pregame meal,” reminisces Rob Skinner, MS, RD, LD, CSCS. “We thought we were carb-loading for a game that was a day away.”

Both Skinner, now Director of Sports Nutrition at the Georgia Institute of Technology, and the concept of a pregame meal have come a long way since then. Coaches and athletes alike are learning that pregame nutrition can have a huge impact on performance, but a correctly scheduled and proportioned diet must be followed in order to see results.

“There are only so many things you can legally do to enhance your performance, and using food to your advantage is one of them,” says Lisa Dorfman, MS, RD, CSSD, LMHC, Sports Nutritionist at the University of Miami. “The control you can have over food is empowering, and it doesn’t require much other than focusing on it.”

THE IDEAL MEAL
Unfortunately, there is not one specific menu for the perfect pregame meal. Factors such as the type of sport, time of game, and individual athlete preferences play a big role in coming up with the best plan. Overall, however, the prescription is fairly simple: a high-carbohydrate meal that provides the right amount of calories for the athlete’s activity. They should be neither hungry nor overly full.

“The goal is to top off energy and fluid stores,” Skinner says. “You don’t want the athlete focused on anything other than the event, so it’s critical that they are not thinking about their stomach. A lot of athletes have told me in the past that all they could think about during the game was how hungry they were or how upset their stomach was. That was probably due to not eating right beforehand, and it took their focus off the game.”

The right pregame meal will charge an athlete’s batteries, both physically and mentally. “The pregame meal is an energy source for the entire system,” says Dorfman. “If an athlete is playing on an un-fed system, they won’t have the energy to access glycogen and fat stores for optimal physical performance. The meal also raises blood-sugar levels to improve brain function.”

Most nutritionists suggest that carbohydrates be the star of the pregame meal, taking up one-half to two-thirds of the plate. Carbs are important because they add glucose to the bloodstream quickly, making energy available to the athlete during the contest.

“Somewhere around 65 to 70 percent of athletes’ pregame calories need to come from carbohydrates,” says Randy Bird, MS, RD, CSSD, CSCS, Sports Nutritionist at the University of Kansas. “This ensures they’re going into the match with glycogen stores as full as they can possibly be.”

“Good carbohydrate choices are simple foods that are also nutrient-dense,” says Dorfman. “This includes enriched white bread, plain crackers, fruits and vegetables, and cereal without added fiber. These work well because they are easily digested and their energy is made available for use more quickly.”

“I add fruit to every pregame meal, too,” Bird says. “Fruits have natural sugar, and that’s the kind of sugar I want our athletes to eat. All the carbs they’re consuming will be converted to glucose in the blood stream, and fruit is an even quicker route.”

Some protein is essential for muscle and tissue repair, and because there is usually some fat in protein-rich foods, it will also make athletes feel full. But athletes need to be sure their pregame protein source isn’t too fatty since fats can make them feel sluggish or even nauseous. Bird says having a lean protein source like one chicken breast or a small cut of a lean meat like a sirloin or strip steak works well.

Amy Bragg, RD, LD, CSSD, Director of Performance Nutrition at Texas A&M University, agrees that pregame meals must be low in fat. “Fat stays in the stomach for six to eight hours, so if you’re eating fat at a pregame meal four hours before a game, your body isn’t going to get that fuel until after the game is over,” she explains. “Eating that type of food—fried foods, lots of salad dressing, gravies—will cause blood to be pulled to the stomach to do the work of digestion. That blood is then not available to deliver oxygen and nutrients to muscles and fuel performance.”

Dorfman suggests steering clear of some other foods as well. “Complex fatty foods like trail mix, peanut butter, dairy, or high-fiber foods can’t be broken down and digested by athletes’ bodies an hour before a game,” she says.

Q.What kind of a meal should I have before competing?

A. There are two kinds of meals before athletic events. The "pre-event" meal keeps you from getting hungry when you're competing, and provides additional energy. The regular meals are eaten up to 2-4 hours before the event. Don't eat less than one hour before competition or practice.

• 1-2 hours before: fruit or vegetable juice; low fiber fresh fruits (peaches, plums, cherries)
• 2-3 hours before: fruit or vegetable juice; fresh fruit, breads, bagels, English muffins (don't use cream cheese on the bagel because high-fat foods take longer to digest and can cause nausea in some young athletes.)
• 3-4 hours before: fruit or vegetable juice, fresh fruit, low-fat yogurt, breads, bagels, English muffins, peanut butter, lean meats, baked potato, pasta or cereal with low-fat milk.

Try to avoid taking a candy bar or soda before exercising. You'll get a quick energy boost but it won't last.

Complex carbohydrates are starches like whole grains, corn, peas, lentils and beans, leafy green vegetables, potatoes and onions.

Simple carbohydrates are in fruits and sugars. They are called "simple" because they are easy to digest. Just like it takes you longer to figure out a complicated algebra calculation than to simply add 2 + 2, it takes your body longer to digest the sugar from a complex carbohydrate. That means you have more energy in your body for a longer time. (And you can do more of those algebra problems or not get tired running races!)

BELOW, I HAVE ADDED TWO EXCELLENT ATTACHMENTS THAT WILL GIVE YOU GREAT IDEAS ON PRE AND POST GAME MEALS. IF YOU ARE SERIOUS ABOUT YOUR 'DIET' YOU NEED TO READ THESE ARTICLES.