Hopefully, you have been gearing your body up for race day for months now. Read Sports Nutrition for Athletes in Training: Going Gluten-Free (and next week’s post Post-Race Gluten-Free Sports Nutrition) to see if you have prepared your body adequately without glutinous foods and to make sure you start the post-race repair process as quickly as you can.
Sports nutrition for Athletes in Training: Going Gluten-Free covers just how to get those necessary carbohydrates without resorting to wheat, oats and rice-based, processed foods like breads, rice and pasta. Even the whole or brown versions of those grains can cause the inflammation that impedes performance and health. As mentioned there, many top athletes are putting a gluten-free diet at the center of their sports nutrition protocol.
While I included a complete sample daily diet in the previous blog posts, I’ve added and changed a few things for pre-race day and race day. On a pre-race day I recommend adding more carbohydrates: 2 sweet potatoes instead of 1; or ½ to 1 ½ cup of sprouted rice (remember that this will vary according on gender, weight, training, and type of sport practiced), or more fruit.
The day of the race: light, easy to digest breakfast. For example:
– 2-3 of soft-boiled eggs; half an avocado. Bone broth.
– Leftover chicken or steak; ½ yam with plenty of butter.
If you prefer to “drink” your pre-event meal, try a shake made with Primal Fuel, a handful of blueberries, 1-2 T coconut oil, and/or nut butter.
I also recommend bone broth and sulphur-rich foods to provide the body with minerals, collagen, and other precious nutrients necessary to heal and repair tissues, and to bring super nutrition in food form. I’ve come to rely on paleo bloggers, especially nomnom paleo and the book Nourishing Traditions for my recipe for bone broth.
If you’re considering a diet that will optimize your health, athletic performance and even your mood, a free 15-min consultation with Healthy Living San Diego will leap you ahead of the learning curve. More, I can help PERSONALIZE a gluten-free, primal or training diet to your lifestyle and medical issues. Call 619-208-8159 or contact me with your questions! Get helpful tips and notification of great healthy events when you like us on our Healthful Living Facebook page as well!