Lunch
For the midday meal it is considered more advantageous to propose an easily digestible "single dish".
In this way, after the afternoon rest, the athlete will be ready to train again in the best conditions of "recharging" the tissue deposits of glycogen and high-energy molecules (adenosine triphosphate and phosphocreatine), without however having excessively engaged the digestive processes.
Post-Workout Snack
After the afternoon training it is good for the athlete to consume a small snack mainly liquid, with a good energy content (energy from an exclusive carbohydrate, oligo- and polysaccharide origin) and rich in minerals, to quickly replenish the hydro-saline losses and balance with alkaline foods the tendency to acidosis produced by muscle fatigue.
Dinner
The evening meal therefore it represents, for the athlete in the training days of the competitive period, the most important meal of the day, from a quantitative point of view.
In fact, without excesses and in the context of a well-balanced daily caloric ration, dinner will be on average abundant, rich and varied in the choices, as the athlete will use the evening and night rest (at least 9-10 hours) for digestive processes and metabolic.
As for the formulation of the evening meal menu more closely, I propose soups with vegetables and / or legumes as a first course to further favor the rebalancing of hydro-saline losses and to ensure a further supply of starches (potatoes, rice, croutons of bread).
Among the dishes, the athlete can choose different protein sources at will, without neglecting fish (at least 2-3 times a week) and legumes, accompanying them with fresh and / or cooked vegetables.
I remember that we propose at least 5 meals a day, since in this way we avoid a fasting period of more than 4-5 hours, which would have a catabolic effect, but in the night sleep we have at least 8-9 hours of fasting! Precisely this is remedied by favoring foods rich in proteins.
For example, a dish like broth, the classic one made from beef, introduced in the evening, leads to an increase in the subject's protein mass, as it prevents catabolism; this is because in the broth there is such a high quantity of amino acids, that in the first hours of sleep, they help the production of GH, the growth hormone, which is already high in those hours.
body and to provide the athlete with a sufficient amount of power, well distributed throughout the day, without the occurrence of digestive disorders and at the same time avoiding the onset of a sense of hunger or weakness.It is necessary to feed the athlete in an adequate and valid way, without an excessive commitment to the gastro-enteric system, often already intensely stressed by the pre-competition anxiety.
The intake of starches must be sufficiently high, up to 65-70% of the total daily energy, avoiding however to ingest them in the three hours preceding the meeting and always taking care not to make the muscle fibers too heavy with water.
Highly seasoned foods and foods that develop gas should be avoided on race day, as well as meat and fats that have long digestion times and eaten in the three to four hours before the race can cause an annoying feeling of heaviness.
If the time of the race is in the early afternoon (15.00) it is recommended to have a rather abundant and rich breakfast between 7.00 and 8.00 in the morning and to have lunch between 11.30 and 12.00.
The midday meal will consist of a good first course followed by fresh fruit and dessert, later on, in the hours preceding the competition, to sip a "waiting" drink.
When the competition starts later (5.00 pm) then the lunch can be a little more complete and balanced, always favoring the carbohydrate intake.
In the case of an evening or night competition, the midday meal will be followed by a light snack with a good supply of liquids (tea and / or fruit juice) and glycides (baked cakes, oat flakes, rusks with jam) .
After the competition and more generally after every muscular effort, the athlete should avoid solid foods for at least a couple of hours, limiting himself to replenish the water and mineral resources in this period of time. Therefore the athlete should sip water and specially prepared drinks, or use commercial preparations. Among these we should not forget the common fruit juices, preferring those without added sugar, suitably diluted with water. Milk can be proposed as a valid alternative in first hours after the race also in the form of smoothies.
