Why would an endurance athlete limit the amount of fat in a pre-competition meal

Athletes achieve high performance by following a dedicated meal plan and intense training. The relation between a great athletic body and nutritious food is well-established. Athletes practice hard and prepare themselves for the big event. However, there is one thing that they lack endurance athlete meal plan and proper nutritious food. 

What is a precompetition meal?

A precompetition meal gives the calories, nutrients, and liquids you need to complete an athletic competition. The pre-competition meal should give you the stamina you require to perform and limit hunger during the competition. It also gives you the extra liquids you need to dodge dehydration. 

When should you eat a pre-competition meal? 

Eat a big meal at least 3 to 4 hours before a competition to give your body. It will give your body time to digest food. If you cannot have a meal 3 to 4 hours prior to the competition, you can have a light meal or snack. The amount of time it takes for your body to digest meals is as follows:

• 1 to 2 to digest a liquid food
• Less than 1 hour to digest a light snack
• 3 to 4 hours to digest a big feed
• 2 to 3 hours to digest a light feed

How can you categorize fat for sports? 

There is an overlay between saturated fats and polyunsaturated fats. Monounsaturated fats and a small number of polyunsaturated are good for you. However, it’s just not the fats themselves that are useful, but the different nutrients that may be found in the same food simultaneously. Good food sources of fat involve meat, fish, dairy products, poultry, vegetables, fruits, avocados, and seeds. They consist of saturated fats, but they come in good form, being completely different from having them with biscuits, crisps, and food that’s greatly processed, where you have a more reasonable number of nutrients that surround that fat. 

What percentage of fat should you eat?

It is hard to uncover the best balance between the total number of calories and the percentage of different nutrients. How many calories you take in a day may be quite different, depending on your energy requirements for growth or the kinds of workout you are doing. If an athlete’s goal is to shed weight, there is no way to do it healthily and sustainably. Usually, in terms of decreasing energy intake, sometimes it’s easier to decrease fat consumption to get a higher energy deficit. Other particular strategies would target metabolic interference that triggers metabolic benefits. It enhances fat metabolism, which is essential in endurance performance. It would involve fasted training and time-bounded training. It will attempt to decrease the number of hours over the day that someone is eating. In this way, you will stop eating early in the evening and start eating later that day. 

What should you drink and eat for a precompetition meal?

Consume food that you like and that you normally eat. If you try new foods, they can cause problems in your stomach, such as stomach cramps. The main idea is, the precompetition meal should be high in carbohydrates and fluids. Carbohydrates involve bread and bread products, rice, pasta, and potatoes. This meal should be low in fat and protein. Foods that are high in fat and protein take more time to digest than carbohydrates. It may need 5 to 6 hours to digest a feed that is high in fat and protein. 

How many carbohydrates should you take in your precompetition meal?

You can eat 4 grams of carbohydrates for each kilogram of your weight before four hours of your event. Intake 2 to 3 grams of carbohydrates for each kilogram of your weight before 3 hours of your event. Lastly, eat 1 gram of carbohydrate for each kilogram of your body weight before one hour of your event. 

Healthy sources of carbohydrates that you can eat

• One big banana or one big pear
• 1 cup of applesauce or preserved fruit
• 1 cup of apple, grapefruit, pineapple, or orange juice
• Two slabs of bread or 2 (6-inch) flour tortillas
• ⅔ bowl of rice
• 1 cup of boiled pasta or oatmeal
• ½ of a big baked potato or 1 cup of crushed potatoes
• 1½ cups of dry, unsweetened cereal

Foods and drinks that you should avoid?

• Avoid high-fat foods like chips, hot dogs, french fries, candy bars, and doughnuts. These high-fat foods will take longer to digest and may trigger stomach discomfort. They may not give you enough energy and stamina during the competition. 
• Dodge carbonated drinks like soda because may cause stomach irritation during the competition. 
• Avoid high-fiber foods like bran muffins because they may cause gas and stomach discomfort during competition.

Indulge in healthy eating habits and eat nutritious food so that you have enough energy to train and compete.