It was 5pm on the day of an under-16 GAA match.
15-year-old me looked through the kitchen cupboards and fridge, trying to put together a pre-match meal.
I must have read somewhere, earlier that week, that carbohydrates were the body’s preferred energy source, and decided that the more of them I could eat, the more energy I would have for that’s night match.
This led to the ‘obvious’ meal choice of two packets of microwaveable Uncle Ben’s basmati rice, with nothing else, except a touch of sweet chilli sauce, for taste.
After chomping through the bulk of the rice, I slumped in the chair, wondering how this feeling of bloated drowsiness would eventually lead to me performing at the top of my game in 2–3 hours.
It didn’t.
With the rice still lodged in my stomach, and still feeling no surge of energy, I sat in the changing rooms before the match, wondering what I’d done wrong.
Needless to say, the game passed me by, and any energy I had was used trying to stop myself from throwing up.
I assume we all have our pre-match or pre-event meal disaster story, and have tried many different combinations of meal timing and meal content.
I hope that this article can shed some light on what we should be thinking about in relation to nutrition leading up to a match.
It’s Not Just About the Pre-match Meal
If we look at the stages of preparation from a nutritional point of view, we can’t overlook the general diet in the weeks and months leading up to the game, so it is worth mentioning that even the most optimal pre-performance meal is not going to make as big a difference as addressing the diet in general.
Doing so will allow you to have optimised your body composition and created good habits.
(More specific recommendations can be found in articles like this one)
It’s also important to remember that the “fuelling” period for a match goes beyond that meal you have a few hours before the match. It’s important to also start thinking about the days that lead up to the match.
1-2 Days Beforehand
You may have heard that carbohydrates are the main energy source used in high-intensity activities, like a football match, for example.
The reason for this is that carbohydrates (or more specifically glycogen) are relatively quickly converted into fuel, and can therefore support the high energy turnover of the muscles when they are working at high intensity.
For that reason, it is important that you have enough carbohydrate stores in the muscles when it comes to the day of a match or other performance event.
The stored form of carbohydrates in the muscle is called glycogen.
In order to increase these glycogen stores, you need to eat sufficient amounts of carbohydrate-rich foods, like potatoes, rice, pasta, oats, etc.
When this is done in the lead-up to a sporting event, it is usually called “Carb-loading”.
If you want to know more about carb-loading, go to read this article, but for now, it’s enough to know that you should likely increase your carbohydrate intake in the 1-2 days leading up to match-day, if maximising performance is the goal.
Performance Day
Obviously your match-day food will be affected by a lot of different elements, including the time of the match or race, whether you’re eating at home or with a team, and even how nervous you are feeling on the day.
The important thing is to control as much as you can, meaning that you should prepare ahead of time, having bought any food that you need in the days beforehand, having planned out what your meals and snacks are going to be, getting out of bed at the right time, etc.
The aim of your performance-day eating is to top up glycogen stores, achieve adequate hydration, and generally feel energetic going into the match.
Outside of the pre-match meal, your game day meals should generally contain some carbohydrates and protein, with moderate-low amounts of fat and fibre, and no foods that you know you don’t digest well, in order to avoid any digestive troubles, and snacks should be mostly carb-based, again, topping up the glycogen stores.
Hydration should also be a priority, sipping on water throughout the day, without going majorly over your usual intake.
The Pre-performance Meal
If you’ve done everything mentioned above, you’ll be in a good spot when it comes to the few hours leading up to the big event, and more specifically, the final pre-performance meal.
According to nutrition expert Dan Garner, there are 4 rules to optimising nutrition before, during, and after high-intensity training that can be equally applied to the pre-performance meal.
They are:
Provide sufficient glucose through carbohydrates.
Provide sufficient amino acids through protein.
Provide sufficient fluids and electrolytes.
Do the above whilst minimising digestive upset.
1. Provide sufficient glucose through carbohydrates
Given what has already been discussed, you’ll know by now the importance of carbohydrates when it comes to fuelling high-intensity exercise.
When it comes to the pre-performance meal, a lot of the fuelling work will be done if you have gone through a carb-loading period.
So whilst you won’t need to rely on the pre-performance meal alone for your fuelling, it is an extra opportunity to top-up the glycogen (stored carbohydrate) and increase blood glucose prior to the performance event.
With that said, somewhere in the range of 40-60g of carbohydrate in the pre-performance meal tends to be a good balance between providing this extra fuel, and not being such as big meal as to feel heavy in the stomach.
2. Provide sufficient amino acids through protein
Protein is generally seen through the lens of recovery and muscle building, and for good reason.
The amino acids supplied through protein can be seen as the building blocks of muscle tissue.
When it comes to the pre-performance meal, supplying amino acids (through protein intake) helps reduce the breakdown of muscle protein that might otherwise occur during high-intensity exercise.
Ths effect may be small, but may lead to reduced muscle loss over time and improved recovery afterward in the hours and days after the performance event.
Additionally, they become potentially beneficial to performance during the event because of their involvement in improving hydration and in the creation of neurotransmitters.
Supplying somewhere in the range of 20-40g of protein in the pre-performance meal, similarly to most other meals, is a good place to aim for in order to satisfy these goals.
3. Provide sufficient fluids and electrolytes
As with carbohydrates, adequate hydration in the days leading up to performance day should put you in a good place, but given that fluids and electrolytes are consistently being excreted throughout the day (through sweating and urination, for example), topping up those levels on performance day itself will be important.
Within the pre-performance meal specifically, avoiding either extreme of water intake (very little, or so much that it feels heavy in your stomach) should allow you to maintain normal hydration levels, and sipping on water as you normally would is advised.
Having salt in your pre-performance meal and/or providing electrolytes through supplemental electrolytes added to your water is also advised, given the importance of electrolytes in the process of muscular contraction and the prevention of muscular cramps, among other things.
These hydration recommendations may change and need to be more precise for endurance events for example, but for most sports (GAA, football, hurling, rugby, etc.) these recommendations are sufficient.
4. Do the above whilst minimising digestive upset
All the recommendations above mean very little if you’re bending over with stomach cramps during a race or having to run off the pitch to the toilet in the middle of a match.
For that reason, doing the above whilst minimising digestive upset as a result of the pre-performance meal is key.
This can be done by addressing three key things:
The size of the meal: The above recommendations regarding carbohydrate and protein amounts will help achieve this, but some trial and error will be needed in order to find what size of meal allows you to not feel full but also not feel hungry going into and during the performance event.
The timing of the meal: This will also be based on your own preference and experience, but generally eating your last meal within the realm of 2-4 hours before the performance event is a good place to start, giving you time to digest the meal, but not so long as to feel hungry again. A snack can be added (e.g. rice cakes, toast, fruit (dried or fresh), oat bars) in the hour or two before the event if there’s a long delay between the pre-performance meal and the performance event.
The content of the meal: The meal should be relatively low in fat and fibre, which tend to take longer to digest, and can therefore lead to a feeling of heaviness in the stomach and a delay in getting the appropriate nutrients through the digestive system. They don’t need to be avoided completely but shouldn’t be consumed in excess.
pre-performance meal examples:
Seasoned chicken with rice and spinach
Oats and whey protein with a banana
Baked potato and turkey mince with a handful of berries
Sweet potato with lean beef with rocket leaves
Pasta with chicken and a moderate amount of tomato sauce
All of these meals should be seasoned to taste for enjoyment and the previously mentioned hydration benefits of salt.
The Pre-Performance Hour
In the 0–60 minutes before the match, which may be before, during, or after the warm-up phase, you may want to take advantage of the chance to get some extra fuel and fluids into the system.
This can be done through a drink and/or snacks like jelly sweets, for example.
Taking this a step further by including specific supplements at this point can be an option too (e.g. Caffiene).
Examples of the type of drinks/snacks/supplements that can be beneficial in this context is discussed in this article on Intra-Performance Nutrition.
In general, a drink containing 300–500g of water, 20–40 grams of fast-acting carbohydrates (sugars), half a teaspoon of salt or an electrolyte tablet, and some flavouring, can be advantageous to consume, in the 0–60 minute period before the match or other performance event (as well as throughout the and/or at halftime/breaks).
This is basically the same makeup as your usual isotonic sports drink, so if you don’t want to put together your own, sipping on a sports drink in the lead-up to the match or other performance event, or having a glucose gel during the warm-up and/or at halftime can be a good strategy.
Your Pre-Match Check-list:
Plenty of carbohydrate and water in the days leading up to performance day.
Pre-performance meal containing some carbs, some protein, salt, little fat and fibre.
Avoid hard-to-digest foods in the pre-performance meal.
Eat at a time that allows you to not feel hungry or full during the match.
Consider an intra-performance drink containing some quick-digesting carbohydrates, and some salt/electrolytes.
Consider supplementing with caffeine and other potential supplements 45-60 mins pre-match for a cognitive and physiological boost.
Article Written By Conor O’Neill
Conor O’Neill is a Nutritionist, Strength & Conditioning coach, Psychologist, and Author.
He has helped 1000+ everyday athletes to pursue excellence in their physique and performance through optimising their nutrition, training, and psychology.
You can find out more about The Everyday Athlete Program by going to everydayathleteprogram.com/coaching.