Eating During a Tournament

[Aten]

I remember this one time I was hill-hill in the finals of a local tournament, the game was taking place around 8pm and I hadn't eaten since before the tourny began (so around noon or 12:30ish). I was hungry as hell so I'd gotten a steak sandwich ordered and was eating bites of it between shots LOL... anyways got down on a tough cut shot while still munching a small piece of cow and was pretty torn between indulging my stomach or shooting the shot...

Yeah that aside, I tend to carry fruits with me to tournaments and I order juice whenever I run out (talking about food, not racks :thumbup::thumbup. A better solution is just to powernap... I can't remember all the times I've finished a match at 1pm only to see my next scheduled game is at 9pm LOL

 

[Cdryden]

It's simple normal physiology. The diabetic is a special case.


I counsel people on such things on a daily basis pertaining to their performance for things of much higher stakes than any pool game or tournament.

In general, energy bars and energy drinks are garbage based on pop-science and marketing. There are numerous sports physiologists, trainers, and other such "gurus" that espouse a variety of methodologies and products. I have yet to find a single one of them that understands much of what he/she is doing.

I too would like to know what you recommend. I avoid the greasy stuff before a tournament and I usually eat some salmon or have a salad before or during a tournament. Bananas or apples sound good too. The main thing I have found is stay a little hungry, don't get full or you'll start to get drowsy.

 

[sfleinen]

You heart me Easy. :smile:

You complete me Lenny.

Eric:

I'm not sure if Lenny caught on... :scratchhead:

-Sean <-- thought Lenny's choice of that second word in his sentence was pretty funny, as well

 

[Black-Balled]

C'mon, c'doc...share the wisdom!

I have a feeling it is either:
1: prepackaged- or even organic-food is substandard to natural stuff.
B: JamisonNeu has it right and you should all eat 6lb of fruit daily.

Re: 1: sure, but you ever try putting a bag of oatmeal and enough eggs to last you a day in a pants pocket?

Re: B: that's just crazy talk.

It's simple normal physiology. The diabetic is a special case.

I counsel people on such things on a daily basis pertaining to their performance for things of much higher stakes than any pool game or tournament.

In general, energy bars and energy drinks are garbage based on pop-science and marketing. There are numerous sports physiologists, trainers, and other such "gurus" that espouse a variety of methodologies and products. I have yet to find a single one of them that understands much of what he/she is doing.

What do you recommend?

Thanks
Andy

Can you tell me what makes a Clif bar "garbage". Not trying to start anything, just really curious.

I too would like to know what you recommend. I avoid the greasy stuff before a tournament and I usually eat some salmon or have a salad before or during a tournament. Bananas or apples sound good too. The main thing I have found is stay a little hungry, don't get full or you'll start to get drowsy.

 

[KMRUNOUT]

For me the key is to eat many small snacks throughout the day or night.

Here are the things that work for me:

1) NO FRIED FOOD of any kind

2) Never pack your stomach full. Just have small servings between matches

3) Apples and bananas are GREAT sources of energy. I asked Shane and he said fruits are *necessary* for his tournament performances.

4) Cliff bars were mentioned before. They seem to be made of reasonably good quality ingredients are provide some "substance" throughout the day. There are many "nutrition" type bars that are pretty good in this regard.

5) For "meals" I have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

6) I don't eat any meat or meat based products.

7 )I drink coffee, but not a ton. I think in general it would be much better to eliminate any caffeine dependence.

8) No soda, or other pure sugar type products (candy bars, etc.)

Since incorporating these dietary considerations, my alertness and energy level had been excellent through tournaments. Also, my focus has been *consistent*, which is where I had problems in the past. The poolhall near me serves just side dishes from their excellent menu. So I often just get a bowl of broccoli (they make it delicious!), or roasted vegetables.

Hope this helps.

KMRUNOUT

 

[stljohnny]

I, too, keep a few Cliff bars in my case. They're not too filling, and if I don't a lot of time between matches, I might only eat half of one. I'm also a big fan of the Powerbar Protein Bites or the Cliff Shot Roks

http://www.powerbarstore.com/products/powerbar_protein/bites
http://www.clifbar.com/food/products_shot_roks/

I like those better actually, since I can just chomp on one or two of those while my opponent figures out a way to sh*t out on me... it's a more constant level of energy, whereas an entire cliff bar is a lot at once.

 

[Island Drive]

I know that I am not the only one that game goes down hill at a tournament if I have something to eat. Problem is that most tournaments go on for hours. Especially sponsored tour events. I would like to get some opinions on what you would say would be a good thing to eat and not fall apart. lol

This and sleep/napping are the two most important aspects of winning.

 

[LAlouie]

A leg of lamb.

 

[JoseV]

For the most part i can play on a full stomache depending on what it is something like a ceaser salad works great, shoot even a T Bone steak has done wonders.

 

[Icon of Sin]

I try not to eat before or during a tourney. Prefer the empty stomach feeling when shooting. Seems to make things easier... keep me on my toes. Dont want to feel sluggish and full. Generally I try not to eat anything 2 hours or less before a tourney.