Built to Compete: Day-Of Competition Nutrition
Ok, a few weeks ago I covered what I was eating before I competed at my CrossFit competition, and now I’m going to share what I ate on the days that I was competing.
If you’ve ever worked with me, I talk A LOT about how competition nutrition is very different than day-to-day nutrition. For this particular competition, I only had a few hours between events so I didn’t have time for complete meals. It was also insanely hot so I needed to prioritize liquids for hydration.
My two golden rules for competing are 1. micronutrients and fats for breakfast and dinner and 2. whatever I can get down, I down. I’m a massive advocate for whole foods so I like to eat my veggies in the morning and for dinner after I’ve had my post-workout snack after my last event. I keep this ritual because I know that I’m not great at eating during competitions. I’m so excited to compete and I go so hard that it’s hard to get my body into a rest-and-digest state. What I have found works for me in between events is Edge Fitness Performance protein (Code BOTLZ saves you 10% on your order!) and gummy candies, Pop Tarts, rice cakes, and sugary cereal. These carbs digest quickly and give me an instant boost of energy. They also spike my insulin levels which causes my body to shuttle the protein and carbs into my muscles to begin the recovery process (fitness science). I like to joke that my competition diet is similar to a teenage boy’s eating habits.
When you’re competing and you have back-to-back events, you don’t want anything like fiber or fats to slow down your digestion too much. When you work out, your body needs to go into rest-and-digest mode in order to well, digest your food. If you’re still digesting your food and you jump into a workout, your body will put a stop to digesting and redirect the blood supply from your digestive muscle into your working muscles, leaving your food partially digested in your stomach. You probably won’t feel so good in that case. That’s why I tend to have quick-digesting foods during the competition and then I can have my fiber, healthy fats, and micronutrients with my dinner and breakfast.
I want to reiterate this I’m only eating like this for 1-2 days and then it’s back to enjoying my everyday foods. That’s not to say that you can’t fit gummies, Pop Tarts, and more into your regular menu, we just want to stay within our macros so that we can achieve our goals while we enjoy our lives.