The RinkFor the not so ready for prime-time players, coaches, referees, and the people that have to live with them. Discuss experiences in local leagues, coaching tips, equipment, and training.
Well, you did just have a solid workout. I usually go for protein. Chicken is good (you should know what good chicken is vs bad chicken). I am usually quite hungry so I go for some sort of chicken dinner thing
I have found salad to be the best energy food at least prior to the game, surprisingly.
Add in some meat or chicken and you'll be ready to rock.
Because salad is light and has easily digestible carbs, that's a good pre game meal. Post game, you need protein and carbs primarily, fats don't help that much. However, be sure to eat some animal fat to help your joints out. I like a chicken sandwich, some chips and a big powerade.
Problem with that...coming home after a game (usually around 11:00/midnight), I usually don't have an urge to cook...
Try making a meal and storing it in one of those ziploc dinner plates that has divided sections and a resealable top, or make a sandwich and wrap it up and put it in the fridge!
Also frozen bananas = amazing postgame snack or dessert. Tastes like ice cream and if you score or get an assist, go ahead and dip it in chocolate sauce
i dont get home from my games until 130 in the morning im obviously not going to have a huge meal. i go for protein and no carbs. fat is ok, but good fat like peanuts not candy.
I'll definately give the 'leftover chicken' a shot.
What about protein bars? I'm not familiar with them at all...is there anything I should be looking for? Anything I should avoid when buying them?
Yeah, the leftover chicken is a good trick. Plus it keeps for a couple days so you have some time.
I think protein bars are fine. Just look at the other ingredients in them. When I was going to the gym frequently I got some GNC protein supplement. But after doing some research I realized that just one was like 75% of the cholesterol that I need in a day. So I looked around and found something better (although I learned after a nutrition course that I was getting plenty of protein already so I stopped using it).
The hard thing with late games is you are damn hungry but can't eat a meal because you need to sleep (if you can).
If it's a late night game I'll go for some bread with cottage cheese or peanut butter. If it's still early I'll just eat dinner (chicken, pasta/rice, and veggies).
I find that I can't eat eggs at all on a game day... but if you can stomach them then they're a good option for protein as well.
For those late games go with a meal replacement bar. I'm partial to the Met-RX Big 100 Peanut Butter Cookie Dough as anything with chocolate just gives me a stomach ache. It has 370 claories, 28g or protein, 52g of carbs, 520 mg of potassium. it only has 20mg of colesterol and 5g of fat so won't really hurt you in that regard. It really is balanced to act as a meal replacement. I eat 1/2 a bar every morning as a mid morning snack. This would be easy and you could keep it in your bag to eat immediately coming off the ice.
I personally like going home and have a good porter, stout or ale when I get home from a late game to help me relax.
I like Progresso 50% reduced sodium soups with a couple of turkey burgers. Sometimes I make a veggie stir fry (raw veggie packs and not that junk with processed sauce you heat up, blech) with baked chicken and some rice.
I don't eat any fastfood or microwave garbage. The only thing I will eat that is quick after a game may be some cornflakes besides what I mentioned already.
Replace:
Protein
Carbohydrates
Water
Sodium (to a much lesser extent)
Calcium
Depending on appetite and time of the night, you could go with something as basic as a bagel with peanut butter; this would also force you to drink water or milk to aid in both comfort in eating and in digestion. A banana or starfruit on the side will also help replenish potassium (note: DO NOT eat starfruit if you have any type of renal disorder. Trust me.)
If you're going to bed within two hours of the end of the game, try to stick with something approximately that size. Otherwise the body will divert bloodflow to the digestive tract during sleep to keep that process going rather than acting to transport oxygen and vital nutrients to muscle tissue that needs it.
Also, as much of a part of hockey tradition as it may be, DO NOT go pounding beers until you're properly rehydrated. Trust me on this...I've seen 350-pound guys get tanked off a single beer during a period of fairly bad dehydration. And in order to metabolize the alcohol, more water is needed...and since you're not providing that, prepare for a hangover that will make you want to put an icepick in your skull.
As an aside, my pregame meal was always the Peter Forsberg Special: dry instant oatmeal most of the time, prepared instant oatmeal some of the time. I honestly don't know why. I tried it a couple times before some hardcore conditioning in the middle of summer and liked it, so I continued it. In the old boiler rooms on coal-fired ships (where a 150-pound man could lose 15 pounds of water in a shift), they used to drink water with oatmeal in it. The idea was that you'd have to chug a lot of water to stay hydrated, which normally leads to vomiting and thus more dehydration. The oatmeal acted to prevent vomiting in case of excessive water consumption.
I used to get home and have a whole pizza and some beer...but I'm trying to cut weight now and I'm pretty sure that's not healthy.
I usually mix a scoop of whey protein and a couple tbsp of Ovaltine into a tall glass of milk. Simple carbs and quick digested whey. Last night I went deluxe and did a scoop of low fat frozen yogurt, half a banana, some peanut butter, the whey protein, and some milk and ice...tasty.
Usually I get home late so that's it for food, but if the game is earlier, I'll have a smaller protein shake, then have some chicken and rice or pasta.
Replace:
Protein
Carbohydrates
Water
Sodium (to a much lesser extent)
Calcium
Depending on appetite and time of the night, you could go with something as basic as a bagel with peanut butter; this would also force you to drink water or milk to aid in both comfort in eating and in digestion. A banana or starfruit on the side will also help replenish potassium (note: DO NOT eat starfruit if you have any type of renal disorder. Trust me.)
If you're going to bed within two hours of the end of the game, try to stick with something approximately that size. Otherwise the body will divert bloodflow to the digestive tract during sleep to keep that process going rather than acting to transport oxygen and vital nutrients to muscle tissue that needs it.
Also, as much of a part of hockey tradition as it may be, DO NOT go pounding beers until you're properly rehydrated. Trust me on this...I've seen 350-pound guys get tanked off a single beer during a period of fairly bad dehydration. And in order to metabolize the alcohol, more water is needed...and since you're not providing that, prepare for a hangover that will make you want to put an icepick in your skull.
As an aside, my pregame meal was always the Peter Forsberg Special: dry instant oatmeal most of the time, prepared instant oatmeal some of the time. I honestly don't know why. I tried it a couple times before some hardcore conditioning in the middle of summer and liked it, so I continued it. In the old boiler rooms on coal-fired ships (where a 150-pound man could lose 15 pounds of water in a shift), they used to drink water with oatmeal in it. The idea was that you'd have to chug a lot of water to stay hydrated, which normally leads to vomiting and thus more dehydration. The oatmeal acted to prevent vomiting in case of excessive water consumption.
I'll echo the beer thing. 2 beers gets me quite tipsy after a game, and I drink a full quart of water most every game. if you're one of those guys who refuses to drink water or has one of those dinky water bottles, you're going to screw yourself up.
Replace:
Protein
Carbohydrates
Water
Sodium (to a much lesser extent)
Calcium
Depending on appetite and time of the night, you could go with something as basic as a bagel with peanut butter; this would also force you to drink water or milk to aid in both comfort in eating and in digestion. A banana or starfruit on the side will also help replenish potassium (note: DO NOT eat starfruit if you have any type of renal disorder. Trust me.)
If you're going to bed within two hours of the end of the game, try to stick with something approximately that size. Otherwise the body will divert bloodflow to the digestive tract during sleep to keep that process going rather than acting to transport oxygen and vital nutrients to muscle tissue that needs it.
Also, as much of a part of hockey tradition as it may be, DO NOT go pounding beers until you're properly rehydrated. Trust me on this...I've seen 350-pound guys get tanked off a single beer during a period of fairly bad dehydration. And in order to metabolize the alcohol, more water is needed...and since you're not providing that, prepare for a hangover that will make you want to put an icepick in your skull.
As an aside, my pregame meal was always the Peter Forsberg Special: dry instant oatmeal most of the time, prepared instant oatmeal some of the time. I honestly don't know why. I tried it a couple times before some hardcore conditioning in the middle of summer and liked it, so I continued it. In the old boiler rooms on coal-fired ships (where a 150-pound man could lose 15 pounds of water in a shift), they used to drink water with oatmeal in it. The idea was that you'd have to chug a lot of water to stay hydrated, which normally leads to vomiting and thus more dehydration. The oatmeal acted to prevent vomiting in case of excessive water consumption.
- You must add potassium after, try to take something who have a ratio of 3/1 potassium/sodium.
- You won't loose a lot of calcium during a training or a game, BUT one of the better choice you can make is chocolate milk. (I would never tought about it by myself, but as I study in nutritionnal sciences I learned this in my classes.)
- You get the protein by the chocolate milk and enough sugar. If you're too hungry consider take so fruit, good sources of carbohydrates and antioxydants. This will help to stock glycogen and also to eliminate free radicals.
- You might try to eat things that are well tolerate by your stomach before and after the exercices.
In the fall, I run cross country and obviously run during the summer for conditioning. Our coach, who is also a nutrionist, always tells us that a coupld peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on whole wheat bread with chocolate milk is always good for after a workout. I've stuck to that ever since. I think it helps, maybe it could work for you.
Chocolate milk is actually one of the best things to drink after a workout. It has a good combination of protein, carbs and fat. A protein shake might be better but in a pinch chocolate milk will do.
Sometimes I take a wheat wrap and skim coat it with peanut butter and fold it up.
If it int he winter and it's a cold night. I'll make a packet of instant oatmeal.
These are just enough to put something back into my system and I don't feel I did anything horrible to my system.
I still don't get the whole beer after a game thing. That's like the last thing I want when i come off the ice.
I don't get the beer thing either .... some guys on our team drink a couple BEFORE the game. I couldn't imagine having all that sloshing around while skating.
In the fall, I run cross country and obviously run during the summer for conditioning. Our coach, who is also a nutrionist, always tells us that a coupld peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on whole wheat bread with chocolate milk is always good for after a workout. I've stuck to that ever since. I think it helps, maybe it could work for you.
Only if you get low-fat PB and skim milk. Otherwise, way too high in carbs and fats.
