Q What should I eat and drink before exercising?

A Before exercise – particularly prolonged such as a football game - it’s important to maximise your body’s carbohydrate stores. Start the day with a good high carbohydrate breakfast e.g. toast, cereal, orange juice.

• 2-3 hours before exercising have a light, high carbohydrate, meal e.g. jacket potato & tuna, pasta and tomato based sauce, beans on toast. Make sure your meal is low in fat as a high fat meal can slow down the absorption of carbohydrate.
• Some people feel the benefit of a high carbohydrate snack 1-2 hours before exercise e.g. bananas, cereal bars
• Have a drink (non-alcoholic!) prior to exercise. 300-400ml or 1/2-pint to make sure you are fully hydrated.

Q What should I eat or drink during exercise?

A Try to prevent rather than cure. You should try to drink enough to offset any weight loss during a game or workout. As a rule of thumb for every 1kg you lose during an exercise session, replace with 1.5 litres of liquid. Water does the job well in most cases. A sports drink contains carbohydrate and sodium (salt), which can help with fluid absorption. Alternatively make your own.

Q What should I eat or drink after exercising?

A Eating after exercise is a window of opportunity to refuel your muscles carbohydrate store. Pick high carbohydrate food like, jelly babies, bananas, wine gums or a sports drink if you’ve been exercising heavily for a long time (e.g. a long particularly long run or a football game or similar). These will be absorbed quickly. Continue to eat plenty of bread, cereal and potato goods over the next 24 hours.

Q Is there anything I should avoid during exercise?

A Pick meals low in fat but avoid being too restrictive. Fat is a good source of energy. Avoid alcohol however as alcohol can make dehydration worse, interfere with carbohydrate refuelling and make any muscle damage far worse!