Eating before & during long periods of exercise (golf)

[aaronjunited]

I play golf a lot and I'm looking for advice on the things I should be eating before a round in the mornings for my breakfast and while I'm playing a round.

I'm thinking toast and eggs with porridge for my breakfast. Any advice on what else to eat would be nice?

I'm type 1 and have been told to eat bananas, apples, nuts, granola bars and someone said to use electrolyte tablets in my water while I'm on the course.

Which type of nuts and granola bars can I eat which will benefit me during a round? You don't necessarily have to think of what to eat during a round of golf, as exercise is exercise and what ever you can eat during golf you can eat during any other activity.

Advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks,
Aaron.

 

[ElyDave]

Aaron,

I'm working on a slightly different exercise to you (ultramarathons) but I don't see that the principles should be any different.

I check my BG before I start, looking for it to be around 6 or higher. I then test every 6km, approx 35 minutes. In between that I'm taking in carbs every 20 minutes or so, just a little at a time, in my case a mix of complex and simple carbs, but you may be OK with more complex carbs only. If I see the levels getting too low, I can up the carbs as I need. Avoid the bars with fructose syrups, corn syrup etc. I use 9-bars and NAKD, both have nuts/seeds in them for fats/proteins, the NAKD bars have dates and raisins, so high fibre as well to slow the release.

I've also agreed a modified insulin regime for this with my specialist dietician/nurse to account for higher insulin sensitivity while exercising. I'm not going to advise you on that as I'm not qualified, and you don't actually mention whether you are T1 or T2?

So, carbs little and often, and check BG little and often. Keep hydrated and, yes, elctrolytes are important. I would reccommend Nuun or High-5 Zero, just pop one in a 500ml water bottle. This place http://www.ultramarathonrunningstore.com had an offer on, if you bought a 4-pack you got a bottle thrown in.

Basically, experiment a bit and be prepared to get it wrong and stop a few times.