Eat to Perform: Crossfit Competition Day

by ~jenniferlynn on July 24, 2014

in Eattoperform, Food

After my last Crossfit competition, I provided a handy guide for what to pack. But how do you Eat to Perform for a Crossfit competition day to ensure you are properly fueled for the workouts? Without strictly following any program, I had previously suggested items like Larabars, raw veggies, nuts, and avocados. While these options may work for a lot of people, if you are trying to stay on point with Eat to Perform, there is a bit different template that I would follow (and that I attempted to follow this past weekend). There are little fats. There are no bars or nuts or vegetables. It is about eating for a purpose.

Starting with the day before, I made sure to consume most of my daily allotted carbs at night (via means of cinnamon and sugar French Toast.. 😉 though you may prefer a more cleaner source).

Our competition had 4 WODs spaced out between 9:00-2:30, so trying to eat breakfast and lunch as usual was not feasible. I wanted to make sure I had enough fuel before and after the WODs, but not so much that I would feel too full to WOD. I kept it super simple this time around and packed what I thought I would actually eat.

Eat to Perform for a Crossfit Competition, from what to eat the night before and how to eat before and after each workout when spaced throughout the day. Includes eggs, oatmeal, chicken, and rice.

Pre-Competition

On a normal day for an hour to an hour-and-a-half training session, I aim for 25g protein and 50g carbs both pre- and post- workout, with limited fat. With the sporadic workouts during the day and the amount of work at any given time was only 10-15 minutes, it did not make a lot of sense to consume that much food both pre- and post- workout. The morning of, I ate a typical pre-workout meal to prime my body for the rest of the day.

1/2 cup egg whites + 3/4 cup oatmeal + 1 Tbsp honey

Eat to Perform pre-workout meal of 3/4 cup oatmeal, 1/2 cup egg whites, 1 tbsp honey

Post-WODs

After my first workout, I ate a brown-spotted banana for some quick replenishment. After each workout, the plan was to eat half of a serving of protein/carbs (12g/25g)  than I would for a longer workout.

2oz chicken thighs + 1/4 cup jasmine rice

Eat to Perform post-workout meal of 2oz chicken 1/4 cup rice

Pre-WODs

For the remainder of the workouts, I aimed for the same ratio, which I was able to concoct a convenient little no-bake oatmeal snack (1 1/2 cups oatmeal, 1/4 cup peanut butter, 1 Tbsp honey), portioned into four cookies. Paired with a hard-boiled egg, it yields 30g carbs and 13g protein.

1 hard-boiled egg + 1 cookie

Eat to Perform pre-workout no bake oatmeal cookie with oatmeal, peanut butter, honey

Despite having what I thought was a perfectly laid out plan, in reality, my stomach was just not feeling that amount of food! Between the nerves, adrenaline, and post-workout exhaustion, I wasn’t able to eat as often as I anticipated, yet still had sustained energy throughout. I made sure to drink enough water, and sipped on some energy-infused BCAAs when I couldn’t stomach any food.

In the end, it is all about finding what works best for you, but I found that keeping it simple this last time around worked out better than trying to over-pack and cram in random bits of food like I did last time!

Your turn..
Do you overpack when it comes to food for a competition/race/event?
Have you tried Eat to Perform guidelines yet?
What is your favorite pre-workout and post-workout meal?
Do you follow any macro-counting?

Amy @ The Little Honey Bee July 24, 2014 at 5:40 pm

Really interesting to read! I am always tweaking things to best eat for my performance and fuel my body. May I ask why egg whites and not the full egg prior to competing? Sorry for being nosy!
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~jenniferlynn July 24, 2014 at 6:03 pm

Oh girl that’s not nosy!!

I prefer them tastewise is all! The thought of scrambled eggs pre workout sounds gross to me. And not mixed with oatmeal. Ick. This way I make them sweeter. Just a dab of coconut oil and sometimes I’ll even sprinkle cinnamon on top too!

Martha July 24, 2014 at 10:31 pm

Definitely better to be over prepared than find yourself scavenging for half eaten protein bars that fell underneath your car seat 🙂 I definitely have had post race munchies that lead me to some really questionable purse food.
Anymore I try to pack as much as I can for a race, with a nice wide variety because I’m never sure what I’m really going to be feeling afterwards. Though I stick to Gu during long races (unless it’s a long trail race… Seriously, their aid stations are like buffets of all things good in the woods), and eat a pretty carby breakfast, sometimes I’m starving afterwards, and sometimes I don’t want anything til hours later. Still, it’s nice to have options.
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Lauren July 25, 2014 at 11:53 am

Ugh your blog always hates when I try to enter my blog website! As I was reading your post I knew that sounded like too much food for me to stomach if I was crossfitting and jumping and throwing a barbell around. I have been more conscious of getting carbs and protein and eating to fuel my workouts (hello, marathon training!). With races I am always nervous/anxious so I end up being conscious of that but also sticking to what I know & love!

Chris @ ifailedfran July 25, 2014 at 8:22 pm

No competition, but I’m finding out in general that I don’t eat enough before I WOD, or else I eat too soon. I’m trying to straighten out size and timing, then I think I’ll play with the macros. Thanks for sharing!
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~jenniferlynn July 25, 2014 at 8:49 pm

Definitely something that takes a long time to tweak!

Melissa April 2, 2015 at 9:39 am

What a helpful post! What would you usually eat pre/post wod?

~jenniferlynn April 2, 2015 at 9:40 am

On a normal day, I usually eat some cereal or oatmeal pre-WOD.. used to do eggs and oats but find lately I’m crunched for time and usually don’t need extra protein for the day, so just some carby!

Post-workout my standard is protein shake w/unsweetened almond milk and a banana!

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