QUESTION: What Foods Should I Eat To Stay In Top Condition For Surfing?

Hey Beth,

What types of foods should a surfer focus on, to stay healthy, and also to keep his/her body in top condition not only for surfing and big wave surfing, but any other sport?

Mahalo,
Dino the Haole Boy

ANSWER:

Yo Dino,

Well, this is somewhat of a loaded question for me as I am not a nutritionist and would never claim to know what is the sure bet at feeding time. However, I have been around the block a few times in the eating arena and can give you my thoughts on what to consume.

In general, all "athletes" should be consuming an equal amount of calories to what they have burned off during their activity. For a lot of athletes, this could be up to 4-5,000 calories per day. Other things to keep in mind are how much your particular body burns daily based on your personal metabolism.

As for foods to eat, I pretty much stick with the old food chain 15%protein, 20-25% fats, and the rest carbs. Sounds easy, eh? Not. One has to watch out for what kind of carbs, fat, protein they are consuming. There are both good and bad choices for each. I am not going to go into this as there is a ton of info out there on good vs. bad. Also key, you should eat 5-7 servings of fruits and veggies, again finding the ones with the most punch per bite (in terms of nutrition). Eating the "good" foods will definitely help one recovery faster and build more muscle. There is a ton of junk food out there and if you want to give back to your body all the strong paddle strokes it gave you, I would suggest feeding yourself well. Think of food as fuel, do you want high or low octane for your bod?!?

Another important thing for surfers is when to eat. I know a bunch of guys who have a big cup of joe in the morning, no water no food, and then surf for 2-3 hours. NOT GOOD. You need to fuel up and get hydrated before and after your session if you want strong results in the water and during recovery (muscle building, etc). Surfing is one of the few sports that you are unable to refuel and re-hydrate while exercising. Most sports, especially longer endurance sports, one is recommended to eat and drink throughout the activity. Surfing, unless there is a food barge out there, is nearly impossible, so proper pre and post session fueling is key!

I could go on and on and on about this so let me know if there is any other info you need. Best of luck.

Hasta,
Beth

(1/21/06)

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