You can practice and have all the skills you need to be a top contender in a golf tournament. But if your nutrition intake isn’t where it needs to be, full of sugars, carbs and processed foods, you’re going to find yourself crashing on the course. In today’s blog from IJGA, we’re going to give you some of the best foods to pack in your pantry for better nutrition and performance.
Related Post: The Do’s and Don’ts of Golf Nutrition
Choosing Your Foods
Choosing the right food for better nutrition is the first step toward a healthy diet to give you a better performance on the golf course. You want to buy foods that are high in three categories: protein, fiber & vitamins, and high-calorie. These will not only help you keep an even energy level, but they increase the functions of your brain, liver, kidneys, and muscles.
Remember, you should be snacking on something every three to four hours to maintain a good level of energy and avoid crashes. Considering you may be on the course for up to 4-½ hours playing, great food is essential to your golf game.
Here are some great foods to choose from.
High-protein foods. Plant-based protein shakes, beef jerky or steak strips, protein bars like RX bars, eggs, string cheese, hummus and peanut butter.
Foods high in fiber and vitamins. Apples, bananas and oranges, carrot sticks, broccoli florets.
High-calorie snacks. Almonds and brazil nuts, trail mix, yogurt
Look at some foods to avoid.
Candy/Candy bars. These will give you a great boost of energy, but then your blood sugar will crash and you will feel worse than you did before you ate.
Chips. Full of preservatives, sugars and gluten, these will give you a sugar spike and then a sudden drop.
Heavy foods. Cheeseburgers, pastas, burritos. While all of these foods are tasty and have their place, you should avoid them before training or competitive play. They will leave you feeling weighed down and sluggish. Whole-grain pasta as a meal three to four hours before a match might come in handy for energy reserves as you start to play.
Consistency Is the Key
Remaining on a consistent diet rich with these foods can help you maintain energy while you hone your skills.
When you’re shopping, be sure and check the label. Some foods that look healthy, like protein bars, trail mixes and yogurts, are full of sugars that will cause drops in glucose levels.
Keep a Meal Record
Are you trying to eat healthy but you’re experiencing times when you have low energy, fatigue and headaches?
One way to determine if this is caused by a diet is to keep a food log. Write down everything you eat in a day and at what time. Then write down when you’re experiencing lows. Remove the food that you ate before the low, replacing it with something different. See if you feel any difference. Continue to remove and replace until the negative symptoms stop and you begin to feel better.
Your symptoms may not be diet-related at all but rather a result of sleep deprivation. Be sure you’re getting enough sleep, at least seven hours a night.
Golf Training From Golf Pros at IJGA
IJGA’s academy and camp experience offer a world-class training environment to help you elevate your golf game. We also hope you make wonderful life choices along the way. Contact IJGA online or call toll-free 1-855-378-8177 for more details on our programs and what we offer.
