You have a track meet a week from today, or a basketball game tomorrow night, or a key meeting or test this afternoon, or you’re planning a big workout day at the gym this weekend (say, cardio in the morning and a big lift in the afternoon). How should you eat to fuel your brain and body and support your best performance? Whether it’s in the classroom or office, or on the field, the basic principles are the same.

Eating for Performance Principles:

1. Carb Load at Lunch a Few Days Before, but Don’t Go Crazy!

Loading up on brown rice, oats, beans, or quinoa (all great choices) a few days before a big game, conference, test, or business trip will ensure that your brain and body will be charged with energy. Our bodies store carbohydrates in a form called “glycogen”. Glycogen is basically a big carbohydrate molecule that we can rapidly convert into useable energy when it’s time to perform. But it takes a while for our liver to turn the food we eat into glycogen, so the key to having plenty of fuel in the tank tomorrow is to gas up with quality carbs today. Have a big, carb heavy lunch on the two days preceeding a big game or other energy intensive event. Shoot to consume 3 to 4 carb calories for every pound of your body weight. One gram of carbohydrate has about 3.5 calories, so eat about one gram of carbs per pound of body weight. One cup of cooked brown rice has about 200 calories, almost all of these from carbs. One can of beans has about 350 calories, most of these from carbs. Almost all foods list the carbohydrate content on their nutritional information panel.

Eating carbs alone is bad news for most people’s metabolisms, so be sure to balance out your hi-carb lunch with some fat – a tablespoon or two of olive oil is the best choice. If you’re eating brown rice or quinoa, you may also want to throw in some beef or chicken, since brown rice is a little low in protein. Beans have enough protein as is, and don’t digest very well in combination with meat, so it’s probably best to eat beans with just oil. To add variety, mix beans and rice with diced tomatoes, peppers, onions, and Mexican spices. Or whip up some chili with kidney beans, peppers, tomatoes, onions, garlic, and chili powder and dig in.

Don’t be tempted to eat this way everyday for a week leading up to a game. You’ll overwhelm your system with too many carbs and end up more sluggish. Follow your personalized nutrition strategy (available as part of your free ReEvolution Fitness Action Plan) through the rest of the week, and save carb loading for one or two days in advance. You can also carb load at dinner the night before a big day, but some people find that they don't sleep well after large carb meals, so one night when you don't have anything pressing the next day give a big carb dinner a try, and see how you sleep. If you sleep well afterwards, start carb loading at lunch and dinner the day before game days.