I don’t know about you but this time of year certainly makes me giddy. All of that fresh snow, the excitement of everyone around me going up the mountain, a freshly waxed board, nights by the fire… ah bliss! But this is also the season when we’re go-go-go and our metabolism can get kicked up a notch due to increased activity on the mountain and our body working to stay warm (more energy is produced).
While your meal the night before is most important —go carb heavy here — it’s normal to still get hungry while we’re tearing up the mountain the next day, particularly on a powder day. As such, I have a few different snack options that I love to recommend to clients and enjoy myself to ensure I can keep going from first to the last chair.
These snacks are nutrient dense, provide a refill in glycogen (energy for your muscles) to keep you going and easy to digest so you’re not getting a stomach ache down the mountain. As we ski or ride, we burn out the energy in our muscles. This is what creates fatigue and when we’re in this state we fail to make the right decisions on the mountain when it is most crucial. This is when injuries occur and can be season-ending, which we don’t want. While these snacks aren’t the magic foods to prevent muscle fatigue entirely, they will provide the energy for us to keep going just that bit longer.
It’s also equally important that we have something to eat not long after a day on the mountain. Go with a 4:1 ratio of carbs to protein. We want to make sure that the foods we choose are nutrient dense and supportive to our recovery. Something like a sourdough sandwich, rice bowl with protein, veggies and protein or a hearty stew would be perfect. This gets the energy back into our muscles after being depleted on the mountain, which helps us get back out there again the next day.
**Nutrition Nuggets is a new recurring column. Morgan Dunn is a Squamish registered nutritionist.
To follow her go to @CoastalActiveNutrition on Instagram.
