• Food balance
• Various groups of food
• Advised frequency of consumption
• Food diagram: balanced menu
• General advices
• The 3 days before the race
• The day before meal 
• The last meal before the competition
• Feeding during the race
• Feeding after the race
• Conclusion

Various groups of food		Principals vital elements brought by each group
Group milk, yoghurts cheeses dairy produces ( egg custard …)		proteins (= building materials and for maintenance of the body) calcium ( bones solidity)
Group all the meats, offals ( liver …) fish, eggs low-fat prepared meat ( dried meat, ham, smoked ox …)		proteins iron
Group all the vegetables all the fruits, fruit juices, vegetable juices		vitamins minerals ( potassium, magnesium …) fibers
Group bread, potatoes cereals ( pasta, rice, millet, polenta, porridge …) dried vegetables ( lentils …)		carbohydrate (= energy) vitamins } minerals } fibres } especially in complete cereals
Group visible fats: oil, butter, margarine, cream hidden fats: prepared meat, meats, pastry, crisps, cheeses, nuts, hazelnuts, almonds…		energy vitamins ( in oils, butter, margarine)
Group sugar, jam, honey, ice cream, sorbet, chocolate, pastry … soft drinks ( Coke …), soft fruit juices		Group aside of the preceding groups because these foods do not bring vital elements to the organism. They bring fats and sugar.
Drinks Water is the only essential drink !

Advised frequency of consumption		Actual tendencies that provoke an unbalanced feeding
at least 2 to 3 portions per day a portion: 2 dl milk or 180 g of natural yoghurt or 30 g of cheese		Consumed in too big quantities, cheeses are an important source of animal fat.
a portion of 100-120 g meat, midday or evening, + another portion a food of this group can be replaced by a food of the group		The current meat consumption is much too high. Think of fish, eggs and especially of food from the group!
at least 3 fruits or fruit juice per day at least a vegetable portion (raw or cooked) by meal at least with the three principal meals possibly as a snack		These ingredients are often missing in the daily food. The food from the group are essential to sport activity. They allow to build up energy reserves (= glycogen).
chase for hidden fats: fat meats, fatty prepared meats. our needs are much lower than our current consumption approximately 1-2 soup spoons per meal of colza or olive oil.
To be consumed in small quantities in desserts, snacks, before, during, after effort. Mind the soft drinks: 1 liter of Coke has 20 sugar cubes!		Theses foods, appreciated by all, are eaten in too much quantity. They temporarily calm the hunger but cut-off the appetite for other foods (groups and ).
Drink at least 1.5 liter or 2 liters per day. Increase the quantity on training days.		Reconcile yourself with water Drink before being thirsty.

Breakfast		Lunch		Snack		Supper
(menu example)		(menu example)		(menu example)		(menu example)
milk		meat		bread		or eggs or cheese
fruit juice *		vegetables		cheese		salad
cereals (ex. porridge)		potato		fruit		cereal
milk fats		raw fruit *		fats from cheese		cooked fruit
* can be taken like as a snack during the morning		milk product * (ex. Egg custard)				fats from eggs or cheese + fats for seasoning
		greases contained in meat + greases for the cooking of food * can be eaten out of the lunch time, as a snack

• Begin the day with a copious breakfast: after one night without eating, our body needs "fuel" to start on good basis...
• Split the food into 3 or 4 meals per day.
• Take the meals in a relaxed atmosphere and chew the food well: a good digestion depends on it.
• Eat variously to ensure a sufficient contribution of vitamins and minerals.
• Drink sufficiently in the day preferably apart from the meals.
• Consume few fats (avoid fried things).

• ... plan food richer in carbohydrates than usually (eat more food of the group) in order to increase your muscular glycogen stock. So your body can provide, the day of the competition, a longer duration effort.
• Content yourself, these days, with light training.

The day before meal
It is to be easily digested and rich in carbohydrates. Do not forget to hydrate yourself (out of meal time).

• Lean meats: roasted, grilled, boiled.
• Dried meat, low-fat ham, smoked beef and turkey.
• Plain fresh or frozen fish: backed, poached, roasted, in aluminum foil paper.
• Eggs cooked with little or not fats.

• Cheeses (avoid fermented cheeses, with Gorgonzola type moulds), dairy produces (egg custard...), yogurts, milk.
• Pasta, rice, polenta cooked in water, in stock.
• Boiled potatoes, in stock, steamed, backed, in milk.
• Fresh, canned, frozen, plain vegetables (avoid vegetables causing distensions: beans, aubergines, cabbages, salsify, pepper, mushrooms ... as well as dry vegetables).
• Fats (oil, butter, margarine) are to be eaten raw (to season cereals, steamed vegetables ...).
• Fresh, caned, frozen fruits (ripe).
• Dry biscuits.
• Seasonings: low-fat gravy, low-fat sauces, tomato coulis (avoid spiced sauces, garlic, onion).

The last meal before the competition
Its composition depends on the departure hour; it takes place at least 3 hours before the departure signal. It is also to be easy to digest and rich in carbohydrates.

• Departures at 2200, 2300
  The last meal is the evening meal.
  While waiting for the departure, drink regularly every hour:
• either natural water (without gas);
• either a slightly sweetened drink (recommended for the anxious people !) which sugar content will not exceed 25 g per liter.
For example, you can:
• prepare 1 l of tea sweetened with 5 sugar cubes.
• dilute a carton of 2,5 dl of fruit juice not sweetened (= without sugar addition) in 7,5 dl of water.
• from carbohydrate powder products proposed in the trade, you can dissolve:
• 25 g of Isostar, of Perform (Wander product) in 1 l of water;
• 2 measures (=28 g) of Isodrink (Migros) in 1 l of water.
• Departures at 2400, 0100, 0200, 0230
  Between the evening supper and the departure hour, plan a snack:
• sandwich (bred with a small portion of cheese);
• dried fruits;
• cereal bars;
• bars, energetic biscuits;
• not sweetened fruit juice carton.

For the Arolla – Verbier course competitors:

• Departures at 0400, 0430, 0500, 0530, 0600, 0630
  The breakfast is copious and eaten as soon as possible before the departure hour. It is difficult, in this case, to respect the 3 hours margin between the end of the last meal and the departure signal.

Feeding during the race
Eat and drink regularly, if possible, every 20 minutes throughout the course. Be able to waste time to gain some!

• The feelings of tiredness and weakness are consequences of dehydration decreasing your performance.
• Prepare yourself slightly sweetened drinks (with a higher concentration than before, 25-60 g of sugar per liter). See previously the different sweetened drinks you take with you.
• Too sweetened drinks (80 g of sugar per liter), too rich in salt, remain longer in the stomach and can bother you.

• cereal bars;
• dry fruits;
• energy bars, pasta, energy-giving biscuits;
• sweetened drinks.

A great number of products are proposed in the trade and are interesting within the framework of this competition:
For example:

• Sportive Perform (Wander)
• Nergi Sport (dietetics and health)
• Fit, Sport Vit (Migros), etc …

Feeding after the race
You need to eliminate toxins accumulated during the effort, to repair the losses, to rebuild the stocks.
As soon as arrived, drink lots, by small quantities but often.
During 24h to 36h, the different meals are to be easy to digest, few fat; avoid food of the
group.
The following days, usual food is taken again, i.e. a balanced, diversified and … appetizing food !

Conclusion
From this brochure, it is for each one to adapt his food, personalizing it according to his tastes and his experiences.
A regular training associated to a good feeding will enable you to take part under the best conditions to this remarkable competition.
Do not test new feeding during a competition.
Do not wait to be thirsty to drink.

Good race !