When at a major event you can easily find your regular eating schedule tossed to the side, but trying to stick to your regular eating habits can do you a lot of good both on the table as well as preventing and post-con sickness. If you often eat breakfast at 7am, lunch at noon, and dinner by 7pm set alarms to ensure you keep close to this schedule as possible. While these times might run right into the time you are gaming, especially lunch, try to keep some meal replacement bars handy or a protein shake to keep your body on its regular schedule. I have yet to try this myself you could meal prep your lunches for the event days to ensure you eat well and on time as well as skipping high prices and long lines.
You also need to pay attention to what you are putting in your body whether you have meal prepped or are grabbing food from a vendor at the convention. While that pizza might look good you need to know how your body will react to it in thirty minutes to an hour. Do greasy foods upset your stomach which might cause you to lose focus? Can you digest carbs without wanting to fall asleep at the table? Are you having a few alcoholic beverages at the table that might not mix with the food you just bought? Keep in mind all these questions to help you make a good decision so your focus and energy will stay where they nee dot be to give you the mental edge on the table.
Often times major events put their lunch break between the first and second round. This means that after you eat you will have a long time until your next full meal. With such a long time between meals, you need another way to keep your energy levels high. Bringing healthy snacks and drinks is the key. Nuts, fruit, veggies, and possible snack size items like Tuna cans are what you want to look toward. They won't sit heavy on your stomach and the sugar will keep your focus levels solid. The last games of the day will be your most grueling and if you are able to feel as fresh as you were during the first game you will have a strong advantage over an opponent who ate whatever was around, whenever it was around during the day.
The last piece of advice is to stay hydrated. If you feel thirsty you are well past dehydrated already. In fact, you are probably dehydrated right now so go grab a drink of water, I will wait. Hydration is key to allowing your body to function well. All that great food you are putting in won't do much good if your body is dehydrated and cannot process it well. Seriously, go get some water...you know you need it!
I hope these tips serve you well at your next event and if you have any more feel free to share in the comments below. Until next week, Happy Hobbying!
Chuck Moore