Is fast food before a hockey workout a good idea?

August 25, 2020 by Total Female Hockey

This is something most of us do more times that we’d like to admit.

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In this article, Total female hockey director, Kim McCullough will give her thoughts on eating fast food before a game.

Fast Food Before A Hockey Workout?

Yesterday morning, I did something I haven’t done in at least 5 years…I went to Tim Horton’s for breakfast!

Usually when I head off to “Timmy’s” in the morning, I just order my usual medium black coffee and that’s it. But yesterday I was heading out on a long training ride in two hours and I needed to put some fuel in my tank before hitting the trails.

Ideally I would have had my usual oatmeal with fruit and yogurt before leaving the house, but I completely forgot yesterday.

I found an apple that I just happened to leave in the car from the day before, but I knew that wasn’t going to be enough to get me through the workout.

So there I was standing at the Tim Horton’s counter trying to choose something that would give me a ton of energy for my ride and not leave me feeling hungry after an hour.

I know…most fast food meals are full of fat, calories, cholesterol and sodium, and generally have very little nutritional value.

But I needed to grab something before heading out on my bike, and Timmy’s was my only option for miles.

So here’s what I ate:

• One medium black coffee (as always)


• A whole grain bagel, with egg, tomato and lettuce


• My apple from the car

Now I know that the egg inside the bagel is not fresh at all – it is cooked long before it gets put on my bagel. But I needed to make sure that I got some protein into my body so that I had more energy (and felt more full) during the workout and that was a much better choice than just having peanut butter or cheese on the bagel.

This wasn’t an ideal pre-practice meal, but it could have been a lot worse. Other customers were ordering sugar-filled donuts, fat-laden muffins and my personal favorite, the “4 by 4” – which is a coffee with four creams and four sugars. And I am guessing that none of these customers were heading out for a two-hour training session anytime soon! And if they were, the food they just consumed wouldn’t give them enough fuel to last.

So the next time you are stuck having a drive-thru diet, make a healthier choice that will give you the fuel you need to perform on the ice.

Just some food for thought.

~ Your friend and coach,
Kim

Kim McCullough, MSc, YCS
Director & Founder, Total Female Hockey

www.TotalFemaleHockey.com