What Would YOU Eat At a Tourney?

[Kowal]

Yes.  Power up your day with disgusting soda flavored to taste like what would happen if grape soda pissed.

[Methuselahn]

Pre tourny: Eggs, Milk, and Orange Juice.

During: Red Bull, water, assorted nuts, and plenty of cigarettes.

[thecapn]

I tend to have a bag full of food at large tournaments.

It's important to eat a protein for breakfast to get your mind started.  Bananas are also really good for breakfast too.

I usually eat some bread or pita, a banana or two, some nuts, and some orange juice for breakfast.

Throughout the tournament I'll eat nuts, fruits like apples and oranges, sometimes granola bars, and usually hommus and pita.  I eat something every 1-2 rounds.  I also usually bring something for dinner to eat right before the top 8.  I like chips and salsa or refried beans because they are relatively portable.

At times when I am drinking caffiene (I go back and forth) I usually quit it at least 3 or 4 days before a big tournament so I don't have to deal with the previously stated drawbacks of drinking caffiene or caffiene addiction.  I drink a ton of water between rounds, and I also like to stretch, do some relaxation techniques, or do some head stands every couple rounds.  

Yeah, I'm pretty fucking eccentric and I take this game way to seriously...

[Saucemaster]

Lest you all think that everyone on my team is some kind of Healthy McHealthNut health freak, I would like to let you in on the secret of my last two tournament successes:

1) Have coffee in the morning.  The largest coffee you can find.  Don't eat breakfast.  Get something that you can stow away for lunch.  At SCG2 this was lunch meats for me.  At Waterbury, I just partook of pizza once it arrived.

2) If you're not going to have access to more coffee during the tournament, bring a lot of Coke or Mountain Dew with you.  Buy Gatorade or something so that you don't dehydrate in the process.

3) Somewhere after round 3, have the pizza (or lunch meats--just by themselves.  A couple lbs. of deli-sliced Turkey is good shit).  Wash it down with Gatorade, and a couple of Mountain Dews.

4) Finish round 4 really quickly, because you're going to have to use the facilities like a mofo.

5) Have another Coke around round 5.  Have another in round 6, and have some more Gatorade or water, too.

6) You will be very hungry by this point.  Now, normally I take in almost 3,000 calories a day (no kidding).  Not on tournament days.  I play much better when I'm hungry.  As long as I keep the caffeine going, my mind is sharp and focused.  So ignore the hunger, have some more water, and get yourself a coffee.  I was late for the Top 16 at Waterbury because I was upstairs in the hotel room making coffee on the in-room coffeemaker.  Having teammates bring coffee to the table where you're playing in the single elimination is serious tech.  Plus it makes you look like a total badass.  "Who's this guy?  He has a fan club who brings him food and shit!  Is this that 'Kai' guy I hear about?  I must be in for a whoopin'!"

7) From this point forward, have another Coke (or Mountain Dew, whatever) between every round.  You're almost there.  After you're done, you can always inhale a small child or something.

8) After you get as far as you're going to, suddenly realize that since dinner last night, all you've had to eat is like a pound and a half of lunch meat, about 4 gallons of caffeine-laden liquid, and almost as much water.  You will feel like total shit.  It might be difficult to walk.  But that's okay, because you just won a Mox!  At this point, of course, everything will be closed, so you're going to have to eat whatever's available.  A few bushels of candy bars and crackers may do the trick.  Remember, all you want to do is stop the pain.  You can eat real food again tomorrow.

If you smoke (I quit about a year and a half ago), smoke like a chimney.  One between every round, two before the T8.  ESPECIALLY with the cokes and such.  You will be unstoppable, and your mind will work at twice the speed of the puny mortal minds who dare to oppose you.

[Kowal]

I'm saving the above post for reference next time I attend a tournament.  That is pure genius.

[Smmenen]

There is no way Justin takes in 3000 calories normally.

[Saucemaster]

Actually, I honestly do.  I'm 100% serious here.  I went to a dietician asking how to gain weight (I work out, but can never seem to add any muscle mass), they did tests, and they said I need to eat about 3500 calories a day because I have, to quote, "One of the fastest damn metabolisms I've ever seen".  The last 500 calories are really, really tough, and because I don't particularly like feeling nauseous, I usually have trouble getting them in.  If you're ever in need of some extra cash, I'm sure my girlfriend, sisters, mother, and all female friends would be willing to chip in and make it worth your while if you killed me.

[Hi-Val]

That's really interesting. My mom's a dietician, I can talk to her about how to make you chubby : ) 3500 calories is also a particular number, because that correlates to 1lb of fat. That is, if you take in that much extra or burn that much extra, you will gain or lose a pound. I'm down to about 1500 calories, it's hard to maintain but it keeps the food costs low! I think JP has a similar metabolism to yours Saucy; how many beers before you feel a buzz?

BTW, the appropriate after-tournament food is burgers and brews, best if consumed at the house of Josh Reynolds. It's the reason to go!

[Saucemaster]

how many beers before you feel a buzz?

That varies wildly depending on what, and how recently, I've eaten.  Probably four or five to start working on a pleasant buzz.  Full-on drunk definitely takes anywhere from 7 (if I'm really hungry at the time) to 10.  It's hard for me to judge with beer, though, because when I drink to the point that I'm getting buzzy and/or drunk, I'm usually drinking whiskey.

The 3500 number was the one they gave me taking into account that I'd be working out every other day.  I'm sure if I wasn't hitting the gym and I was eating that much, I'd have myself a little stomach.

As for after-tournament food: Josh Reynolds is God.  All hail the King of Slivers!  Let us sing the praises of his George Foreman Grill, and bring glory to his fully stocked refrigerator!  May his Killian's flow without end, unto time eternal, for ever and ever, Amen.

[Toad]

Camembert and Red Wine.

[Matt]

If you're ever in need of some extra cash, I'm sure my girlfriend, sisters, mother, and all female friends would be willing to chip in and make it worth your while if you killed me.

Boy that can REALLY be taken the wrong way. Just HOW are you burning 3500 calories per day?  

[Saucemaster]

What can I say?  Appetite is appetite.

[Royal Ass.]

I can back up what saucemaster said.  I went to this diet fair deal at my university (only for the $20 target gift certificate that you got for participating) and they hooked me up to this electrode machine, kind of like in the matrix.  Well in the end they said that I needed to eat at least 3000 calories a day with no exercise just to maintian my current body weight.  (apparently my round of golf earlier that week didnt count as working out)  This assessment sounded about right to me since I am always eating.  That plus the iritable bowl syndrome usuealy keepst things interesting for me.

As far as yournaments go, drink tons of water, but not too much, because having to pee really bad during a round sucks.  trust me.

[The M.E.T.H.O.D]

Heh... fast metabolism.... so THATS WHY IM FAT. (Currently eating a snickers.)

[WildWillieWonderboy]

I eat without end. God got bored with wimpy locusts, so he made me. People are hungry in Ethiopia because I took all the foreign aid food when I needed a midnight snack.

Case in point, yesterday I ate a plate of chicken noodles over mashed potatoes with green beans and then finished off my friends' last bites with buttered rolls. Then I came home and had dinner. I had two plates of pork roast, red cabbage and mashed potatoes (Irish-German 4L).

Mainly though, I stay away from sodas, chips and candybars, and I also don't drink or smoke.

As far as Gatorade having essential electrolytes, I think I'll just bring some Columbus tap water, the hardest stuff this side of grain alcohol. Other water just tastes funny to me, because it doesn't taste like a sack of nails.

[Sytupal]

<--fat, yet happy.  getting some daily while fat is tech.    


On another note.  I forgot to mention that even for non smokers, having cigarettes during tournament days is definitely abusable and doesn't count towards you getting addicted.    

Having a few puffs between rounds is alright for several reasons.  it gets you out of the cramped scene for a few minutes and there is usually several other people out there taking a few puffs as well.  This will calm your nerves down, even if it is just mentally, by talking with other people in a more quiet environment.

[martyr]

Cigarettes?

I'm in the habit of snagging some really nappy, cheap Dutch Masters "President" cigars before a tourney (it's like 3$ for a pack of 5) and working my way through those in between rounds in the winter. While it's tempting to scamper around trying to trade and watch other matches and order food that won't be eaten by the beginning of your next round, it's really your best bet just to get out of the jungle hell that most venues become and nurse something warm out in the cold.

As for eating, DO NOT eat bagels unless they have peanut butter or meat on them. I, being vegetarian and not liking peanut butter, am screwed in that respect, but the carbs in bagels aren't that complex, and your blood sugar will spike and crash really fast. One bagel is like eating a candy bar, only slightly better.

Water is tech, and I actually have gotten into the habit of diluting about 1/4 a Nalgene of some juice with the rest water: it's kind of like Gatorade, but it tastes better (note: doing this with apple juice will smell really wierd).

If I can't find cheap-ass cigars, try some Djarum Blacks or Djarum Originals (clove cigarettes). Even if you don't smoke, just rolling the smoke around in your mouth is extremely satisfying, and black cigarettes look really badass. Who knows, maybe you'll intimidate someone.