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Keep your energy up for skiing

The thing about skiing is, you spend six weeks diligently doing all the right exercises - but after an hour on the slopes you're so hungry and exhausted you can barely move. Eating the right energy-giving food can really help your piste prowess…

Choose energy, choose carbohydrates!
Menu picker - US and Europe
Keep hydrated
10 top tips

Choose energy, choose carbohydrates!

Calories provide a measure of how much energy your food contains. The more active you are, and the higher your metabolism, the more calories you need. The table below shows how many calories you should be eating each day:

Level of activity	Female 18-55 years*	Male 18-35 years
Sedentary (desk job)	1,900	2,500
Active (manual work)	2,150	3,000

* Not pregnant or breastfeeding.

Moderate downhill skiing burns up, on average, 400 calories an hour, while uphill cross-country skiing can burn up to 1,000 calories an hour. As a beginner, you'll become very familiar with side-stepping up slopes and hauling yourself up after falls, both of which are incredibly tiring. And, just keeping warm requires more calories too. Allowing for time spent in queues, on lifts and breaks, most adults require between 1,000 and 1,500 calories more per day than the amount usually recommended.

Bread, cereals and potatoes, fruit and vegetables, milk and dairy foods, lean meat and fish all form the basis of a healthy diet. When you ski or snowboard, you need to adjust your usual diet and eat more energy-giving foods - and that means more carbohydrates.

Complex carbohydrates such as bread, cereal, pasta, rice and potatoes are the best type of food to eat before any vigorous exercise:

they are rapidly digested and absorbed to provide an immediate and readily available energy supply
choose 'brown' carbohydrates such as brown rice, brown bread etc over white carbohydrates, as they contain more fibre, vitamins and minerals

But, eat too much before exercising and you could end up feeling bloated and uncomfortable - so leave an hour between eating and heading for the lift queue. At the other end of the spectrum, if you haven't eaten for some hours, you're likely to feel a bit dazed and faint, especially if you're at high altitude. You should take some snacks with you to eat during breaks: dried fruit, sweets or mints for example.

Menu picker - US and Europe

In a remote ski resort or catered accommodation, the choice of food can be limited, but here's a guide to some of the items you should try to include in your daily meals for maximum energy. For once (and it is a holiday after all) you can bend some of the usual rules, which is why you'll find items such as muffins listed - but as always, go for the low-fat options when you can.

Meal	Europe	United States
Breakfast	Cereal, wholegrain bread, fruit juice, muesli, decaffeinated coffee, cheese, yoghurt, rye bread, boiled egg	Fruit juice, hash browns, bagel, muesli, decaffeinated coffee, wholegrain bread, pancakes, eggs
Mid-morning and afternoon breaks	Fruit (fresh and dried), decaf-coffee, herbal tea, glass of warm milk, lemonade, carrot cake, nuts	Fruit (fresh and dried), decaf-coffee, herbal tea, fruit muffin, pretzel, peanut butter on bread, glass of warm milk, lemonade
Lunch	Pasta with tomato/meat/pesto sauce, gnocchi, rösti, pizza, panini, soup, risotto, rye/ pumpernickel bread, vegetables, tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, grilled chicken, fish or lean meat	Club sandwich, seafood chowder, pasta with tomato/meat/pesto sauce, pizza, grilled chicken, fish or lean meat, potato wedges, tortilla wraps, rice, bagel, chargrilled vegetables
Evening meal	Anything you like that's healthy - including salad, vegetables, lean meat, fish, bread, pasta, rice or potatoes

Keep hydrated

Layers of thermals and fleeces combined with heavy-duty, sweaty exercise can add up to dehydration. Signs of dehydration include: thirst, rapid breathing, dizziness, dry lips and mouth, and darker urine than normal. You may also feel hungry - which can actually mean you're thirsty. People often mistake hunger for thirst.

Beer, glühwein, café fertig, Irish coffee, schnapps and other slope-side favourites are a no-no. Alcohol at altitude affects you more quickly than at sea-level; you're far more likely to miscalculate speed, turns and distances, as well as take more risks and put other peoples' lives in danger. Alcohol can also contribute towards dehydration and reduce your body temperature. Save the alcohol to accompany your evening meal - but take care and stick within the recommended limits of 21 units per week for men, 14 units for women.

There is a huge range of sugary energy drinks on the market. The sugar in an energy drink is a simple carbohydrate and provides a burst of blood sugar, unlike complex carbohydrates that give more sustained fuel over a longer period of time. These sorts of drinks are really for use by athletes who need short-term bursts of energy, such as sprinters.

Furthermore, many of these drinks contain caffeine, often in the form of guarana (a nut-like seed originating in Brazil). Caffeine is diuretic that increases the amount of urine you produce, and will contribute to dehydration.

Overall, water is the best source of fluid. Try to have at least eight glasses a day; take a bottle with you, stop for breaks mid-morning and afternoon, or eat (clean) snow. You can also drink caffeine-free soft drinks and coffee, or fruit juice.

10 top tips

get fit before you go
take out adequate ski insurance
watch the weather report, and adjust your clothing/schedule accordingly
use an SPF of at least 15 - remember tops of ears, under nose and chin and on lips
use professionally checked equipment suitable for your standard and experience
wear layered clothing with a water-and wind-proof outer layer, plus gloves and hat
curb alcohol consumption
eat and drink fluids regularly
stop if you feel tired
don't try to keep up with faster colleagues - know your limits

Read further information on the importance of a healthy diet and exercise.

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