Taming the Nervous Stomach

A bit of nervous energy about a long ride like the MS Ride is certainly natural, particularly if this distance is new to you. Most athletes can relate to those pre-event jitters. The challenge is to make sure that this eager anticipation does not get in the way of good nutrition.

First and foremost, do not let those nerves prevent you from fueling up. Often, that “nervous stomach” seems to be saying “Hey, don’t put anything in me!”, but don’t listen to that advice. Your body needs fuel for the long ride ahead, and having a completely empty stomach will actually make you feel even worse. How do you fuel up when your body doesn’t seem to want it?

Timing can help.

The goal for fueling your ride is to maintain adequate glucose in your system. Small, frequent meals and snacks work well because this way you are not overwhelming your digestive system (and, therefore, not aggravating a nervous stomach). Try to eat your morning meal at least 2 hours before the event begins. With early-morning start times for many events, it's a challenge to get up early enough to have time to eat well in advance. Another option to eating a breakfast 2 hours ahead of the start time is to eat a substantial snack before bed the night before (a “bedtime breakfast” of sorts) and then eat a light snack in the morning. Be sure to stop at all of the rest stops, and even if you aren’t feeling much of an appetite, do try to eat at least a piece of fruit.

The type of fuel matters.

Glucose is what fuels your muscles and your brain. It’s the carbohydrate in food that yields this glucose, so be sure that you include some form of carbohydrate with each meal and snack. To settle a nervous stomach, focus on the easily digested carbohydrates: fruit juice, canned fruit, toast, bagels, oatmeal, cereal, pasta, rice. As a dietitian, I am almost always promoting high-fiber carbohydrates. In a person struggles with a very nervous stomach, though, it may be a good idea to choose lower-fiber carbohydrates. This is because high-fiber foods may take longer to get broken down in your stomach, and if they spend more time in your stomach they may exacerbate that nervous-stomach feeling. For the particularly nervous stomach, you may want to avoid fruit with a skin (e.g. choose applesauce over a whole apple) to keep the fiber lower.

Fat in food also takes longer to digest, so avoid high-fat meals. That doesn’t mean you should avoid fat altogether, but if you find yourself with a nervous stomach, it may be better to skip the sausage, bacon, and cheese omelet on the day of the event. :o)

Some other tips:

• Ginger (in the form of ginger ale, ginger tea, ginger candies, etc) seems to help calm nausea and also often helps settle a nervous stomach.
• Caffeine can bother a nervous stomach in some people, but others find a cup of coffee really improves performance.
• Bland is usually better for pre-event butterflies. Many people complain that spicy foods don’t agree with them on race days. Some people also complain that acidic fruits/juices don’t agree with them.
• In the case of a nervous stomach, the plan of small, frequent meals & snacks also applies to fluid. Try to sip fluids throughout the day, rather than chugging full water bottles all at once. When you have a lot of fluid in your stomach at one time, things tend to “slosh” around, increasing the potential for queasiness.
• I love trying new foods, but not on the day of a long bike ride. Stick with what you know and what you know works for you on those ride days.
• Breathe. While this is not really a nutrition tip, focusing on your breathing really does wonders for a nervous stomach.

I will end all of this with the caveat that everyone is different. My comments in this post are just some general ideas that ring true for a lot of people. But remember that what agrees with my digestive system may seem to disagree with yours. Only you know what works to make you feel your best, so again, use these weeks leading up to the ride to assess what works for you.

I also want to hear what works for you in the case of a nervous stomach. Please share your ideas by posting a comment for the team.

Ride on!

Shelley