Heather McColl, B.Sc.(Diet.), RDN Registered Dietitian / Nutritionist from www.saveonfoods.com  has supplied the following Information!

What you eat on a daily basis can have a great impact on how you do in any sports activity, including archery. After all, food is fuel. Carbohydrates are the main source of fuel your muscles use. The night before, the morning of and just before your competition, you want to fill up on carbohydrates to fill your glycogen stores (muscle cell storage for fuel). Carbohydrates include whole grains such as whole-wheat pasta, dried beans and peas, fruits, vegetables and some dairy or soy products. Protein is essential for building muscles and includes egg whites, poultry, fish, seafood, beef, lentils, legumes, etc. Your body requires adequate amounts of carbohydrates, protein and healthy fats to athletically perform at its best. To ensure you are getting enough of both, make the largest part of your meal vegetables; include a lean source of protein (size of the palm of your hand) and a whole grain. See link below for examples. Although coke provides a large amount of sugar (i.e. carbohydrates), it is low in nutrients and provides short acting energy. It also supplies caffeine which may impair your hydration. Soda pops such as coke are not smart sports foods. If you are looking for a smart sports drink instead of water, I would recommend diluted juice, Gatorade or PowerAde.

Keep in mind these extra tips for archery:

• What you eat each day, especially a few days before your race day is really important. Cutting back on training or lowering intensity of training a few days prior to competition, will help to ensure muscle glycogen stores are not exhausted by hard exercise. Be sure that you eat adequate calories a few days prior to a competition day, even when you are not training. This will allow your muscle glycogen stores to fill up. See link for meal and snack choices the evening before and morning of the competition day.
• If you are involved in several competition in one day, it is crucial to eat and drink water and carbohydrate rich foods between competitions to restore muscle glycogen.
• Because everything you eat before an event is considered a pre-event meal, it is important to consider the amount of time you have between competitions when choosing food items. If there is less than 1 hour between competitions, you can drink water, sports drinks, and dilutes fruit juices. When there are several hours, between events, you can eat easily digestible carbohydrate rich foods such as fruit, grain products (fig bars, bagels, graham crackers, etc.), low fat yoghurt, carbohydrate-rich sports bars, and liquid meals. When the events are separated by three hours or more high carbohydrate meals may be eaten.

1. Daily Nutrition

This is by far the most important consideration in supporting your training program. After all, food is fuel. Here's what to do:

• Aim to eat well at least 80% of the time (80-20 Rule) and emphasize a variety of different foods.
• Eat 3 meals a day with the largest portion being vegetables or fruit but also ensure you add some lean protein. A minimum of 3 of the 4 food groups is ideal. This ensures you get adequate protein and enough carbohydrate to fuel your muscles and brain.
• Keep fat intake low: a) don't eat a lot of foods that grease actually drips out of, b) Limit foods that leave grease on your fingers and c)Limit foods that you see grease glistening in. Still emphasize good fats like olive oil, flax seed, or fish oil and nuts.
• Eat 2 or 3 healthy snacks each day. Don't allow more than 4 hours to pass in the day without eating.
• Stay well hydrated: Drink water with all meals and snacks, anything sweet or salty and in a 1:1 ratio with caffeine, alcohol or pop. You'll know you are well hydrated when you go pee every 1-2 hours during the day and your urine is clear or pale in colour.
• Consider a basic vitamin supplement. But don't rely on it as your only insurance!
• Go easy on the caffeine, alcohol, sugar and salty foods.

2. Before an all Day Shoot

• Show up adequately hydrated. Aim for at least 1 cup of water before shooting. And drink water the night before.
• Eat a smart dinner the night before - lots of vegetables, grains and some lean protein - for example:
  - Vegetable-tofu stir fry over brown rice
  - Vegetable-laden sauce with 3-4 oz chicken or lean meat over pasta
  - Bean and vegetable soup with whole grain bread
  - Fish, vegetables and brown rice
• Have a high carbohydrate evening snack to top up muscle glycogen stores, especially if you can't eat breakfast. Some examples include: fruit, a bagel with jam, popcorn or cinnamon toast.
• The morning of: Aim for a breakfast with mostly carbohydrate but also a bit of protein for staying power. Keep this meal low in fat and moderate in fibre. The more time you have between eating and exercise, the larger quantity you can eat.
  - Some good meal examples if you have 1 hour or less: a shake made with soft tofu, juice and banana, a fruit and yoghurt shake, juice and a banana, an energy bar or cereal with blueberries and milk. If you have 2 hours or more: ½ a bagel with peanut butter and banana, an egg with 2 pieces brown toast and a piece of fruit, a large bowl of oatmeal with nuts and dried fruit or 2 pancakes with fruit and other fixings. Be sure to drink water.

3. During the Shoot

• Staying hydrated is the most important factor. Ideally drink about
  1/3 - 1/2 of a cup of water every 15-20 minutes. Don't rely on your thirst mechanism to tell you when to drink. If water isn't enough, use a sports drink or eat part of an energy bar along with the water after the 60-minute mark to keep energy up.

4. Recovery eating after a Shoot

• Drink at least another 2-4 cups of water
• Eat or drink carbohydrate foods within the first 30 minutes of finishing - e.g. fruit, vegetables, yoghurt, a bagel, cereal and milk or a typical lunch meal.
• Continue to eat every 2-4 hours
• If you drink caffeine, alcohol or pop, drink extra water.