Feb29

Eat, Surf, Then Really Eat.

Posted By: Chris Cote

Categories: California Greek Culture, Chris Cote, Daphne's California Greek, EAT WELL, Exercise, Fitness, fitness, fitness, healthy living, Kelly Slater 11th World Title, Live Well, nutrition and diet, Surf, Transworld Surf

There’s a certain balance one must reach when it comes to pre-surf eating. Remember what your mom used to say? “Wait 30 minutes to swim after eating”—she warned of cramps and other demons that you’d be stricken with if you broke the 30-minute post-meal barrier and jumped in a pool. Sometimes it pays to listen to your mom, especially in this instance. Surfing after a big meal summed up in one word is—sucky. There’s nothing worse than trying to paddle through early a.m. waves while laying on top of a big balled-up breakfast burrito, if you’ve never done it, put a softball on the ground and lay on top of it; doesn't feel good, does it. The other side of the surf-food coin is surfing on a totally empty stomach. Surfing takes a lot of energy, and if you are starving, you’ll be feeling weak and woozy, making your surf experience exactly that—weak and woozy. The best pre-surf food situation would be a handful of nuts and a banana—I think this is what Kelly Slater eats before heats. Rob Machado recommends an acai bowl with some nuts on top—not a huge bowl, just a bowl big enough to give you energy enough for a two-hour session. Most Americans over-eat and surfers are no different. My best advice would be to eat a small healthy snack that provides the protein to carry you through, on, and around the waves you’re trying to surf—seven donuts and three cups of coffee may sound like an ideal pre-surf meal, but trust me, you will be surfing like an overweight sloth. Kelly Slater often says that his diet is one of the main reasons why he’s still out there whipping on the youngsters with such ease. Eat well—surf better.

Now the after surf meal, that’s whole different ballgame ... Treat yourself right, you just surfed up a healthy appetite. I wonder what flavor coffee best compliments a chicken sandwich with donuts for bread?

—Chris Cote

Oct13

The Long Flight Home

Posted By: Chris Cote

Categories: Chris Cote, Competition, EAT WELL, food in new york, new york restaurants, Quiksilver Pro, Surf, Transworld Surf, travel in new york city

New York City really has a way of overwhelming any form of will power you may have. On every block, there’s a restaurant better than the next and a bar more hip and cool than the last. For some reason, when you’re walking around Manhattan, you’re always hungry and always thirsty—hence the title of this blog—“The Long Flight Home.” I went to New York in September for the Quiksilver Pro and when I wasn’t on the sand in the contest area, I was either in a restaurant or a bar, indulging in all forms of food and drink. For the most part, when you travel to a “foodie” city like NYC, your body acclimates to the richness and diverse cuisine you ingest. But, after a week of gout-inducing power eating and drinking, your body has its own way of telling you enough is enough. I’m all for being satisfied, but the feeling of being “full” is awful—and after a week in NYC, I was “full.” On my flight home, I made amends with my internal digestive system. I promised a full week of salads, lighter meals, less alcohol, and more attention to the overall freshness of what I put into my mouth. After a week of “recovery” I felt much better and vowed to never be a glutton again... that is, until next month when I travel to a city that could very well rival Manhattan as the food capital of America. San Francisco here I come—I better start doing stomach stretches now.