Your muscles require carbs for optimal function. You should plan your meals and fully fuel your body to be ready for performance. Eating carb-rich foods (cereal, bread, pasta, rice, fruits, vegetables) at every meal, prepares your muscles with plenty of energy. Include protein with your meal to repair muscles, but limit fatty, greasy foods.

Here are 9 carb-loading tips:

1. Carbohydrates are not fattening! Well-fueled athletes will gain water-weight. With each ounce of carbs stored in muscles as glycogen, your body stores approximately 3 ounces water. It helps keep you hydrated!

2. Invest in optimum performance. Reduce training to rest your muscles. Your body requires time to refuel and recover.

3. More is not better! Last-minute, intense training reduces performance. You fatigue your muscles at a time when rest is more important.

4. Eat reasonably. Carb-loading does not mean stuffing yourself with pasta! Instead, it means eating carbs as the foundation of each meal.

5. Drink extra fluids. Drink fluids until your urine is a light color. Don't drink so much that you interrupt your sleep with trips to the bathroom.

6. Eat a carb-based, pre-event breakfast for focus and performance. Choose easy-to-digest foods 1 to 4 hours prior to performance. Consider a meal with 400 to 800 calories of oatmeal, cereal, bagel or French toast. Carbs fuel your brain—as well as your muscles—and help you think clearly.

7. Carefully choose your carbs. When selecting meals and snacks, fill up on high carbohydrate foods, not high fat foods. The two often come together, such as butter on potato and cream in ice cream.

8. During long events or at half-time, consume simple carbs. A sports drink offers carbs to boost your energy, plus fluids to replace sweat loss. Alternatives to sports drinks include drinking water and eating a banana, energy bar, gummy candy, pretzels or other easily digested foods.

9. After the event, eat carbohydrates (to refuel muscles) with protein (to repair muscles). Replace sodium losses with salty foods (soup, pretzels, spaghetti sauce, salted meals). Drink fluids until your urine is a clear color. You might be hungrier than usual for the next two days. Eat well!