Despite some early grumbling and moaning, the players stuck to the diet almost 100 per cent during the whole two weeks of the Australian championships in Darwin in July. Ian planned the diet very carefully so that they got all the right foods at the right time—low G.I. before the game and high G.I. immediately after, along with jelly beans at half time!

He noticed that the benefits became very apparent early in the championship. The players themselves were noticing that they were not running out of energy during the game and were recovering a lot quicker than they had in the past.

About half way through the tournament other people started to wonder just where this Victorian team was getting all its energy from! Ian said:

‘At first they thought it was amusing and perhaps a little strange that we were eating Coco Pops and Rice Bubbles at the team bus in the carpark immediately after each game, but soon their amusement turned to curiosity.

People kept commenting on how fit the team was. But I knew that it wasn’t just their fitness. I had not had as much time as I would have liked to work on their fitness, and in fact I remember being concerned just before we went away that their fitness levels may not have been high enough. I knew that what I as seeing in Darwin was not just their fitness—it was the combination of fitness and a sustained energy supply. A “whole body fitness” was what we had achieved. It clearly demonstrated to me that you cannot do one without the other.

We ended up winning the championship by a relatively easy margin, and our fitness and energy levels were certainly a major contributing factor.

One of the things I liked about using the Glycaemic Index as the basis of the diet was that the players were able to very quickly understand the basic principles and by the end of the first week they knew exactly what to do.

I gave the players a questionnaire to complete at the conclusion of the tounament, and I thought you would be interested to hear some of their comments.

• ‘ I felt that when I played each game I was at my peak. I believe the diet played a major part in this.’

• ‘I found I had more energy coming into and during the game.’

• ‘Energy and glycogen levels were at perfect level.’

• ‘I never felt flat or without energy.’

• ‘Felt really good after every game, never felt run down during the game.’

• ‘Everything made me feel good before, during and after the game.’

• ‘Diet was major reason we did do well in the championships.’

• ‘Feel better after games, recovery is better, better energy in the game.’

• ‘I was never short of energy. My glycogen levels were con stantly maintained and replenished at the necessary points. I always felt fit and healthy.’

• ‘Kept my energy level high in the game and also after the game.’

• ‘After the game, recovery is far more rapid.’

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