What to eat during taper week? Your complete nutritional guide.

December 19, 2025 •

3 min read

Intense training causes accumulated muscle damage and fatigue, so it is crucial to supply your body with the nutrients needed to repair and recover during taper week. Knowing what to eat during taper week is essential to maximize these benefits and ensure your body is fully fueled and recovered for race day.

Quick Summary

Optimize race performance by strategically adjusting your diet during the final taper week. Focus on increasing low-fiber carbohydrate intake for glycogen stores, maintaining moderate protein for muscle repair, and prioritizing hydration, while avoiding new or high-fiber foods to prevent stomach issues.

Key Points

Strategic Carb Loading: Increase carbohydrate intake to 8-12 g/kg body weight in the final 2-3 days to maximize muscle glycogen stores for endurance events.
Prioritize Low-Fiber Carbs: Switch from high-fiber whole grains to easily digestible options like white bread, pasta, and rice to prevent GI issues on race day.
Maintain Protein Intake: Continue consuming 1.6-2.2 g/kg of lean protein during the taper to support muscle repair, despite the reduced training volume.
Hydrate Consistently: Drink plenty of water and electrolytes, especially since glycogen storage requires additional fluid.
Avoid New and High-Fat Foods: Stick to familiar, bland foods to minimize the risk of digestive upset. Also, reduce high-fat intake to promote faster digestion.
Don't Drastically Cut Calories: While training decreases, maintain sufficient caloric intake by increasing carbs, not by restricting food, to ensure proper recovery.
Practice Your Race-Day Meal: Test your pre-race breakfast and fueling strategy during training to avoid any surprises or stomach problems on the big day.

Optimizing Your Fuel Strategy During the Taper

The taper period is a critical phase in an athlete's training cycle, allowing the body to recover, repair muscle damage, and build up glycogen stores in preparation for a major event. While the training load decreases, nutrition becomes even more central to success. A common mistake athletes make is matching their decreased training volume with a decreased food intake, which can leave them under-fueled and under-recovered. The key is to increase your proportion of carbohydrates while slightly moderating overall calorie intake to account for the reduced energy expenditure, focusing on nutrient-dense, easy-to-digest foods. This guide will detail the optimal nutrition plan to follow during the final days leading up to your race.

The Role of Carbohydrate Loading

Carbohydrate loading is a well-established strategy for endurance athletes competing in events lasting 90 minutes or longer. The goal is to fully stock your muscles with glycogen, the body's primary fuel source during intense exercise. Studies show that a carb-loading protocol starting 2-3 days before the race, with an intake of 8-12 grams of carbohydrates per kilogram of body weight, is highly effective. It is important to remember that carb loading is not a license to overeat high-fat, high-sugar junk food, but rather a strategic shift towards higher carbohydrate, lower fiber options to top off your energy reserves without causing gastrointestinal distress. For more details on effective carb loading foods, you can refer to resources like {Link: USADA https://www.usada.org/spirit-of-sport/nutrition-taper-week/}.

Maintaining Adequate Protein and Fats

While carbohydrates take the spotlight, protein should not be neglected during the taper. Your body needs protein to repair muscle tissue damaged during the intense training phase. Experts recommend consuming 1.6-2.2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day. Lean protein sources are best, as fatty meats and creamy sauces can slow digestion and cause discomfort. During the two to three days before the race, as you significantly increase carb intake, slightly decrease your fat and protein portions to prevent feeling full and bloated.

Similarly, while you reduce fat intake, remember that healthy fats are important for overall cellular health and function. Just avoid over-consumption, especially fried foods and heavy, fatty sauces, during the immediate pre-race days.

The Critical Importance of Hydration

Proper hydration is essential for optimal performance and is intrinsically linked to carbohydrate storage. When you load carbohydrates, your body stores extra water along with it—about 3-4 grams of water for every gram of glycogen. This means that staying well-hydrated throughout the taper is non-negotiable. Aim for consistent fluid intake, primarily water, and supplement with electrolyte-rich drinks, especially if you are a heavy sweater. Additional details on hydration during taper week can be found on {Link: USADA https://www.usada.org/spirit-of-sport/nutrition-taper-week/}.

Foods to Avoid During the Final Taper Days

To minimize the risk of gastrointestinal issues on race day, there are certain foods you should limit or eliminate in the 48-72 hours leading up to your event. For a comparison of high-fiber versus low-fiber carbohydrates, refer to {Link: USADA https://www.usada.org/spirit-of-sport/nutrition-taper-week/}.

Creating Your Race Week Meal Plan

Your specific diet for taper week should be based on foods and snacks you have successfully used during your training. Never try new foods on race day, and ideally, not even in the final week. For early morning races, consider having your largest carbohydrate-rich meal for lunch two days before the race, and a lighter, early dinner the night before. Further insights on crafting your race week meal plan are available on {Link: USADA https://www.usada.org/spirit-of-sport/nutrition-taper-week/}.

Conclusion: Fuel Your Way to the Finish Line

The final week before a big race is not about pushing your body, but about preparing it. Your nutritional strategy plays a vital role in this process. By strategically increasing your intake of low-fiber carbohydrates, maintaining adequate protein for muscle repair, and focusing on proper hydration, you can ensure your glycogen stores are fully saturated. This approach helps you avoid race-day gastrointestinal issues, allowing you to start the race feeling strong, confident, and ready to perform at your peak potential. For more in-depth information on race week nutrition, explore resources from organizations like the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). You can also find sample taper week meal plans on {Link: USADA https://www.usada.org/spirit-of-sport/nutrition-taper-week/}.

Frequently Asked Questions

Carb loading is the strategy of maximizing glycogen stores before an endurance event. It is most effective to begin this process 2 to 3 days before your race, increasing your carbohydrate intake significantly while lowering your training volume.

No, you should not drastically restrict your eating during the taper week. Your body needs adequate nutrition, particularly carbohydrates and protein, to repair and recover from the high-mileage training phase.

In the final 48-72 hours, focus on low-fiber carbohydrates that are easy to digest, such as white rice, pasta, bagels, and bananas. This helps prevent any gastrointestinal discomfort on race day.

Hydration is extremely important. Not only does it support normal body function, but your body stores water along with glycogen, so drinking plenty of fluids is crucial for full carbohydrate loading.

Avoid high-fat foods, spicy foods, high-fiber vegetables, beans, and alcohol in the final days. Stick to familiar, bland foods to prevent stomach upset and digestive issues.

The evening before the race, have a high-carbohydrate, low-fat, low-fiber meal that you've practiced eating before. Eat it early to give your body plenty of time to digest before sleep.

Yes, protein is vital during the taper for muscle repair and recovery. While you'll emphasize carbohydrates, maintain a moderate intake of lean protein throughout the week.