Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Presentation Diet Plan - Or Superstition?
I get a little asparagus happy this time of year. Honestly, Michigan asparagus is at its absolute prime between Mother's Day and Father's Day. So for one month, I cannot seem to get enough of this fresh, local, delicious vegetable. I eat it at least once a day.
After Father's Day, I'm pretty much over it. Until next year, that is!
But between the Michigan asparagus seasons, I eat a much more varied diet. Unless it's the day of a major presentation -- then, I rely on a somewhat ritualized food quirk.
The Presentation Diet Plan. You see, I can't just eat ANYTHING on the day of a major presentation. I need to keep my energy up, so protein and carbs need to be on the menu. And I cannot afford a fit of, em, gastronomic distress during a presentation, so greasy, fatty, spicy, and carbonated items are definitely OFF the menu. And as much as I love a glass of wine with a big carby meal, that combo can leave me prone to sleepiness or drunken rambling -- both highly undesirable to audience members.
My presentation diet? An organic, no-sugar peanut butter sandwich. On whole grain bread. And water. That's it. That's my pre-presentation meal: and has been for years. It gives me energy. It sticks to my ribs. No blood sugar crashing -- and no burping. It also packs easily -- put a few peanut butter sandwiches in a zip lock bag, and they can survive a mean day of travel.
Diet...or Superstition? As much as I'd like to tell you that my presentation diet is a sensible solution to keeping my energy high while avoiding discourteous gastronomical fits and unpleasant metabolism side effects, I now have my suspicions. It seems that performers and presenters are a superstitious lot -- we get into habits that have nothing to do with reason.
Many actors say "break a leg" instead of "good luck" before a performance. Whistling behind the stage or uttering the name of a certain Shakespeare play? This is also supposed to bring bad luck. And let's not forget the good side of luck and performance: athletes and actors are famous for carrying good luck talismans or undergoing quirky little rituals before performing.
So...is my peanut butter sandwich + water pre-presentation diet plan practical and sensible -- or have I veered off into the land of the supernatural?
And what's your presentation diet plan? What foods do you avoid -- or are absolute musts on the day of a performance?
Even if it's not food-related -- what's the oddest ritual or habit you've heard of someone routinely undertaking before a performance?
I get a little asparagus happy this time of year. Honestly, Michigan asparagus is at its absolute prime between Mother's Day and Father's Day. So for one month, I cannot seem to get enough of this fresh, local, delicious vegetable. I eat it at least once a day.
After Father's Day, I'm pretty much over it. Until next year, that is!
But between the Michigan asparagus seasons, I eat a much more varied diet. Unless it's the day of a major presentation -- then, I rely on a somewhat ritualized food quirk.
The Presentation Diet Plan. You see, I can't just eat ANYTHING on the day of a major presentation. I need to keep my energy up, so protein and carbs need to be on the menu. And I cannot afford a fit of, em, gastronomic distress during a presentation, so greasy, fatty, spicy, and carbonated items are definitely OFF the menu. And as much as I love a glass of wine with a big carby meal, that combo can leave me prone to sleepiness or drunken rambling -- both highly undesirable to audience members.
My presentation diet? An organic, no-sugar peanut butter sandwich. On whole grain bread. And water. That's it. That's my pre-presentation meal: and has been for years. It gives me energy. It sticks to my ribs. No blood sugar crashing -- and no burping. It also packs easily -- put a few peanut butter sandwiches in a zip lock bag, and they can survive a mean day of travel.
Diet...or Superstition? As much as I'd like to tell you that my presentation diet is a sensible solution to keeping my energy high while avoiding discourteous gastronomical fits and unpleasant metabolism side effects, I now have my suspicions. It seems that performers and presenters are a superstitious lot -- we get into habits that have nothing to do with reason.
Many actors say "break a leg" instead of "good luck" before a performance. Whistling behind the stage or uttering the name of a certain Shakespeare play? This is also supposed to bring bad luck. And let's not forget the good side of luck and performance: athletes and actors are famous for carrying good luck talismans or undergoing quirky little rituals before performing.
So...is my peanut butter sandwich + water pre-presentation diet plan practical and sensible -- or have I veered off into the land of the supernatural?
And what's your presentation diet plan? What foods do you avoid -- or are absolute musts on the day of a performance?
Even if it's not food-related -- what's the oddest ritual or habit you've heard of someone routinely undertaking before a performance?
Labels: Presentation
¶ 5/20/2009 12:25:00 PM
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I recently wrote about this, too, and I've yet to come up with the perfect pre-presentation meal, although in this blog post, I think I'm close: http://tinyurl.com/qs6ck4.
I'm more about avoiding: caffeine, spicy, acidic, carbonated; anything that might upset my tummy or make me burp, as you mentioned. I'm also obsessed about having water to drink during the presentation.
I'm more about avoiding: caffeine, spicy, acidic, carbonated; anything that might upset my tummy or make me burp, as you mentioned. I'm also obsessed about having water to drink during the presentation.
Oh, my, I **must** have caffeine... and I'm a tea person. I've endured coffee if that's all there was, and coffee is nasty, nasty.
Maniactive made me look good last week... I work in a walk-in computer lab at a college, primarily with students working on reading and writing and math stuff... but students know I'm good at random questions. When a student was flummoxed by trying to do something with powerpoint and a google search pulled up something with "maniactive" on it, I could say "here's your answer, and it'll be good, 'cause maniactive is a good site" and of course it was. Thanks for contributing to the illusion that I "know about EVERYTHING!"
Maniactive made me look good last week... I work in a walk-in computer lab at a college, primarily with students working on reading and writing and math stuff... but students know I'm good at random questions. When a student was flummoxed by trying to do something with powerpoint and a google search pulled up something with "maniactive" on it, I could say "here's your answer, and it'll be good, 'cause maniactive is a good site" and of course it was. Thanks for contributing to the illusion that I "know about EVERYTHING!"
Water, water, water!
For me it depends on two things: time of day for my presentation and how long my presentation is. If my presentation will be after lunch, I have tuna fish for lunch. Protein to keep the energy up.
If it's an 8-hour training, I have fruit for breakfast and tuna fish in a pouch for lunch. I also have energy bars for snacks through out the day.
For me it depends on two things: time of day for my presentation and how long my presentation is. If my presentation will be after lunch, I have tuna fish for lunch. Protein to keep the energy up.
If it's an 8-hour training, I have fruit for breakfast and tuna fish in a pouch for lunch. I also have energy bars for snacks through out the day.
Don't forget to be as careful about where you eat for a day or two leading up to a major presentation: Don’t Kick the Bucket
Good choice with the peanut butter. Apparently, the British Army used to have peanut butter and Marmite on toast at the same time! Peanut butter for the protein, as you said, Marmite for the B vitamins. Sounds like a horrendous combo, but it tastes great.
Btw, with the Actor superstitions... the not saying the name pf a certain Scottish play in a theatre came about after a production from a few hundred years ago where lots of cast and crew members died. Not just because its a gory play.
Yup, a few hundred years ago. Not that the British hang on to out-dated traditions you understand...
The whistling superstition's due to the fact that a lot of stage crew used to be sailors who would communicate on ships by whistling. So when moving large pieces of scenary they would whistle to each other to communicate.
So if you were an actor who whistled, there was a high chance that you'd have a bit of set landing on your head.
Cheers,
Jason
http://prohumorist.com
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Btw, with the Actor superstitions... the not saying the name pf a certain Scottish play in a theatre came about after a production from a few hundred years ago where lots of cast and crew members died. Not just because its a gory play.
Yup, a few hundred years ago. Not that the British hang on to out-dated traditions you understand...
The whistling superstition's due to the fact that a lot of stage crew used to be sailors who would communicate on ships by whistling. So when moving large pieces of scenary they would whistle to each other to communicate.
So if you were an actor who whistled, there was a high chance that you'd have a bit of set landing on your head.
Cheers,
Jason
http://prohumorist.com
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