Gamer Food 101
Gamers have such a stressful lifestyle - little sleep, cramps from all-day mousing and typing, and not eating on time. The list can go on and on.
No wonder, gamer health can one day crop up as a major issue. But some of you might say “who cares? I’m a gamer, I only count EXP not calories!” Come to think of it, EXP does matter more TODAY. But your health (and the calories) may “level you down” TOMORROW.
Not wanting to sound like an infomercial (or a nutritionist), this post is basically about the types of food gamers prefer (and why?) and some healthy alternatives.
QUICK AND EASY
If you’re hunting in Elan all day or going through those “last 10%”, gamers will always choose foods and beverages based on the following:
- Quick – no cooking, no mess, no fuss. It has to be fast… you don’t want to be killed while in the kitchen.
- No mess – foodstuff that have crumbs or grease are simply not acceptable. You don’t want a “cornik” stuck in your “pots macro key” or Shawarma oil on your mouse, would you?
- Instant Satisfaction – it has to hit home hard, fast and heavy. Good candidates here would be siopao (Chinese pork bun), noodles, burgers and sandwiches. The faster the burp, the higher it is in value.
- Cheap – in the Philippines, gamers don’t often have money to burn. We prefer affordable and heavy meals (flavor is a secondary choice). Sigh. Less money for food may mean more money for top-up cards and café rentals to some.
1. Noodles – The King of the Hill. Instant noodles (just add hot water) and a pair of chopsticks can satisfy your hunger during loading screens. Pinoy gamers prefer this because noodles fit almost all of the criteria above: fast, cheap and filling. Plus, there are scores of flavor options to choose from; beef, chicken, seafood, spicy, Korean, Japanese, Filipino. They designed this for the MMO gamer.
2. Sandwiches – Going on a boss hunt? Hungry? Just dial one of the many fastfood burger joints and a hot, greasy burger (with equally greasy fries) will be on your lap in 30 minutes tops. If you’re planning on doing an all-nighter in a café, preparing a couple of sandwiches at home with leftover adobo,” Maling” or corned beef is easy. Baon!
3. Power Drinks & Coffee – Another ingenious staple for the online gamer. Power drinks, strong sodas and coffee are things that gamers can’t do without. Internet Cafes make a killing selling these. Don’t forget to stock your cupboard at home. Sleep? What’s that???
4. Chips – They come in all shapes, sizes and varieties. I think there are as many chips are there are ways to scam someone inside the game. Oh well… Potato chips, IMHO, are on the top of the stack. Closely followed by their corn cousins and all the rest.
5. Microwaveable Dishes – pasta dishes (if you can avoid them sloshing on your keyboard) are great meals while gaming. And it’s not just limited to pasta. There are nuke-ready rice toppings available. Take your choice.
6. Pizza – I’m putting Pizza somewhere in the bottom because some gamers like it, some gamers don’t. Not for the fact that it’s Pizza, but simply because of the grease that can get on your hands. As I said above, keeping your keyboard and mouse grease-free can be critical factors in controlling your anxiety levels.
HEALTHY ALTERNATIVES
While we gamers can’t avoid what’s readily available due to lack of time or the basic need to get back to your game, we can, however, make an effort to constantly watch what we eat. With some basic knowledge, gamers can have healthy alternatives to staple “gamer foods” listed above.
The first tip is to eat a balanced meal and to eat ON TIME. Don’t skimp on breakfast. If you can’t avoid the gamer foods, at least make it a habit to stay clear from fats and oil. For example, instead of a meatlover’s pizza, why don’t you try chicken or seafood toppings. I’m sure that the change in texture and flavor will also be good for you. If you can’t do well without caffeine, you can try Vitamin C (ascorbic acid), they give you the same perk. Natural fruit juices will also keep you awake and will give you your Cs. If you go to any convenience store, you can also find ready-to-eat salads. They’re not only affordable but rate high in nutrients. Another good idea is to try to set a weekend or two to “de-tox”. Detoxing, for me, means eating oats, milk and cereal to wash away the oils and other bad stuff I acquired during the week.
I hope this post helps you in your food choices while gaming. Remember, inside the game there’s buffs, heals and resurrections. In the real world, you only have one life… try taking care of it.
Cheers,
GM T
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Except for the mac and cheese, I’m guilty of having butt-loads of instant noodles and chips in my pantry; and I got fastfood delivery numbers on speed dial. lol.
Rice toppings.
When my group goes out to play and we expect to be playing through dinnertime we get rice toppings. For this we usually get KFC or Chowking, but we sometimes take out from other places not all of them fast food either.
Dibs Ice Cream.
nice article GM T. ^^ Healthy food and balance diet is really important for all of us.
Agree. You are what you eat!
Hmmm…. now I know how it feels to be a Squid Ball!
for me it’s always the Wendy’s burgers and a biggie drink. (Iced tea not softdrinks)
Burgers are healthy since they have vegies, right amount of carbs and lots of protein. Just don’t each too much of burgers in a daily basis.
Chocolates! chocolates give extra energy to those who do stay overnight (for addict mode days, especially when x2 exp event is around). Aside from the heavy foods (some people get sleepy after eating) eat chocolates to make it a body stimulant. Russian soldiers used it before to stay energetic, and also it’s fun to eat! just don’t mess up your keyboard!
Mmm…sandwiches. I simply grab a few loaves of Gardenia bread then add whatever sandwich spread I find here.
Chocolates are good. Any other tips?
Nice tip on detoxing, GM T. I know a lot of gamers who really ought to do that once in a while, me included. One problem why people don’t bother is that studded leather armor tastes better than oats. ^^ Meusli is a nice alternative, it has oats, dried fruits, nuts, etc. balanced and healthy, and a LOT better than oats by itself. you can buy them by the pack at your local grocery store. doubles as an easy to prepare and very filling gamer chow. just put some in a bowl, add milk and enjoy!
Hehehe~ All of those were my daily staple… until I grew fat and decided I needed to slim down T_T
I try to detox by ingesting more fruits and veggies
Fruit flavored yoghurt is also good, for those looking for taste 
leftover pan de sal for an overnight game will do for me…and some hot coffee, of course…
walang matigas na pan de sal sa mainit na kape…
spreading some star margarine on it is already a treat…
me? i just use the blender and blend all leftovers i can get my hands on… then use some spices and soy sauce to taste.
power ultra mega food smoothie!!!
ahhh… I’ll pass on that… hehe
back at a computer shop along leon guinto, there is a restaurant not far away and delivers food within a text message or a call from the landline. since the computer shop operates 24×7, the restaurant also does.
that explains why gamers like iyam (asheron) and wil (true-escalla) does not go on the street without their pillow tummies. (haha. hindi naman sila ganun kataba. sinasabi ko lang na hindi sila payat)
the restaurant offers the usual favorites like tapsilog, longsilog, hotsilog all for 35php, and pansit canton for approx 20pesos (last time i checked)
there is another restaurant that offers pizza with hot sauce.
since eating without drinks can choke you, the computer shop offers chilled softdrinks, green tea and some chips.
i did not plug anything right?
Nope. It’s safe….
Have you seen Restless?
yup sir mon.. ilang beses na from events and community updates..
bwahahaha
all this is insanely true and accurate. hahaha.
Well…just glancing at the list above…I’m allready guilty of gorging myself with those on 36-hour game nights on many occasions…
Yum instant noodles…
thats why usually internet shops have nearby foodstores.
dude. baon. vegetable sticks.
wahaha.. eating at night? oh that’s bad.. but i do that when the call of an addict comes.. haha.. i eat anything i see.. from chips to dips.. hahah
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i hate you all