If you spend a decent amount of time on Twitch and other livestreaming platforms, one thing you may have noticed is that sometimes, content creators do longer streams. Just look at Ludwig, who at one point broke records for the longest stream ever.
Most other streamers probably won’t try to beat any records in that regard. However, there’s no doubt that content creators will continue to do marathon streams for the foreseeable future. After all, people have their reasons for doing longer sessions, be it a 12-hour stream, a 24-hour stream, or an uncapped marathon.
If you’re thinking about doing a long stream sometime soon, you may be wondering how other people manage to get through them.
Well, some streamers simply brute force it — they stay up and game, slamming one coffee or energy drink after another and eating junk food to tide them over. And while this can work, it starts to get really difficult when you keep going through wild energy swings and crashes. Luckily, you don’t have to do it this way!
With a little preparation, you can get yourself ready to go for longer streaming sessions with less of a struggle. The answer lies in the food and beverages you prepare for your big day.
Preparing Your Food for a Marathon Stream
Many streamers simply avoid eating or snacking during their streams, as is their preference. However, it’s pretty hard to avoid eating anything if you’re doing a really long stream! You could always just put a “be right back” screen up and go have your snacks off-screen, but most people try to avoid that as it can really deaden the momentum you’ve built up during your broadcast.
One of the best ways you can make your long stream easier on yourself is by preparing your food beforehand. There are a few reasons for this:
- You won’t have to worry about taking a break to cook or prepare your snacks while you are live.
- You can prepare healthier options that will actually help you during your stream so you won’t end up grabbing the fastest and easiest snack (aka junk food).
- You won’t have to get food delivered!
- You’ll have more control over what you actually do eat,
In this guide, we’ll show you a few snacks you can eat during long streams to keep your energy levels up and consistent. We’ll even give you a bunch of great tips to help you get through your marathon broadcast!
Tips for Snacking During Long Streams
- Instead of filling up, take more frequent snacks. If you must have a meal, keep it light and only eat until you are no longer hungry. It can get tempting to just eat as much as you can so you can avoid eating for a few hours, but you might end up giving yourself the dreaded “food coma.” Nothing really wrong with that, but when your energy starts flagging in the middle of a long stream, it can start feeling like you’re just slogging through.
- Prepare and drink a lot of water. When you’re doing a marathon gaming and streaming session it’s important to stay hydrated, or you can start getting headaches and just feeling iffy in general. If you hate water or want variety, you can go for herbal teas or low-caffeine teas, sparkling water, and so on. The key is to avoid sugar.
- You may feel like sugar is a good idea to help you get through a long stream, and you won’t be completely wrong there. Sugar can help — but only temporarily. Sugar gives you a short-term energy boost, but it also comes with an inevitable crash. So, you’ll want to avoid simple sugars such as the ones found in candy, sweets, desserts, and the like. You may also want to avoid (high-fructose) corn syrup.
- Stick with proteins and complex sugars and low-GI food. The goal is to get you fed and nourished while keeping your energy levels consistent so you can last through your long stream. Proteins and low-GI food are great for helping you avoid wild energy swings.
- Avoid caffeine if possible. Caffeine is a diuretic and can contribute to you getting dehydrated, especially if you forget to drink your water. Plus there’s always the chance of a caffeine crash. If you can’t get by without your daily dose, try to be a bit smarter about how you get it. For example, try going for energy drinks that have little to no sugar, or try something like a cold brew sweetened with a sugar alternative like stevia.
- Keep your food interesting and give yourself some options, especially if you’re a picky eater. Sure, you can buy all sorts of healthy stuff to prep for your marathon day. But if it’s all stuff you aren’t remotely interested in, what are the chances you’ll actually eat any of it?
- Avoid over-processed and junk food in excess.
Best Streaming Snacks for Long Streams
Ready to start making your list of preferred snacks? Here are our best suggestions:
Nuts
Nuts are often touted as a healthy snack. They’re even better for marathon streams as they contain a variety of nutrients your body will most likely crave during your long session.
Nuts are cheap and easy to snack on mid-broadcast, but you have to be careful to avoid eating too much as they tend to be high in calories. Also, some nuts can be prepared with too much salt or sugar, so watch out for that too.
Bananas
Bananas are just healthy all around. They’re packed with nutrition while being really low in calories. They also have plenty of fiber to help you stay full for longer. Eating a banana gives you a good bit of energy without causing a sugar crash.
If you’d rather not eat an entire banana on stream, you can try preparing it in a different way. Try slices dipped in peanut butter, or check out banana chips (pictured below) for some crunch.
Protein Shakes and Bars
Protein shakes and bars are a great way to fill up, as long as you make sure yours doesn’t have too much sugar. As a bonus, you can often find shakes and bars in a variety of flavors.
Granola
Granola tends to be a healthy snack as it’s often made of whole grains that help keep you full for longer. This snack also helps keep your energy levels steady, as long as you avoid the kind with too much sugar.
With granola (and granola bars), you get a snack that’s got plenty of fiber, protein, and other nutrients. Depending on the kind of granola you prepare, you could be getting iron, zinc, magnesium, B vitamins, selenium, and even vitamin E.
One thing to watch out for when you eat granola is that it also tends to be calorie dense (high in calories). Eat a granola bar or a set serving so you don’t eat too much in one sitting.
Fruits
Bananas aren’t the only healthy snack. Other fruits also make excellent options to fill you up without causing an energy crash. If you don’t like drinking too much water, either, fruits can be your salvation. You can get plenty of your water requirements from water-rich fruits such as watermelon, cantaloupe, strawberries, peaches, and oranges.
It’s best to eat fresh fruit if you can manage, as it’s much healthier this way. However, you can also go for freeze-dried options if you really have to. The benefit of freeze-drying fruit is that this preservation method helps the fruit maintain most of its nutrients (but not the water content!). Freeze-dried fruit also often comes in a bag for convenience and has a long shelf life all around. Just be careful of the sugar content!
Sandwiches with Whole Grains
If you’re the type to prefer bigger and more fulfilling snacks, sandwiches are always a good option. Try using whole grain bread and healthier sandwich meat. Add a bunch of vegetables in, as those are always great at keeping you full for longer!
Sandwiches are also easy to prepare and take little time to eat. If you are uncomfortable with eating a full sandwich in front of your camera, you can always hide your camera temporarily or step away from your computer for a few minutes.
Healthy Wraps
Wraps are an excellent way to snack or eat full meals. They’re easy to prepare, convenient to store, and even easier to eat than sandwiches most of the time. A whole grain tortilla is your best bet, but regular tortillas are fine too. Stuff your wraps with a bunch of leafy greens and some healthy, seasoned proteins like chicken, tofu, or other meat alternatives.
Wraps are a great way to get creative — you can combine whatever you’d like and top it off with your favorite sauce, for example. Or, you can follow one of the countless recipes available online.
Other Snacks
The above snacks are just some of our favorite options for long streams. There are plenty of other options available, such as:
- Vegetable Chips and Crisps for if you’re really craving a salty, crunchy snack
- Pretzels
- Graham Crackers
- Oatmeal Cookies
- Chia Seed Pudding
- Overnight Oats
- (Greek) Yogurt
Other Tips to Remember
Now that you’ve got a good idea of what might make a great snack for longer streams, we’ve got a few last tips to help you out.
- Avoid trying food for the first time ever during your long stream. If it’s food you’ve never experienced before, your body may react in unexpected ways. The last thing you want is to have to end your stream early because you’ve got a stomach ache or an allergic reaction. Of course, if you’ve got a really strong stomach, this shouldn’t be too much of a problem, so eat at your own discretion!
- Turn off your camera or mute your mic if you tend to be a messy or loud eater. You don’t want your stream to hear your chewing and slurping ASMR. A lot of viewers on Twitch can have sensitivities when it comes to people eating and may simply leave if they don’t like hearing you chewing or seeing the half-masticated food inside of your mouth. You might also want to avoid food that causes you to slurp, like soup or noodles.
- If you tend to forget to eat or drink, get your chat to help remind you to do so at regular intervals. Alternatively, you can just set a vibrating alarm on your phone or fitness wearable if you have one.
- If you are starting to get a bit tired or sleepy, change things up. Turn on some music (or turn it off), crack a window, play a different game, or change the lighting in your room. You can also do a little bit of exercise to help get your blood flowing.
- When you’re doing marathon gaming and streaming sessions, remember to get up and walk around for a few minutes every hour. Stretching also helps keep you comfortable, especially since you’re sitting for long periods of time!
Wrapping Up
It can be really tempting to load up on all of your favorite junk food and drinks if you’re going to be doing a long stream. And while there’s nothing really wrong with that, you can make things easier on yourself by preparing healthier options that can help keep your energy levels consistent throughout. Good luck with your long stream!
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