Why you should eat before and after exercising.

You should plan to eat before you exercise! Knowing what and when is key.

I thought it would be useful to give you some information on pre and post workout nutrition. If you are one of the (I suspect many) people who go to the gym or out for a run without eating then read on!

Whether you’re an athlete, an enthusiastic gym user or new to exercise, good nutrition is vital for performance and will allow you to get the best from your programme. Getting your nutrition plan right will help you optimise each training session and ultimately help you to reach your fitness and body goals. Knowing what to eat, and when to eat, before and after a workout can be a bit confusing, and is often a problem many people struggle with.

While workout nutrition will completely depend on the type of workout you are doing and the body composition goals you have in place, the basic principles remain the same.

Pre-Workout:

One of my favourites, Greek Yoghurt, Banana, Nuts and a drizzle of Honey

Ideally, you should fuel your body around 1-2 hours before your workout. A more substantial meal should be consumed 2-3 hours pre-workout, while a smaller snack can be consumed closer to the session. Food should contain both protein and carbs. Carbs are the fuel, while protein is what rebuilds and repairs muscle. If your goal is weight loss, your pre-workout fuel will contain less carbs and more protein and be smaller in portion. If your goal is to gain mass, a bigger portion of carbs as well as protein should be consumed.

Examples of some of my pre-workout snacks:

• Piece of wholemeal toast and boiled/scrambled/poached egg

• Salmon and Avocado Omelette

• Salmon/Tuna and salad wrap

• Greek yoghurt and Banana

• Handful of nuts and raisins

The most important thing to remember when choosing your pre-workout food is to choose something that is easy to digest and that won’t upset your stomach and something you really enjoy eating!. This, as well as working out what time frame works best for your body will take some experimenting.

Post-Workout:

Steak, Sweet potato and salad YUM!

Our bodies are like a car engine—we need to re-fuel it when our food/energy stores have been depleted. Post-workout nutrition should therefore focus on refilling energy storages and provide enough protein to prevent muscle protein breakdown and stimulate muscle synthesis. (stop you losing muscle and maintain/grow). As before if your goal is for fat loss and maintaining.growing lean muscle, eat more protein than Carbs post exercise.

Independent of your goals, a post-workout meal should always be consumed. As soon as possible, try to eat high quality protein and carbs (ideally 30-60 minutes after a workout).

Examples of some of my post-workout foods:

• Pan seared Chicken Breast with Roasted/Steamed Veggies and Salad

• Sirloin Steak, Jacket Potato and Salad

• Baked Salmon, Salad and Sweet Potato

• Cottage cheese/ Greek Yoghurt and fruit/berries/nuts

Essentially, a balanced main meal that contains protein, healthy fats and a portion of carbs will replenish your glycogen stores and aid muscle growth and repair. (all within my Macros....remember them?)

It’s also important to note that protein powders, although heavily promoted are no better for us than whole food protein after training. If you are someone who is struggling to eat enough Protein to meet your macros and 500g of Chicken is too much for you to manage for your post exercise meal on an evening then maybe consider supplementation to get the protein your body needs and eat a smaller portion after may work better for you. However there are so many available and they can be quite expensive, remember you should be able to get all the protein you require through a well-balanced diet (and save your £££ from expensive protein powders!).

In Summary:

I always recommend a snack prior to exercising, even just a Banana! You will be better prepared to get the best results from your time exercising....

Pre-workout:

• Meals: 2-3 hours prior.

• Snacks: 30-90 minutes prior.

• Mixture of protein and carbs.

Post-workout:

• Refuel as soon as possible, ideally within 30-60 minutes, no more than 2 hours.

• Focus on protein and carbs.

• Don’t underestimate the power of nutrition and the impact it has on your fitness goals.

• Everyone is different and therefore have different needs when it comes to nutrition.

• Find out what works best for you, your body and your goals.

• HYDRATE! Pre/during/post exercise – don’t forget to hydrate throughout, plain water is all you need!

If you would like to speak to me about this article or are considering Personal Training and want to know more... my details are:

Contact me by e-mail: dannidobsonpt@outlook.com

Call/Text 07811 888394

Facebook @Dannidobsonpt

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Danni X