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Pre-workout nutrition isn’t black and white. There’s no wrong or right way to how you should eat before a workout, but there are guidelines you could follow for maximum results.
Eating a diet rich in carbs, fat, and protein before a workout can bolster your performance, aid with building muscle, and help with weight loss. Keep reading as we dig deeper on working out after eating, the right foods to eat, and meal ideas you could try.
The answer lies in personal preference and sometimes fitness goals. Of course, other factors such as health issues, nutritional approach, or timing are crucial, but both approaches have their pros and cons, and there isn’t one right way to do it.
First off, your body will respond differently in the two scenarios giving different outcomes that may not align with your goals. Scientifically, eating before a workout is called fed exercise, while eating after is fasted exercise. Let’s have a more in-depth look at both.
From the name, it simply means you partake in training while you haven’t consumed anything for a few hours, probably first thing in the morning. The approach has its benefits such as:
Nonetheless, there are disadvantages such as muscle mass loss and excess fatigue.
Your body primarily depends on glucose from carbohydrates as its main fuel source. When it’s inadequate, the body reverts to using body fat instead to fill its needs.
Studies show that your body can lose up to 20% of body fat when you exercise before eating (4). However, this may not always be the case.
Theoretically, the body will use up fat storage to power through the exercise leading to fat loss over time. However, the body responds differently for everyone seeing that some will lose weight while others experience no effects.
Nonetheless, fasted exercise does have positive effects on general body composition and blood sugar levels that remain more stable when compared to fed exercise.
Research into the difference in performance between fed and fasted exercise shows that the body can sustain itself either way, and there are no effects on performance. Studies showed that eating before and after didn’t affect how you exercised; however, the type of exercise may differ (1).
HIIT and resistance training may be more strenuous for the body and may require you to feed before the workout. Therefore, it means the body has no problem sustaining itself on short-duration exercises but could be a problem for long-duration training.
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Fed exercise is the opposite of fasted; you get to eat before your workout, therefore, building on the glycogen storage you’ll need to sustain you through the training. The main reason you should eat before a workout is for strength, that’s what this strategy entails.
It will improve your performance, especially for long-duration workouts, and could also lead to other benefits such as muscle growth and strength sustainability (2).
Eating before your workout will have you taking carbs that turn to glucose and glycogen that will support your training; this means your body won’t have to use fat or protein storage from muscle. Fed exercise has proven to be very advantageous, especially for bodybuilders and athletes, because they get to intake foods at the right time, which is before their workout, leading to better outcomes.
One disadvantage of pre-workout nutrition is sugar levels. Consuming carbs means glucose also gets into your bloodstream, explaining why blood sugar is higher before and during exercise when you eat before working out (2).
These glucose and insulin levels attained with pre-workout meals could affect your body composition and may be a factor to determine when looking at your fitness goals.
With fasted exercise, you’re eating after a workout and mainly use your storage to fuel your training, while with fed exercise, your body gets the energy it needs to push through from some of the food you just ate. Both approaches are okay with pre-workout nutrition; it only depends on your fitness goals and preferences.
For example, bodybuilders should eat before a workout because they indulge in intense exercise, sometimes even twice a day. Their body may not have enough glycogen storage to support them to do a fasted exercise, and they could have ineffective training, not to mention the negative effects such training would have on their muscle mass.
For those looking to lose weight, the idea of should you eat before a workout depends on what your body goals are. For weight loss, a fasted exercise may be encouraged because of its benefits, but to maintain body composition, you don’t need to stain the body to use fats. Hence you may need to feed before exercise.
Hence, the answer still lies within.
There’s no set time as to how long before a workout you should eat, but the rule of thumb is two to three hours before your training. That should be enough time for food to be metabolized,, plus it will help avoid stomach discomfort.
Even with the 2-3 hour gap between eating and working out, you could eat earlier, say one hour or less before your workout. The only thing that would change is the food you eat and the portion size. More on that in the last section on pre-workout meal ideas.
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For the right strength and performance, you need to eat the right foods with the right nutrients. There are three macronutrients you should focus on, plus a few supplements you could include in your diet.
The intake of carbs can’t be emphasized enough by experts as we all know carbs provide the main fuel source for the body. Carbs support short, long, high, and low-intensity exercises through their glycogen stores in the muscles and liver hence why carbs should always be present in your pre-workout meal.
Because we’re looking into performance associated with carbs, we also have to look into the type of carbs. There are two types of carbohydrates:
These two types of carbohydrates work differently in that simple carbs from refined sugars are easily and quickly digested in the body, offering energy within a short time. However, complex carbs are absorbed slowly but can offer energy over a long period. Complex carbs are healthier and high in fiber, which is great for your health and maintains body composition.
If you are eating 2 or 3 hours before your training, complex carbs should be prioritized because they offer consistent energy over an extended time compared to simple carbs that could flatline your energy levels any time. These carbs are rich in nutrients and have low glycemic indexes, which means you don’t have to worry about your insulin levels during training. Complex carbohydrates should be about ⅓ to half of the portion on your plate.
Lastly, examples of complex carbohydrates include:
The next thing you should eat before a workout is protein. There’s a lot of research to support that proteins improve performance and can help with muscle hypertrophy and muscle synthesis that begins after your workout is complete. Other benefits include:
Protein and carbs work alongside to give you enough energy for training, including more intense exercises such as HIIT, resistance, or endurance training. Besides, proteins work well with amino acids, which have significant benefits.
Protein intake should take a few hours before training if it’s lean protein such as chicken, fish, meat, or soy. If your time is less, you can settle on low protein foods or protein powders absorbed in the body faster.
Consuming 20 – 30 grams of protein before a workout can result in an increased muscle protein synthesis rate that lasts for several hours.
Examples of high-protein foods to include in your diet include:
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The last essential macronutrient is fat. There are different types of fats from trans, polyunsaturated, monounsaturated, and saturated fats. The ones you should mostly stay clear from are artificial trans and saturated fats. Otherwise, the rest can be healthy fats.
Fats are an alternative fuel source in the body, as you read above under fasted exercise. That doesn’t mean they aren’t as important when you eat carbs. They, too, have a role to play in supporting your body through longer and moderate-to-low-intensity exercises.
They work well over longer periods as they burn much slower than energy from glycogen stores, hence offering longer energy supplies. However, many still claim fats shouldn’t be taken in high portions and should be as healthy as possible.
Healthful fats you can include in your diet include avocado, olive oil, seeds, and nuts. They’re unsaturated and have great benefits for the body.
Supplements aren’t essential as the three macronutrients above, but they can help either way. Examples of supplements include:
The last thing to consider is water. Your body needs water to function and work through the training. Sodium and electrolytes are essential. Therefore, you can drink other beverages like sports drinks, coconut water, among others.
Read More: A 14-Day Lemon Water Challenge To Lose Weight
From the detailed information above, the meal plan’s idea is to combine all the macronutrients, carbs, proteins, and fats and come up with a sustainable meal that’ll support you through training.
Now, before we look into the ideas, there’s something to make clear. You can’t eat the same meal you would take three hours before exercise, only 30 minutes to a workout session. For example, you can’t take a plateful of brown rice, lean meat, and green leafy vegetables less than an hour before training because the food wouldn’t have digested.
No digestion means no energy produced and no support throughout the workout. That’s why the ideas below have also been divided into time differences, including a few pre-workout breakfast snacks you could take just before exercise.
Below are five ideas that will guide you on how to pair the food groups we discussed above.
The meal has low-fat protein from the chicken thighs, carbs from the rice, and essential fats from the vegetables. You could swap thighs for breasts and opt for darker meat. As classic as the meal is, it has plenty of fibers and amino acids great for pre-workout.
A good choice if you have less time for your workout. Bananas are high in carbs and potassium. Whole grain toast is also a great complex carb choice that’ll keep you stronger for longer. The fruit’s electrolytes will help you prevent muscle cramps, and peanut or almond butter has healthy fat altogether.
Oatmeal is full of fiber, vitamin B, and a great choice for complex carbohydrates. They offer more sustained energy and performance eaten alongside the blueberries, which are fruits with high antioxidant properties and protein powder for balance.
If you have more time in your hands, you can get a heavier meal plan like this one with lean chicken, potatoes with high amylase, and green vegetables from the beans.
The last idea would be to make a smoothie packed with fruits for simple carbs and protein powder. You can switch out the fruits according to your tastes or other nutritional benefits. For example, Greek yogurt has many benefits, and it’s high in carbs; therefore, you could add it.
Peanut butter and jelly sandwich is a classic breakfast idea that’s packed with essential carbs, protein, and fats. Adding low-fat milk adds more protein to the dish, plus you can add fruits for refined, easy-to-digest starch.
Pre-workout nutrition isn’t as simple as taking in food before a workout. You have to know why you’re choosing specific food and whether it will benefit you and your goals, not to mention, should you eat before a workout and what will benefit you more.
Both approaches have their advantages and disadvantages because eating before assures you of energy while fasted exercise helps with muscle building. All you need is to determine your personal preference and go along with that.
This article is intended for general informational purposes only and does not address individual circumstances. It is not a substitute for professional advice or help and should not be relied on to make decisions of any kind. Any action you take upon the information presented in this article is strictly at your own risk and responsibility.