{"id":7,"date":"2015-08-01T20:25:28","date_gmt":"2015-08-01T20:25:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sportsnutritionadvice.com\/?p=7"},"modified":"2016-10-18T17:40:42","modified_gmt":"2016-10-18T17:40:42","slug":"what-to-eat-before-a-workout","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nutritionly.com\/pre-workout\/what-to-eat-before-a-workout\/","title":{"rendered":"What to Eat Before a Workout"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2347\" src=\"http:\/\/www.nutritionly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/What-to-Eat-Before-a-Workout.jpg\" alt=\"What to Eat Before a Workout\" width=\"850\" height=\"567\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nutritionly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/What-to-Eat-Before-a-Workout.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.nutritionly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/What-to-Eat-Before-a-Workout-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.nutritionly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/What-to-Eat-Before-a-Workout-765x510.jpg 765w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/>Whether you are a professional athlete, just trying to stay fit and slim, or simply exercising for fun and enjoyment, you always want to get the maximum out of your workout. One very important factor that allows you do that is the food you eat. Anything you eat (and don\u2019t eat) in the last hour before your workout matters a lot. Why is that? What to eat to maximize your workout?<\/p>\n<h2>Why You Should Eat Before Working Out<\/h2>\n<p>Having a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nutritionly.com\/nutrition\/what-to-eat-to-build-muscle\/\">pre-workout snack<\/a> is important. First of all, as you can guess, it gives you energy \u2013 energy to put more effort and power into your workout. Some also find it easier to exercise longer.<\/p>\n<p>There is also a more scientific reason for taking a few bites before you head to the gym. Working out on an empty stomach may lead to muscle tissue breakdown. If you haven\u2019t had any food to help your workout along, muscle tissue starts converting into glucose to get the needed energy. This could lead to injury and metabolism problems.<\/p>\n<h2>How To Time It?<\/h2>\n<p>The rule of thumb is to eat a larger meal 2-3 hours before working out and to have a smaller snack in the last 60 minutes before your workout session. The closer to the workout, the lighter should the meal be. Right before gym-time, take something that can be digested fast. Undigested food can\u2019t be used to fuel up your workout, it can also cause cramps and make you uncomfortable.<\/p>\n<h2>How Much To Eat?<\/h2>\n<p>As we already mentioned, the snack should be something light, but nibbling on seller or a carrot won\u2019t do either. It really depends on your upcoming workout, the more intense and longer it is, the more calories you should consume.<\/p>\n<p>If all you do, is take a 3 mile walk, or jog for 20 minutes, it\u2019s not necessary to fuel up, but if your workout means spending 2 hours at the gym lifting weights or going for an intense basketball training, having a 200-300 calorie snack is in order.<\/p>\n<h2>How to Achieve Maximum Performance?<\/h2>\n<p>Here is how to get the maximum out of your workout. Have a larger meal 2-3 hours before going for an intense workout + a small bite 30 minutes before the actual exercise starts.<\/p>\n<p>Sometimes it\u2019s not possible to plan your meals and workouts hours ahead, then just get some low-fiber snack with some fruit an hour before working out. These calories are easy to digest and give energy fast.<\/p>\n<p>Basically, your food should meet these 5 requirements, if it doesn\u2019t don\u2019t touch it in less than an hour before workout:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Low on carbs and fat<\/li>\n<li>Moderately protein<\/li>\n<li>Low on fiber<\/li>\n<li>Contains fluids<\/li>\n<li>Greasy and fried food is a BIG NO-NO<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>But I Still Don\u2019t Know What to Eat!<\/h2>\n<p>Yes, I realize we haven\u2019t really mentioned what exactly to eat. Let\u2019s make it up right now. Here are some simple guidelines and food ideas which should help you fuel your workout to get the most benefits out of your effort.<\/p>\n<h4>2-3 Hours Before Workout<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>A whole grain sandwich with lean meat, vegetables, avocado<\/li>\n<li>Potatoes, fish, salad + skim milk or an organic vegetable-fruit juice<\/li>\n<li>Brown rice with red meat<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>30 Min-1 Hour Before Workout<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>Low-fiber cereal with plant-based milk<\/li>\n<li>Oatmeal and banana<\/li>\n<li>Wholegrain bread with honey<\/li>\n<li>Hard-boiled eggs with celery and tomato<\/li>\n<li>Greek yogurt with fruit and some oatmeal<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nutritionly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/oatmeal.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-12 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.nutritionly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/oatmeal.jpg\" alt=\"oatmeal\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nutritionly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/oatmeal.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.nutritionly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/oatmeal-300x169.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h2>What About Drinks?<\/h2>\n<p>Drinking is even more important than food. But gulping down cans of energy drinks is definitely not a good idea. It can cause serious health problems and you could even end up in hospital. Sports drinks on the other hand, work well. They give you the right vitamins and minerals to have strength and energy even for the most strenuous workout routines.<\/p>\n<p>Be sure to drink plenty of fluids pre-workout, during and afterwards as well. But what about food?<\/p>\n<h2>Food During and After Workout<\/h2>\n<p>This is a whole new topic and we will probably write an article about this later on, let\u2019s still mention a few basics about if and what to eat during working out and immediately after.<\/p>\n<p>Well, unless you are running a marathon or cycling for hours at a time, you don\u2019t really need to eat anything during your workout. Just stay hydrated and you are good.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s good to have some protein after exercising to help your muscles recover from the strain. A whey <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nutritionly.com\/nutrition\/gain-muscle\/10-amazing-protein-shake-recipes-for-muscle-building\/\">protein shake<\/a>, some hard-boiled eggs or even a piece of chocolate with a glass of milk will do. But don\u2019t overdo it, you don\u2019t want to eat back all the calories you have just burned.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Whether you are a professional athlete, just trying to stay fit and slim, or simply exercising for fun and enjoyment, you always want to get the maximum out of your workout. One very important factor that allows you do that is the food you eat. Anything you eat (and don\u2019t eat) in the last hour &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2347,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17,13],"tags":[3,2,98,4],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nutritionly.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nutritionly.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nutritionly.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nutritionly.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nutritionly.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.nutritionly.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nutritionly.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2347"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nutritionly.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nutritionly.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nutritionly.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}