Food before Training

WolverhamptonFitness

Hello MFP Community

I have a simple question to ask.

I am well aware that food = Energy. That is easy - How ever... I cannot eat 2 hours before training because otherwise I will be sick. I always push myself as hard as I can go during training and usually (Even tho im over weight) am able to out train most people I train with - how ever, I feel like I could improve my training by being full of energy (food).

I finish work at 5:00pm - Get home 5:45pm, and then start boxing at 7 - I simply cannot eat because it affects me - but I then go to training starving, and will always stop and buy a 25p Freddo choclate for some sugar in my system to stop migrains.

Does anyone else have this issue? how do you solve it?

dammitjanet0161

Could you neck a small snack such as a Nakd bar around 5pm just before leaving work/just as you leave?

WolverhamptonFitness

Yes - but then I am adding extra calories to burn off! I know I need to eat back what I use but I do that with monster meals - I guess sacrificing meal size for a snack before might be ok.

jemhh

If you add a snack, you then eat fewer calories at a meal so it balances out.

lauracups

WolverhamptonFitness wrote: »

Yes - but then I am adding extra calories to burn off! I know I need to eat back what I use but I do that with monster meals - I guess sacrificing meal size for a snack before might be ok.

A 1/4 of raw almonds or a banana would take the edge off without a big calorie load.

Pelamblue

The fact that you get a migraine suggests that you are not hydrated enough. I know people harp on about the affects of staying hydrated, but its massively important. It will help you loose weight and suppress you appetite also. You could maybe have a small bag of beef jerky, or a small handful of nuts before training, this will help hugely.

cajuntank

I would tackle this as an experiment. You could start off with a small amount of carbs, say in the form of oats (about 10g) about 2+ hours before training and see how you feel. If you can tolerate that for a few days, then add in small increments (couple of grams at a time) to see what might be your threshold. If you cannot tolerate that initial amount at all, then maybe look at some form of intra-workout carb source like Gatorade (again keep the amount low till you find your threshold). This would be taken right after boxing or tapered toward the end of that training to prep for lifting. I would tend to focus more on carbs than fat as fat will take time to be bio-available; whereas, carbs are generally available upon consumption.

Google 'reactive hypoglycemia' and see if that matches your sick symptoms. If so, then another variable to include on the oats test would be some added fat to slow GI transit time.

aninacheng61

I would suggest trying to have a later lunch if possible, since you start boxing at 7pm, you don't want to leave a huge amount of time when you are not consuming anything and then exerting loads of energy in training. This way you are spacing out your meals effectively without adding extra calories than normal. If a later lunch can not be done then you'll have to resort to a light snack.
Hope that helps.