Pre and post workout routine

jlovesfitness23

Hi! I need help with pre and post workout meals. I work 10 hours a day for 5-6 times a week as a call center agent. So I've been trying the best I can to have 60 minutes workout everyday, so I do it 30 minutes to an hour after waking up in an empty stomach. Well, I drink a cup of hot black coffee before working out, sometimes I drink a tall glass of warm lemon water. After I workout, I wait 30-45 minutes before eating breakfast. Is it good to eat a lite snack an hour before working out? Like a piece of fruit? And do I really have to wait that long to eat after working out? What if I eat within 30 minutes after? Is it still ok? I really need help. Thank you in advance and I'd really appreciate it!

ninerbuff

Eat WHENEVER you want. Meal timing is irrelevant unless it impedes you from doing what you want to do. There is no hard rule of when to eat or not. You'll hear a lot of "broscience" on the subject, but whatever your goal is, CICO is pretty much all you have to follow.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

AnvilHead

ninerbuff wrote: »

Eat WHENEVER you want. Meal timing is irrelevant unless it impedes you from doing what you want to do. There is no hard rule of when to eat or not. You'll hear a lot of "broscience" on the subject, but whatever your goal is, CICO is pretty much all you have to follow.

^ This. No need to make it any more complicated than it has to be. Eat in whatever pattern works best for you in terms of satiety/adherence and workout performance. If a snack before workouts helps you, go for it; if not, don't sweat it. Some like exercising on an empty stomach, others prefer to eat something beforehand. Post-workout, eat whatever and whenever you want - as long as you're hitting your calorie/macro goals at the end of the day, you'll be fine.

Nutrient/meal timing is irrelevant to about 99.9% of the population. The other 0.1% (advanced/elite athletes in certain sports) know who they are, why it's important to them and what specific nutrients should be targeted at which times. But for the rest of us mere mortals, it's so insignificant that it won't make any difference.

jjpptt2

I agree with the previous posts... there is no magic about when you eat. IF you do better and feel better on an empty stomach, then do that. If you prefer to eat around your workouts, then do that.

kclaar11

I agree with everyone else: the timing is irrelevant as long as you do not get sick or anything. When I was doing Insanity, I woke up at 5:30 a.m., ate a banana, and started my workout by 5:40 a.m. with no issues

jessef593

ninerbuff wrote: »

Eat WHENEVER you want. Meal timing is irrelevant unless it impedes you from doing what you want to do. There is no hard rule of when to eat or not. You'll hear a lot of "broscience" on the subject, but whatever your goal is, CICO is pretty much all you have to follow.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

This exactly. Common bro science leads you to believe it's much more complicated than it is. It really isn't though. I like to eat 2 hours before my workout a long with a cup of coffee or caffeine pill 30 minutes before. Then I'll go home or to work and have either a home made high calorie shake or a quick protein shake and a large carb source. It's really about what works best for you!

Shawshankcan

Unless you enjoy the taste, lemon water isn't doing anything for you.

annteja

What is the best food after a workout? Just proteins or also carbs? And why?

ninerbuff

annteja wrote: »

What is the best food after a workout? Just proteins or also carbs? And why?

Whatever you feel like eating. You'll hear many a gym rat say "protein with simple carbs" because of some research done where it shows "optimal" efficiency. But that REALLY only applies to people who are anal for an almost insignificant difference or an elite athlete. If you're part of the general population.............not so much. Why force yourself to consume something if you're not hungry?

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

jlovesfitness23

Thank you for all the feedback. I really appreciate it and it answered my doubts. I am beginner when it comes to fitness. I have no one who can advise me what to do and what not, so I've been dependent with Google. Reading articles about weight loss and all that stuff which made me more confused than before.

MelanieCN77

I try to time my meals and workouts so I'm not adding anything extra in to my diet. I feel silly if I get out of synch and need a protein bar at 200 cals to get to a workout where I'm probably not burning much in excess of 300. That said, my aim has been weight loss and not muscle gains for a while, so I likely need to rethink that now I am at goal and deciding where to go next.