Should You Eat Before or After Exercise?

horizonflight

I read an article today that talked about nutrient intake before during and after exercise. The following was said:

Should You Eat Before or After Exercise?

Pre-Workout Snacks
Don’t enter a workout hungry. If you start exercising in an energy deficit, your body is likely to preserve fat and perform poorly. If you tend to bonk out midway through a hard session, low energy may be the culprit. Quick absorbing carbs with a high glycemic index will give you fast fuel. So before a tough workout, have a sports drink, juice, fruit, bread or pasta to take in some calories. Depending on the intensity and type of activity you are doing, you may be less likely to have an upset stomach if you avoid high-fiber foods at this time. Or if you have them, wait an hour or two to digest before you start your workout. If you need to grab a snack minutes before a workout, chew thoroughly and go for a quick-digesting, high-carb food. But, if you are merely going on a moderate-paced walk for 45 minutes, you probably don’t need extra food unless you’re heading out first thing in the morning. But if you are going to do two spin classes, an 8-mile run or something equally vigorous, fuel up beforehand.

During a Workout
Again, what and how much you need depends upon what you are doing. If the workout is intense and lasts from 60 to 90 minutes or longer, you probably need extra fuel. A sports drink or energy gel is the easiest absorbing solution, although bread, juice, fruit or an energy bar work too.

The Post-Exercise Energy Window
If you went on an easy walk for an hour, you don’t need to eat extra. But if you had a high-intensity workout lasting 60 to 90 minutes or longer, then it’s crucial to eat afterwards. Within the first 45 minutes post-exercise, there is a “metabolic window.” This means that enzymes that replenish muscle carbs are at their highest levels. Plus, insulin, which rebuilds protein stores, is at peak levels. So eating a carb-and-protein mix (peanut butter sandwich, yogurt with fruit, bagel with cream cheese, or a handful of nuts) at this point will maintain muscle, replenish glycogen stores and reduce the amount of fat your body stores. Even a sport drink or a piece fruit are a good idea if you don’t have something more complex available. (These calories are needed to recover, so they are less likely to be stored as excess fat.)

The problem is, it may be an hour or more before you get a chance to eat, especially if you’re at the gym and need to grab a shower before a long journey home. Missing the metabolic window is bad news: If you delay refueling, you slow carb replenishment by 50 percent and protein repair by 80 percent, according to John Ivy, an exercise physiologist at the University of Texas and the author of Nutrient Timing. And that means that you may be sluggish and fatigued during tomorrow’s workout.

Sometimes an immediate side effect of a tough workout is that you are not hungry. But, you still need some calories. So drink juice or a sports drink at the very least. If you experiment with different food options, you should be able to find something that sits well with your stomach and improves your performance.

This information is available at http://health.msn.com/fitness/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100146039&page=2

Food for thought?

ChantelleSlight

Wow, thanks for that, I found it very interesting to read.
Regards
Chantelle

samiko

This is a good post..I read one awhile ago where it talked about working out on an empty stomach...It went against everything I was ever taught. One person even said if you don't give your body anything to eat the body has no choice but to eat it's own fat. Not only do I give my body Fat...I LOVE Coconut oil, but will always have something in my body prior to working out. I do not have a degree in diet and nutrition, but I know whatever I'm doing my body feels GREAT, I have muscle definition, with an occasional workout, and tons of energy. And I believe that is because I truly use food as fuel. My body knows I'm not going to starve it and does the exact opposite of what you would think and actually gets rid of the fat and keeps my muscle. Thanks for posting that article!

xcbballuver

bagel and cream cheese? it should be bagel and peanut butter.. more nutritious

iambrandice

I liked this article, it sounds like a lot of common sense facts that I wouldn't have really thought about until now. Thanks for posting it!

hopfroggyfrog

That is interesting. When I used to work out at 6 in the morning I wouldn't have anything. My body just can not handle eating that early. I usually don't eat breakfast until about 10.
However, now I've been working out at 5:30 pm. I usually have lunch at 1:30, so what I've been doing is I eat a yogurt at 5:00. It's a great snack that is very light. And it keeps me from getting to that point where my blood sugar drops and I get the shakes, which is what would happen every day when I wasn't working out. I used to figure I'd get home by 6 and immediately make dinner, so I'd just starve instead of eat a small snack. Now I'm benefiting from eating a small snack AND working out, and then I have energy to make something healthy for dinner when I get home.
I would definitely recommend just listening to your body, and eating something really light that wont make you feel too full or heavy to hit the gym.

MaryEffingPoppins

Bump! (my first bump, aaaawww) lol

auntychelle

I have found that I lose weight faster if I work out after dinner. Since that is my biggest meal of the day. I eat at around 5pm and then work out at 7pm. Several years ago I was seeing a personal trainer and lost 30 lbs. in 8 weeks. I followed the diet he gave me and worked out around 8 pm 3 times a week at the gym for 1 - 1.5 hours. I would just eat my dinner about 2 hours before the workout and was never hungry for anything after. Eating and working out this way never made me feel tired or weak.

megsta21

Bump! :drinker:

musclebuilder

I always eat a meal pre/post WO despite my goals. The amount will vary depending on goals but I won't not eat. Lots of people skimp on the pre/post WO meal which I don't understand. This is the time when food will be partitioned to lean tissue or converted to energy. And I do not eat simple carbohydrates/sports drinks ect.. typically.. I consume healthy carbs. Exercise increases GLUT4 translocation which are glucose transporters regulated by insulin and contraction. So your muscles are able to take up glucose just fine without consuming a large amount of simple carbohydrates. This will also prevent as large of a insulin spike and Insulin is anti-lipolytic ( Halts fat oxidation/stimulates fat synthesis) so that is another reason I feel healthy carbohydrates are beneficial as compared to the simple carbohydrates.

amietest

I've been trying the fasted cardio thing (search online if you're interested), but only because I stalled out for 4 weeks on a diet of 1200 calories with exercise 45 minutes 4-6 times a week. It worked and kicked me into loss mode again, without dropping the total calorie intake or increasing the exercise. I think it is limited in usefulness to just those of us relatively lean and looking to get just a bit leaner, but it does seem to work.

Basically, the deal is to stop eating at 8pm. Have a protein shake in the morning split up at 6, 8 and 10. Start eating again at noon. Do the exercise at around 6AM. Count calories as usual. My workout is a little less intense but not much. The fat IS moving off of the places it never would leave before.

mvln

These are all very interesting and helpful reading. Thanks for sharing!!!