Diet and Exercise Physiology Question

robinfrazer

What is the rule for eating before and after exercise? I have this vague idea that you maybe eat something with carbs before and protein after. I have very little energy at the end of my work day and I also need to know what people suggest for an energy boosting kind of snack that I could have maybe mid afternoon that would give me the energy to go to the gym period!

arewethereyet

I am no expert for sure, but can extend the info provided to me by my personal trainer.

Between 1/2 and 1 hour prior to work out time I have a 1/2 banana and 1-2 tbls of peanut butter. This seems to always get me through the entire 1-1.5 hr workout.

If I have been eating the way I should (for me) I usually don't even have to worry because I have had 250-350 calories every 3-4 hrs so my body is always fueled.

Good luck :flowerforyou:

robinfrazer

Of course, my question is... what in the heck do you do with the 1/2 a banana that's left over! Bananas are NOT known for their long shelf life once cut. LOL! But I happen to LOVE banana's AND peanut butter, so this sounds like an awesome idea to me. Thank you so much for your thoughts on this.

TrainingWithTonya

Eat the whole banana.

Seriously, you need a mix of carbs and protein at both times. The before workout snack should be mostly carbs with a little protein. The after workout snack should be a mix of carbs and protein. I would skip the peanut butter before because it is actually more fat then protein. Fat has a tendency to upset some peoples stomachs while exercising. A really good combination is a turkey or chicken sandwich made with white meat to be lower fat, whole grain bread, and either mustard or ketchup (no mayo as it is also high fat, but if you must a fat free mayo is acceptable) served with a piece of fruit. The simple sugars from the fruit will give you instant energy. The slower digested sugars from the whole grain bread will give you energy toward the middle and end of your workout, and the protein from the lean meat will be available when you're done with your workout to start repairing the muscle damage from the exercise.

After your workout, you need a few more carbs to replace the glycogen in the liver and muscles that you used during exercise and more protein to be able to continue with the muscle repair which will take a while. A little bit of fat is good at this point too, so if you are doing the peanut butter I'd do it after the workout. The fat is used to repair any cell membranes that need it. Just make sure it is the healthy fat, like from nuts, and not saturated.

robinfrazer

This was very helpful! I've been needing to know exactly that!