What to Eat Before Exercise?

Clownfish423

I'm definitely not new to low carb, but am "recommitting" myself to what I know works best for me. My goal right now is 50-70 grams per day. I've been exercising pretty regularly, usually walking my dog or the walking on the treadmill, some weight lifting. My exercise sessions are 45-60 minutes. I generally exercise between lunch and dinner. I can't stand the thought of exercising on a full stomach, but I don't like being "empty" either. I've noticed that I'm running out of gas at around the 45 minute mark these days and I'm trying to figure out how I should be eating to maximize my workout and not run out of steam! I usually have some Greek yogurt about I work out. Maybe that's not a good choice? Suggestions?

Laura_beau

Try these:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/689756-chocolate-nut-energy-truffles-2-net-carbs-each

Chocolate, nuts & coconut energy balls/

or

Tuna patties- Mix 1 can of drained tuna, 1.5 tbsp cream cheese, 1 egg, salt & pepper and refrigerate mixture for 1 hour. Shape into patties and fry for about 2 mins each side. Can be refrigerated for several days & eaten cold. For extra flavour add herbs/spices or chopped diced onion/bell pepper. Make approx 4 small patties.

LowcarbNY

coconut oil. MCT's are directly available for energy

my my choice is not eating unless unless I'm playing an important match, I want my exercise to be forcing my body to consume fat stores. It can take time but you will get more efficient at fat conversion. If you are eating to fuel your workout then you aren't burning fat from storage.

shar140

Both of the above are good suggestions. MCTs can't be stored by the body, so it has to use it as fuel.

Also related, I saw this study this morning:
"Significant effect of a pre-exercise high-fat meal after a 3-day high-carbohydrate diet on endurance performance."
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22852054?dopt=Abstract
In a nutshell: "These results suggest that ingestion of a HFM prior to exercise is more favorable for endurance performance than HCM." (HFM=high fat meal, HCM=high carb meal)

I generally try to eat at least an hour and a half to (ideally for me) 2 hours before I exercise, so it's digested enough I don't have issues while exercising (I used to have bad acid reflux!). Not a lot, maybe 100-200 calories - a half to an ounce of macadamia nuts works well for me, and it's almost all fat. Or a hard-boiled egg. I eat it more to stave off hunger though, as I workout after work and before I eat dinner (as sometimes it can be up to 8 hours between lunch and dinner - noon till 7 or 8pm or later).

I've made something similar to what laura_beau posted, but I don't make balls (or add any sweetener); I just mix it in a small container and eat it with a spoon. It's a little heavy for me before exercising, though. I used almond butter, butter or cream cheese (might try coconut oil next time), flax meal, cinnamon, coconut flour. I've used shredded coconut (unsweetened of course) before instead of the flour. I might also try the cocoa powder. Vanilla extract is also an idea I might toss in.

Clownfish423

Thanks for the suggestions! Will definitely try some of those.