Pre- and Post- Workout Meals

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Gerkenstein
Gerkenstein Posts: 315 Member
in Food and Nutrition
What does everyone eat for pre- and post- workout meals?

I need to get better about these and since I did a morning workout (for the first time EVER) today (and I LOVE it!), I was pretty good. Oatmeal w/ blueberries before workout, 2 hard boiled eggs (w/ 1/2 yolks) after. I'm getting a protein powder later this week to make sure I'm getting enough after my workouts.

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  • aippolito1
    aippolito1 Posts: 4,894 Member
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    Fore pre-workout meals, it's usually just a snack because I work out right before dinner. For post-workout, I do 1 scoop of chocolate whey protein powder in 8 oz. skim milk, sometimes blueberries or peanut butter. Then I just eat a regular dinner which is usually chicken and a veggie, sometimes with pasta.
  • CFAITH_WARD
    CFAITH_WARD Posts: 281 Member
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    I eat a small breakfast and hey today it was oatmeal but my best pre meal is I blend a cup of coffee, 1/4 cup of whatever milk, 1/2 cup of water, and a 1/2 scoop of protein powder....My power 'latte' gives me that extra kick and I usually burn atleast 100 Ca more.... Usually afterwards I eat lunch.
  • tierra85
    tierra85 Posts: 300 Member
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    you should switch what you were eating. eggs before and the oatmeal with berries after. I read some where that you need protein to full your workout. but after you need carbs and sugars to replenish it, low fat also?? Sugars being from fruit of cource. Im not a pro here lol you should head down to GNC and talk to one of them. He talked to me for like an hour but it was all too much to take in and im a little confused now. i do remember him saying to get a protein powder that had a higher carb for post workout. so my muscle milk is now a meal replacement.
  • RedneckWmn
    RedneckWmn Posts: 3,202 Member
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    I workout first thing when I get up and I don't usually eat anything. I normally never had a problem but with starting Insanity I'm getting hungry and will probably need to eat something prior. Bumping for suggestions!
  • 00trayn
    00trayn Posts: 1,849 Member
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    I do the same as Arielle. I workout right before dinnertime, so I'll usually have some sort of snack in the late afternoon (3-4pm) like a Kashi TLC bar, almonds, or a banana. Then after my workout I have a small dinner and a protein shake. The dinner + shake totals around 500 calories, the snack is around 80-150 calories.
  • ProTFitness
    ProTFitness Posts: 1,379 Member
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    Well generally my workout are in the middle of breakfest and lunch. So I eat my usually breakfest pumpkin oatbran,flaxseed, with eggs before I work out and after I eat my lunch which is generally a sandwhich with lean meat on ezekiel bread with raw veggies and avocado mashed on my sandwhich instead of mayo
  • ickybella
    ickybella Posts: 1,438 Member
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    I'm not sure if it's the best, but I have been having trouble eating breakfast, and I workout in the morning, so I usually just have a banana before and then an apple (sometimes with whole earth peanut butter) afterward. I used to have a fried egg before and a banana after, but like I said, I just can't seem to eat in the morning.
  • Jenks
    Jenks Posts: 349
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    I eat a small breakfast and hey today it was oatmeal but my best pre meal is I blend a cup of coffee, 1/4 cup of whatever milk, 1/2 cup of water, and a 1/2 scoop of protein powder....My power 'latte' gives me that extra kick and I usually burn atleast 100 Ca more.... Usually afterwards I eat lunch.

    Oh I love the coffee idea. Thanks :flowerforyou:
  • Mahooka
    Mahooka Posts: 21 Member
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    Before a morning work-out I eat 1/2 a banana about 30 minutes before I start. After the work-out I wait 30 minutes before I eat anything, I do drink about 20-30 ounces of water, then I have a post work-out Power Fuel smoothie from Emerald City Smoothies with "After Max" and protein.
  • RedHotRunner
    RedHotRunner Posts: 850 Member
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    I usually work out right after I wake up and rarely have anything. If I'm going to run a 10K or something like that, i'll have a piece of banana or 1/2 a protein bar, but that's it. Otherwise it upsets my stomach.

    Afterwards, I usually will have some scrambled egg whites on the weekend or something quick like fruit and oatmeal on the weekdays.
  • MisdemeanorM
    MisdemeanorM Posts: 3,493 Member
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    I generally eat one Nature Valley granola bar as I run out the door in the morning on the way to the gym just to keep myself from passing out, then try to have eggs in the morning when I get back. I am a huge fan of breakfast burritos when I can spare the carbs, otherwise i just have eggs and maybe some fruit. On super busy days where cooking is out of the question I have some cereal at my desk at work or some PB on toast. In the evening when I work out (I'm on doubles) I often just eat milk and whey protein afterward or sometimes a protein bar because I often don't feel like eating though I am hungry. We also tend to eat dinner around 8 or 9 when my husband gets home from work so sometimes I eat a normal dinner afterward as well. If I work out after 9 pm and get done at 11 I generally do the protein drink since I am never in the mood to eat then. We do LOTS of quessadillas, chicken stir fry, grilled chicken with a veggie, and other cheap meals that i have recently been trying to make more protein heavy and carb lighter.
  • binary_jester
    binary_jester Posts: 3,311 Member
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    Creatine with your protein shake.
  • carl1738
    carl1738 Posts: 444 Member
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    I usually have a quick protein shake with skim milk and a scoop of whey protein, along with a banana or piece of fruit. Post workout I usually blend up a shake with skim milk, whey, a banana, some strawberries and sometimes a spoonfull of peanut butter. I believe you are supposed to try to consume something with a 3 to 1 carb to protein ratio within an hour after a strength training workout. I'm not sure if that applies to cardio workouts.
  • ThePixie
    ThePixie Posts: 1
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    Always try to eat some thing before you workout, even if it is small. Your oatmeal option is perfect. I also really like the pumped up latte someone posted about. What a great idea! :drinker:

    Check out this article with some suggestions for post-workout snacks/meals http://brandiesylfae.blogspot.com/2009/11/post-workout-nutrition.html

    And for breakfast, here is a tasty recipe that would be good before a workout or any time http://brandiesylfae.blogspot.com/2009/11/whats-for-breakfast.html
  • aippolito1
    aippolito1 Posts: 4,894 Member
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    you should switch what you were eating. eggs before and the oatmeal with berries after. I read some where that you need protein to full your workout. but after you need carbs and sugars to replenish it, low fat also?? Sugars being from fruit of cource. Im not a pro here lol you should head down to GNC and talk to one of them. He talked to me for like an hour but it was all too much to take in and im a little confused now. i do remember him saying to get a protein powder that had a higher carb for post workout. so my muscle milk is now a meal replacement.

    It's actually the opposite. You need CARBS (complex ones so they don't burn off to quickly) before your work out, then protein and carbs after the work out, protein to repair your muscles, carbs to replenish the ones you burned off. Carbs are the first to be burned off, that's why you typically eat more of those if you work out a lot.
  • binary_jester
    binary_jester Posts: 3,311 Member
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    Stolen from the internet...

    Carbohydrates, however, have gotten somewhat of a bad rap over the years. Thanks in part to the various low-carb diets that have become so popular in this country; carbs have taken a back seat in nutritional importance to protein. Even many bodybuilders and athletes don't pay as much attention to carbohydrates as protein.

    This is actually a big mistake for those seeking to maximize lean muscle and performance. Carbs are the main fuel used by the muscles during a weight-training workout. Glycogen (carbs stored in the muscle cells) provides energy for workouts and allows you to lift those heavy weights in the gym day after day, which translates into bigger and stronger muscles. Without enough carbs, you'll run out of gas before you can do justice to a good muscle-building workout.

    So when is the single most important time to consume carbs? AFTER training. Since your body uses glycogen for energy during an anaerobic weight training workout, your glycogen stores will be depleted after hitting the weights. If you do not replace those burned carbs immediately after your training session, you're missing out on a great opportunity to increase your muscle growth and enhance muscle recovery and recuperation.

    If you're trying to lose stored body fat, you should always avoid consuming too many carbs at one time and eating too many simple sugars. Either one of these practices will force your body to release a large amount of insulin to transport those carbs out of the bloodstream and into the cells of your body in order to keep the blood sugar level stable. Most of the time, too many carbs consumed at one sitting or eating too many of the wrong type of carbs will lead to more fat storage.

    However, after a weight training workout, your body will be desperately looking to replace the depleted glycogen stores in the muscle cells. If you consume lots of carbs right after your workout, those carbs will be shuttled directly into the muscle cells instead of the fat cells. The depleted glycogen stores in your muscles will act like a sponge and soak up all those carbs into the muscle cells. The result will be bigger and fuller muscles with a much quicker recovery period.

    Insulin is like a transport system, shuttling the nutrients from the food you eat into the cells of your body. Your body is in a unique metabolic state after an intense weight training session. The glycogen and the amino acids in your muscle cells are depleted in response to the stress imposed on muscles by the workout. It is critical that you replace these essential nutrients into the muscle cells as quickly as possible to avoid muscle tissue loss.

    In addition to the carbs, it's important to consume protein to replace the amino acids lost during the workout. The carbs consumed immediately after a training session will raise the insulin level in the body, which will transport those carbs into the muscle cells. Wouldn't it make sense to also take in protein at this time so those important nutrients are also shuttled into the muscle cells by the high insulin level?

    Because you want these carbs and protein immediately absorbed into the muscle cells to take advantage of this critical window of opportunity, it is more advantageous to consume a liquid drink containing these important nutrients instead of going home and eating a whole food meal. Food would need to be more fully digested and assimilated to the muscle cells and this process would take too long.

    This post-workout recovery drink should contain the right amount of protein to restore amino acids and the right amount of carbs to replace the glycogen that was depleted during the workout. It's also important that you consume fast-acting protein and carbs so they are digested quickly, thus forcing the body to release high amounts of insulin to transport these nutrients directly into the muscle cells.

    Yea...it is from an advertisement, but the explanation is sound information.
  • binary_jester
    binary_jester Posts: 3,311 Member
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    you should switch what you were eating. eggs before and the oatmeal with berries after. I read some where that you need protein to full your workout. but after you need carbs and sugars to replenish it, low fat also?? Sugars being from fruit of cource. Im not a pro here lol you should head down to GNC and talk to one of them. He talked to me for like an hour but it was all too much to take in and im a little confused now. i do remember him saying to get a protein powder that had a higher carb for post workout. so my muscle milk is now a meal replacement.

    It's actually the opposite. You need CARBS (complex ones so they don't burn off to quickly) before your work out, then protein and carbs after the work out, protein to repair your muscles, carbs to replenish the ones you burned off. Carbs are the first to be burned off, that's why you typically eat more of those if you work out a lot.
    Actually you want simple and complex carbs post-workout
  • aproc
    aproc Posts: 1,033 Member
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    On the days I go after lunch, I normally have something like chicken or fish with veggies at the cafeteria and then some string cheese or yogurt after.

    The days I have more classes, I love to workout during lunch so I will eat a good breakfast of Kashi go lean with frozen strawberries. Before working out, I normally have a protein bar since I'm normally starving by the end of classes. After working out, I make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. :)

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