Workout fuel-- what do you do?

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  • kelly_e_montana
    kelly_e_montana Posts: 1,999 Member
    For me, when I when I do Crossfit or running, it's optimal for me to eat breakfast about an hour and a half before I work out. Usually my go-to is old fashioned oatmeal (not instant) with a small spotty banana and some nut butter mashed in. I also do well when I work out later in the day if I ate a meal a few hours prior and just eat a Luna or Zone type bar as a snack 30-60 minutes before my workout. I notice a HUGE difference in my Crossfit performance related to whether I am properly fueled or not.

    If I'm lifting (I powerlift and o-lift), I can usually eat a bigger meal before than my cardio (doesn't make me feel sick to my stomach). Optimally, I like 50 grams of starchy carbs pre-workout and 50 grams starchy carbs post-workout with additional protein post-workout.
  • lezerlies
    lezerlies Posts: 39 Member
    I like eating a quest bar about an hour before strength training. If I'm running I'll eat a banana about 45 mins before.
  • scastor27
    scastor27 Posts: 204 Member
    Everyone's different. Me personally, I can't run or lift on a full stomach so I try to make sure it's been 2-3 hours since I last ate or if I'm early morning I'll have something on the smaller side with high protein.
  • Springfield1970
    Springfield1970 Posts: 1,945 Member
    Everybody's the same. If you are working out and striving for a good performance, then it is vital to fuel beforehand and even during.
    For an intense cardio session, 2/3 hours beforehand fill up those glycogen tanks with carbs like oats, cereal, bananas, honey, etc.
    if you don't have time then a banana 30 minutes before and a sports drink during (you can make your own, but there are specific carb grams per hour depending on body weight). Maybe a fast acting gel 5 minutes before.

    If you're not interested in performance, but just want to burn calories, then by all means do it fasted.
    I've decided not to do more than a gentle walk without fuel. It's taxing on the body to keep trying to find fuel from its own tissue, and fat only burns fast enough for low intensity exercise.

    If I want to burn fat, it's usually from the food deficit while I'm at work or at some point during the night when my stores have dipped.

    I eat most of my carb calories in a 5 hour window around the workout, and I get superb results, high vo2 Max, fast running, swimming and cycling speeds and good strength to weight ratio.
  • rbfdac
    rbfdac Posts: 1,057 Member
    Springfield1970 wrote: »
    When you say workout, what do you mean? There's different heart rate zones.
    Are you on a fat loss programme or are you muscle building?
    What are your goals.

    It's not different for different people. We are all human machines, but there are different types of workouts, and also, time of day and intensity and duration is a big factor.

    I suggest reading 'Racing Weight' by Matt Fitzgerald if you want to see what Olympians diets are like.
    Also, Chrissie Wellingtons autobiography spills a lot of secrets. (She was the world ironman female champion year after year).

    I literally just mean go to the gym and workout on the elliptical or the treadmill and then do some weight training. Nothing more.

    And I didn't mean different for different people, as in some bodies work differently than others- I meant, some people get nauseous when they don't eat before, some get nauseous when they do, etc.

    I highly doubt my diet needs to be anything close to an Olympian diet-- I just walk/jog on the treadmill and do the weight circuits.
  • rbfdac
    rbfdac Posts: 1,057 Member
    Thank you all for your responses-- I cannot have caffeine- my body is super duper sensitive to it and it gives me palpitations and sweats and shakes, so a lot of those pre-workout supplements and/or coffee are out of the question.

    I think here lately I've been having a hard time hitting my carb goal and maybe that's affecting some of my energy levels. After losing 40 pounds, I've had to adjust my calories and gone down by 150 a day, so I'm still adjusting to trying to hit the right macros.

    I feel like I do best when I eat around 2 hours before a workout, but I'm still experimenting and wanted to see how everybody else does it!

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