Food before and after exercise

ayamourada92
ayamourada92 Posts: 62 Member
in Food and Nutrition
What should I eat before and after I exercise?

I always have my lunch 3 hours before I exercise.
I have a cup of coffee and 2 pieces of dark chocolate half an hour before ny exercise.

After it, I have carb and protein.

Is it correct? I exercise at home using weights.

Replies

  • ayamourada92
    ayamourada92 Posts: 62 Member
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    It doesn't really matter

    How??
  • dragon_girl26
    dragon_girl26 Posts: 2,187 Member
    edited May 2021
    Exactly what cwolfman said. You can eat whatever you want before or after a workout. Eating special or specific foods doesn't do anything magical. "Correct" for what?
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    ayamourada92 wrote: »
    What should I eat before and after I exercise?

    I always have my lunch 3 hours before I exercise.
    I have a cup of coffee and 2 pieces of dark chocolate half an hour before ny exercise.

    After it, I have carb and protein.

    Is it correct? I exercise at home using weights.

    If it doesn't make you sick during the workout, and eating enough to have good workout - yes it's correct.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
    Eat that way if you like but seems very complicated for a home weights workout.
    Another option is just have your normal lunch and dinner.

    Perhaps explain why you think you need to eat in a special way around your exercise.
  • joyanna2016
    joyanna2016 Posts: 323 Member
    I fast 17 hours a day and exercise right slam in the middle of that window. It doesn't matter about the food unless for some reason you find that you feel sickish or something.
  • kenyonhaff
    kenyonhaff Posts: 1,377 Member
    My question is: Why do you have coffee and chocolate? Is there a reason you do this?
  • Speakeasy76
    Speakeasy76 Posts: 961 Member
    I try to eat protein after my weightlifting workouts...but only if I'm hungry. I know I"ll be eating sufficient protein at my next meal, anyway, so I really don't give it much thought. I just have to be careful with how much/what I eat before workouts because of reflux.
  • kenyonhaff
    kenyonhaff Posts: 1,377 Member
    Usually the questions we get about pre- and post- workouts are about foods marketed to athletes like protein bars and shakes.
    There's a lot of "woo" about eating just the right foods around workouts...which is mostly marketing ploys.

    At elite levels, there is definitely a lot of focus on nutrition and timing of foods. But that's for people like Olympic athletes, professional dancers, bodybuilders, etc. For the average exercise enthusiast, it's of minimal importance -- it's what works for you.

    Personally, I like coffee before a workout because I'm often dragging after work. And eat about 100-200 calories of something so I'm not starving if I'm hungry.
  • KelBlundell
    KelBlundell Posts: 47 Member
    I'm interested in this, I workout a lot, eg two hours cycling, an hours running, two hours kickboxing.
    I'm struggling to fuel myself effectively so I dont "bonk out" but hate eating carbs. I tried beans on toast but it made my tummy upset, today I tried rice and fish but it wasn't enough.
    I genuinely dislike rice and pasta and potatoes!
  • DancingMoosie
    DancingMoosie Posts: 8,613 Member
    I generally do cardio first thing in the morning, so only water. If I go running after that, I'll have my coffee and half a banana with a little pb or granola bar, then go run about 30 min-1hr later. If it's a work day, it's just 45min-1hr fasted cardio, then I'll have my coffee and light breakfast after. On weekends I might do 1 hr fasted, coffee and snack, then another hour or so. I don't worry too much about eating afterwards. If I go for a run, I don't get to eat until about 2-3hrs later. I think it depends more on overall nutrition, not just the before and after. There are definitely things NOT to have before...
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    KelBlundell wrote: »
    I'm interested in this, I workout a lot, eg two hours cycling, an hours running, two hours kickboxing.
    I'm struggling to fuel myself effectively so I dont "bonk out" but hate eating carbs. I tried beans on toast but it made my tummy upset, today I tried rice and fish but it wasn't enough.
    I genuinely dislike rice and pasta and potatoes!

    Some people have success with bananas. I personally find that Swedish fish or Dots go down really easily on long runs when my stomach gets cranky but I need some carbohydrates (probably any gummy candy).
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
    KelBlundell wrote: »
    I'm interested in this, I workout a lot, eg two hours cycling, an hours running, two hours kickboxing.
    I'm struggling to fuel myself effectively so I dont "bonk out" but hate eating carbs. I tried beans on toast but it made my tummy upset, today I tried rice and fish but it wasn't enough.
    I genuinely dislike rice and pasta and potatoes!
    @KelBlundell
    Yep - that's a problem as you do need more carbs to perform well with that duration of cardio exercise.
    But are you limiting yourself to starchy carbs?

    There's a very good reason most sports drinks and gels are based on glucose or glucose and fructose.
    Fruit, sweets etc. are also easy to digest. Plus of course cake - there's more reasons than enjoyment that you find cyclists planning routes via cake shops!

    My go-to fuel fuel before a long ride is granola cereal and milk plus sports drink and malt loaf and/or cereal bars during the ride.

    Maybe it was the high fibre of the beans that caused the issue rather than the carbs from the toast? Personal experimentation is required.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    KelBlundell wrote: »
    I'm interested in this, I workout a lot, eg two hours cycling, an hours running, two hours kickboxing.
    I'm struggling to fuel myself effectively so I dont "bonk out" but hate eating carbs. I tried beans on toast but it made my tummy upset, today I tried rice and fish but it wasn't enough.
    I genuinely dislike rice and pasta and potatoes!

    Asking only because people have been seen doing it and recommending it - the wrong way.

    Are you taking a reasonable calorie deficit if attempting fat loss, and do you account for exercise calories in your math?

    If you don't - you could have a huge deficit, in which case no wonder having a good workout would be difficult.

    Vegetables and fruit are carbs, though quantity may be an issue, though fruit should be easier. That'll provide some sugar to get stored in the muscles for your next workout.

    How about granola - cereal, oatmeal, bars, ect?

    Even though high protein yogurt is the fad, can still find ones with enough real fruit to have some carb content.

    And if you are one doing a hard workout almost day after day - then you are actually in the situation where the chocolate milk within an hour after the workout could be beneficial - increases uptake of the carbs into the muscles preferentially over the liver, can make the hard workout the next day easier to handle.
    That's won't make up for too big a deficit though.

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