What to eat before / after a workout?
We don’t always have the opportunity to choose when we can eat or not, if we don’t have a regular exercise rhythm.
That said, if you decide to include a workout in your daily routine, you will have to start to eat accordingly, in order for your workout to be as effective (and as less difficult) as possible. So you have to eat before sport and after sport depending on what you plan to do. So far so good.
I see the first question coming from afar:
Can I exercise on an empty stomach?
Some, who have been used for a long time, will answer YES . Indeed, if your goal is to lose weight, doing cardio on an empty stomach (jogging, brisk walking, etc.) makes it easier to burn fat. BUT it is quite traumatic for the body. You must therefore be very careful.
If you want to choose this option, make sure you have eaten slow sugars at dinner the day before, take 30 minutes to properly wake up your body (do not jump in your sneakers directly), and drink plenty of water during exercise. Also, watch out for hypoglycemia : do not leave without a snack with you, in case you feel searingly tired.
That said, you will have equally convincing results (and much less violent for your body, especially if you are not used to it) by opting for one of the solutions below, namely the pre-workout snack .
What to eat before a workout?
two options:
> either you eat 2 hours before, and you need something to last your entire session : energy, with whole starchy foods and therefore slow to use (starchy foods with starch, like oats or a little wholemeal bread), proteins (egg, ham, milk…) and a healthy fat.
If you work out in the morning, you understand, that corresponds to a normal breakfast. If you make it in the afternoon, it’s your midday meal.
> Either you eat 30min before, and there a simple snack of fast sugars is enough: This is the pre-workout snack. you need energy available right away, to spend during your session. A large portion of fruit, for example. Fructose is quickly assimilated and provides a source of energy. Avoid dairy products before the sessions, because it is not the most digestible, and you can be a little embarrassed by an unhappy stomach.
This is the solution to adopt if you get up in the morning before class or work to play sports : a portion of fast sugars before the session, just to start the body and do not rush it, your session, then the rest of your breakfast. For example, it could mean your fruit before session, and a bowl of cereal or oats with milk after, or a slice of bread and an omelet.
This is also the solution if you play sports between afternoon tea and dinner.
There’s no point in loading your stomach right beforehand, just think “I must have some quick energy to use”. So no raclette, and no starch if possible. We forget the store-bought processed cakes, eh, especially the super-sweet bars (like chocopops cereal bars, and others) which are loaded with additives and bad sugars. You don’t need that.) Protein eaten just before exercise is also useless, since the body blocks the absorption of protein during exercise.
What to eat after a workout?
After exercise, it is important to fill up with protein, since the body needs it to build muscle and repair the “damage” of your session. You also need to replenish your glycogen stores by consuming complex, low-sugar carbohydrates – grain bread for example, or oats.
If you take protein shakes (which I recommend if you are not reaching your recommended daily protein intake), try to take them right after your session, during this “window protein ”, or the proteins are better absorbed.
