Nutrition before and after exercise

Introduction Exercise Nutrition

Nutrition before and after Exercise. It’s good news you’ve started exercising that’s great! However, you might be faced with the dilemma of what to eat before or after your workout. Nutrition and exercise are two of the most important factors for your overall health. What’s more, the two factors affect each other. Proper nutrition can fuel your exercise and help your body recover and adapt.

However, one common question is whether to eat before or after exercising. This may be particularly relevant if you exercise first thing in the morning. Here’s all you need to know about eating before or after working out.

EARLY MORNING EXERCISE

Nutrition before and after Exercise. If you want to exercise shortly after getting up early in the morning, That is a great time. And that is how I like to exercise and after getting up I drink water and black coffee. So then, the water rehydrates me after sleeping, and the coffee gives me a boost.

Having a cup of coffee or green tea before your workout is KEY if you want a real energy boost. Also, caffeine has been scientifically proven to boost your workout by tapping into your central nervous system. And recruiting muscle fibres in your body. Basically, it helps you fight fatigue and improve physical performance. Also, people who exercise in the morning before breakfast may enjoy benefits, such as increased energy throughout the day. And greater weight loss. Making morning exercise a habit can improve your performance during the day and help you sleep better at night.

EXERCISE LATER IN THE DAY

There’s nothing worse than showing up to your workout feeling nauseous, lightheaded, or dizzy. And feeling like you’re about to throw up the snack you ate as you left the house. Consequently, your pre-workout food is very important. You want to make sure you’re eating enough to give you energy,. But not something you’ll regret as soon as you start doing cardio. Here are some of the best foods to eat before working out.

Oatmeal

Whole grains, like oats, are complex carbs that break down into glucose and fuel your muscles during your workout. Try going for a bowl of oatmeal or some granola about an hour before your workout. Professional nutritionists swear by these options because they’re simple and will give your body immediate energy.

APPLE OR BANANA

Apples and bananas are simple carb sources, which means they’ll give your body the energy it needs almost immediately. They digest faster than whole grains do, so even though they won’t keep you as full, they’ll give you a boost of energy if you eat them 20-30 minutes before the workout. Mostly any fruit is good to eat before working out, but stay away from high-fiber fruits like berries and pears because they’ll take longer to digest and may hurt your stomach if you’re jumping around a lot.

EGGS AND TOAST

If you have an hour or two before you exercise and need something more substantial than a piece of fruit to eat before working out, the eggs and toast combo is your best bet. The toast will give you the energy from its complex carb makeup, and eggs are a simple protein source with a little bit of fat. It’s enough to fill you up without making you nauseous halfway through.

RX BARS or LAURA BARS

Natural protein bars have been all over the health food market recently, and two great pre-workout options are RX Bars and Lara Bars. They’re both made with dates and nuts, so you have a quick carb and natural sugar source from the dates, and a little healthy fat from the nuts to keep you full. RX Bars even include eggs for extra protein.

During Exercise Nutrition

One of the key things to do during exercise is hydrate. If your workout is 45 minutes or less, it is not necessary for you to grab a bite. For endurance exercises of one to 2.5hours however, aim for 3o to 60 grams of carbs per hour of exercise. This ensures enough carbohydrates to supplement the muscle glycogen needed to fuel a workout. Some ideas? Munch on a medium-sized apple, which typically has 25 grams of total carbohydrates!

After Exercise Nutrition

As part of that effort, there’s a good chance you put a lot of thought into your pre-workout meal. But are you giving your post-workout meal the same attention? If not, it’s a good idea to do so. It turns out that consuming the right nutrients after you exercise is just as important as what you eat before.

Protein, Carbs, and Fat

Each macronutrient — protein, carbs, and fat — is involved in your body’s post-workout recovery process. That’s why it’s important to have the right mix. Exercise triggers the breakdown of muscle protein. The rate at which this happens depends on the exercise and your level of training, but even well-trained athletes experience muscle-protein breakdown

Consuming an adequate amount of protein after a workout gives your body the amino acids it needs to repair and rebuild these proteins. It also gives you the building blocks required to build new muscle tissue It’s recommended that you consume 0.14–0.23 grams of protein per pound of body weight (0.3–0.5 grams/kg) very soon after a workout.

However, one study found that eating protein pre-workout and post-workout has a similar effect on muscle strength, hypertrophy, and body composition changes. Studies have shown that ingesting 20–40 grams of protein seems to maximize the body’s ability to recover after exercise.

Carbs help with recovery

Your body’s glycogen stores are used as fuel during exercise, and consuming carbs after your workout helps replenish them.

The rate at which your glycogen stores are used depends on the activity. For example, endurance sports cause your body to use more glycogen than resistance training. For this reason, if you participate in endurance sports (running, swimming, etc.), you might need to consume more carbs than someone engaging in weightlifting.

Consuming 0.5–0.7 grams of carbs per pound (1.1–1.5 grams/kg) of body weight within 30 minutes after training results in proper glycogen resynthesis. Furthermore, insulin secretion, which promotes glycogen synthesis, is better stimulated when carbs and protein are consumed at the same time.

Therefore, consuming both carbs and protein after exercise can maximize protein and glycogen synthesis. Try consuming the two in a ratio of 3 to 1 (carbs to protein). For example, that’s 40 grams of protein and 120 grams of carbs.

Eating plenty of carbs to rebuild glycogen stores is most important for people who exercise often, such as twice in the same day. If you have 1 or 2 days to rest between workouts, this becomes less important.

Fat is not that bad

Many people think that eating fat after a workout slows down digestion and inhibits the absorption of nutrients. While fat might slow down the absorption of your post-workout meal, it will not reduce its benefits. For example, a study showed that whole milk was more effective at promoting muscle growth after a workout than skim milk.

Moreover, another study showed that even when ingesting a high fat meal (45% energy from fat) after working out, muscle glycogen synthesis was not affected. It might be a good idea to limit the amount of fat you eat after exercise, but having some fat in your post-workout meal will not affect your recovery.

In Conclusion

Good nutrition is an important part of your strength building efforts, your body needs fuel. However not just any fuel, try to eat healthy foods, to give your body the best support. So then, if you fuel up properly and exercise you will improve your strength,

Important Note *

Remember that everyone is different, and it is ultimately YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to find what your body responds to. So please do your due diligence before trying anything new, including getting Medical Advice to ensure your safety and peace of mind.

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