Eat before a workout to fuel your body; eat after a workout session to repair your muscles. In simple terms, eating before or after exercise is essential. However, we should be asking about what to eat and when to eat it.

Eating right can help energize workout sessions and also get ready for the next session. Whether as a beginner or an athlete with some experience, the best professional who can guide you through meal planning and customization is the dietician or health care provider. However, following the guide will be your responsibility.

According to a study, Proper nutrition helps in boosting your body by enhancing its performance during a workout session. Besides, having a balanced nutrient intake before a workout will maximize your performance and minimize muscular damage.

Here is what you need to know about workout nutrition:

What to eat before a workout

You can only get the best out of your workouts when you eat the right meals. Failing to eat will make you dizzy, lethargic, and nauseous, which may cause further injuries. Skipping meals will hurt your performance and reduce workout gains.

The pre-workout snack

Most athletes believe that the best time to eat a snack should be half an hour to three hours before the day’s session. You can listen to your body and respond accordingly by deciding on the best time for the pre-workout snack.

Working out in the morning may deny you an opportunity to eat a whole meal, which may work for a person who wants to cut and maintain lean muscles. Using Anavar will help increase your strength and maintain those lean muscles.

Make sure you have carbs and proteins

A carbohydrate snack equals energy; they provide glucose to the muscles stored as glycogen. Lack of glucose in the body will leave you feeling lethargic and may be tempted to quit working out. Adding some protein to the pre-workout meal will help you repair the small tears allowing your muscles to grow bigger.

Take a lot of water

Before stepping into the gym, make sure your hydration level is within acceptable levels. The easiest way to check the levels of body hydration is by studying the urine color in the morning.

A lemonade colored urine is a sign of appropriate hydration levels, while urine that appears yellow indicates low levels of hydration, which means a lack of water in the body.

The post-workout snack

After every workout, eating comes naturally to replace the calories lost. For a speedy recovery, eat protein and foods that contain neurons and minerals to help the muscles to fire up accurately. To regain water lost through sweat, take water or fresh juice.

Fried Egg Beside Bread Platter

Replenish carbs with protein

Eat as soon as possible; the food should contain protein and high complex carbohydrates such as brown rice, nuts, whole wheat bread, etc. Foods with healthy levels of proteins include beans, fish, and tofu.

Quick rehydration

As soon as possible, take fluids that you lost while sweating. This also gives the muscles the ability to replenish glycogen.  

Increasing protein needs

Athletes going through an intense weight lifting for an extended period require extra protein to build more muscle.

Getting the exact protein levels may not be easy; therefore, the best approach would be a trial and error method. However, here is a simple plan.

A simplified method of determining protein intake:

  • Use a factor of 2.2 to divide by your weight
  • Multiply the number by 4 and 0.5 to get the range of protein needs

The universal agreement among experts on nutrition and food is the fact that everyone has a different need. You should know that it is not a good idea to try out or experiment with the changes in nutrition on a session or game race.

Snack Recommendations

Pre-workout Snacks

  • A smoothie and a cup of fruit taken with two cups of vegetables or a protein shake. Take half a cup before a workout and the remaining after the workout.
  • Greek yogurt with berries and granola.
  • An apple-pear with nut butter.
  • Oatmeal, fruit, and peanut butter.
  • Brown rice, roasted vegetables, and baked salmon.

Post-workout Snacks

  • A cup of chocolate milk.
  • A slice of wholemeal wheat bread toast spread with a tablespoon of peanut butter with a banana.
  • One or two hard-boiled eggs with a slice of whole-wheat toast.
  • Green smoothie with many proteins.

Conclusion

Every macronutrient has a role to play before a workout session. However, our consumption rate depends on the type of exercise.  

Ideally, you may be required to wait for two to three hours before hitting the gym. Eating within a short time to your workout routines means that you choose very light meals that digest quickly.

The idea is to prevent stomach upsets or discomfort when working out on a full stomach.