Eat Before or After Workout: Fueling and Recovery Tips

Should You Eat Before Exercise?

Eating before a workout, also known as pre-fueling, can maximize performance by supplying ready energy. Consuming pre-workout nutrition helps to:

Boost Stamina and Endurance

Carbohydrates are your muscles preferred fuel source. Eating carbs before exercising stockpiles an internal supply of glycogen. This stored muscle energy powers you through high intensity training.

One study showed eating around 200 calories of pre-workout carbs, such as a small banana, improved cyclists' endurance by over 10% compared to fasting. This boosts training capacity so you can push harder or exercise longer.

Increase Strength and Power

Muscles need immediate energy to perform power movements like weight lifting. Consuming pre-workout carbs leads to significantly higher strength and power output versus training on an empty tank.

In one study, weightlifters who ate a carb-containing snack before resistance exercise had 11% greater peak power versus fasting. More strength fuels better results.

Support Muscle Growth

Exercising in a carbohydrate-depleted state puts you at higher risk for muscle loss and impairment. Pre-fueling maintains muscle-preserving amino acid balance far better than training while fasting.

Feeding your body pre-workout protein and carbs also amplifies the muscle-building response to resistance training by optimizing key hormones like insulin and growth factors.

When to Eat Before a Workout

Ideally you should finish eating about 30 to 90 minutes before starting to exercise. This gives your body adequate time to digest and absorb nutrients into the bloodstream.

1 Hour Before

Aim to eat a carb-based pre-workout meal about 1 hour before shorter, low to moderate intensity exercise like a light jog or leisurely bike ride. This gives time for digestion while avoiding feeling too full.

1.5 Hours Before

Wait 1 to 1.5 hours after finishing a pre-exercise meal containing both carbs and protein. Combination meals take longer to digest, making this timing optimal for tough workouts.

30 Minutes For Snacks

Smaller carb-focused snacks can be eaten 30 to 45 minutes prior. Items like a banana, nutrition bar, or bowl of oatmeal digest quickly to deliver energizing carbs right when you need them.

Avoid Right Before

Steer clear of eating large meals immediately before starting exercise. This often causes indigestion, cramping, nausea, and side stitches - suboptimal conditions for peak performance!

What to Eat Before Exercise

Selecting ideal pre-workout meals and snacks comes down to nutrient content and digestibility. Heres a simple formula for the best results:

Carbohydrates = Fuel

Carbs provide easily accessible muscle energy. Good options include bread, rice, quinoa, oats, fruit, starchy vegetables, sports drinks, nutrition bars, etc. Typically aim for around 50 grams of pre-workout carbs.

Plus Protein = Recovery

Adding 10 to 20 grams of protein to pre-fueling carbs speeds post-workout recovery. It also gives amino acids to prevent muscle breakdown during exercise. Choose Greek yogurt, eggs, nut butter, whey protein, lean meats, etc.

And Hydration = Performance

Proper fluid intake preps your body to sweat, regulates body temperature, transports nutrients, and prevents dehydration. Drink about 2 to 3 cups of water in the hours before working out.

Steer Clear of Fat and Fiber

High fat and fiber foods like avocado, fatty meats, beans, etc. take many hours to digest. They can cause cramping, bloating or sluggishness when eaten right before exercise.

Example Pre-Workout Snacks and Meals

Use these expert recommended meals and snacks to fuel up before different types of workouts:

Light Cardio or Yoga

• Banana + almond butter
• Oatmeal + blueberries
• Nutrition bar + Greek yogurt
• Cottage cheese + fruits
• Rice cakes with peanut butter

High Intensity Interval Training

• Whole grain toast + eggs
• Protein smoothie with oats
• Quinoa bowl + vegetables
• Ezekiel bread + ricotta cheese
• Energy bar + sports drink

Heavy Strength Training

• Sweet potato + black beans
• Protein pancakes or waffles
• Overnight oats with whey
• Grilled chicken with rice
• Honey yogurt + mixed berries

Should You Eat During Exercise?

In the midst of an intense sweat session, eating a full meal is rarely practical or appealing. However, fueling during long bouts of cardiovascular training with quick carbs can dramatically boost endurance.

Sports Drinks and Gels

Sipping sports beverages or gels - packets of concentrated carbs - maintains blood glucose levels. This postpones the inevitable energy crash, allowing cardio junkies to power through marathon training runs or back-to-back spin classes.

Aim for 30 to 90 grams of carbs per hour from liquids and easily digestible foods.

Replenish Electrolytes

Sweating leads to losses of critical electrolytes like sodium and potassium. This can quickly spiral into major muscle cramping and fatigue issues. Consuming electrolyte blends during sessions is key to avoiding depletion.

Protect Muscles

Branched chain amino acids (BCAAs) given during resistance or endurance exercise shield lean tissue from breakdown. This maintains muscular strength and performance later in workouts.

5 to 10 grams of BCAA supplements prepped in water work well for an intra-exercise beverage.

Should You Eat After Exercise?

Just as your body needs fuel to power demanding workouts, consuming a post-workout meal is vital for refueling energy stores and initiating the muscle building and recovery process.

Eating after breaking a sweat encourages the following benefits:

Rapidly Replenish Muscle Glycogen

Glycogen is the muscles #1 preferred fuel source. Exhausting exercise severely drains internal glycogen reserves. Restoring them quickly minimizes post-workout fatigue and hunger.

Consuming high glycemic index carbs within 30 to 60 minutes of training stimulates fast glycogen synthesis rates for several hours.

Spikes Insulin and Growth Factors

Nutrient timing research shows that eating carbs and protein after finishing exercise triggers key hormones like insulin and IGF-1 far greater than other periods. This hormonal environment accelerates muscle repair and growth.

Boost Protein Synthesis

The hour immediately after resistance training represents a period of highly amplified protein synthesis machinery in muscles. Providing amino acids during this post-workout "anabolic window" by eating high protein foods maximizes growth.

What to Eat After Working Out

Your post-workout plate should focus on the three Rs - refueling, repairing, and rehydrating:

Carbs = Restore Muscle Glycogen

Focus your afterburn eating on carb-rich items to replenish depleted energy stores. Good choices include rice, sweet potatoes, quinoa, oatmeal, bananas, grains, etc.

Protein = Repair and Build Muscles

Include a hearty serving of 20+ grams of post-workout protein to feed hungry muscles. Great whole food sources include Greek yogurt, eggs, chicken, fish, tofu, etc.

Water + Electrolytes = Rehydrate

Recover from dehydrating sweat loss by sipping electrolyte beverages. You can also add mineral-rich sea salt, coconut water or fruit to your H20.

Example Post-Workout Meals and Snacks

Here are go-to meals and combos for restoring fuel after exercise:

After Lifting Weights

• Grilled salmon + sweet potato
• Chicken stir fry with brown rice
• Steak burrito bowl with veggies
• Tuna wrap with avocado
• Protein smoothie with banana

After High Intensity Cardio

• Turkey sandwich with pretzels
• Egg muffin with oatmeal
• Quinoa veggie salad
• Cottage cheese with pineapple
• Protein bar with chocolate milk

Fueling your workout properly before, during, and after sessions ensures your body has ample energy, fluids, and nutrients. This leads to better performance, faster recovery, and increased results over time - a winning formula!

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult with a healthcare professional before starting any new treatment regimen.