Knowing what to eat before and after your workout
The foods which you eat on a day of exercise will affect your performance and your recovery. You need to think about the foods you have before, during and after your workout. You want to make sure you get the right balance between your intake, and the amount of exercise you are going to do. If you want to put on muscle you need to eat enough to fuel your body as well as give it what it needs to recover and rebuild your muscles.
If you are working out in the morning:
If you are working out in the morning you need to allow roughly 2-3 hours to have your breakfast before your workout session. Make sure to allow time for this in your daily plan. It is not a great idea to skip breakfast as it can leave you feeling worse or sluggish and light-headed. It could even cause you to get ill. If you can’t fit in time for a full breakfast, make sure to eat something a little lighter a couple of hours before you work out.
For snacks stick to: Wholegrain foods such as bread and cereals are great. Fruit is also a great idea, bananas and apples are good.If you don’t have any breakfast then you should get some fuel in the form of an energy sports drink.
Snacking:
When snacking during the day you want to keep to low sugar snacks, I go for snacks with less than 10grams of sugar where possible. The exception to this is if you need the snack to fuel a workout in which case wholegrain bars or sports are are great.
For snacks try and stick to wholegrain foods. Cereal bars are good, cereal and milk is good, fruits make a great snack too. You can buy wholesale food to save money.
Post workout foods.
For your post workout foods you want to give your body what it needs to help you recover and repair your muscles. If you are muscle building you will need slightly more food to fuel your recovery. You will want to eat a meal that is high in protein, such as chicken or steak, and some vegetables. Try and keep the meal low in saturated fats, salt and sugar if you can. If you don’t feel hungry after working out then try and have a sports drink or protein drink to get what you need in your body.
Good snacks for after a workout include:yogurts, foods with peanut butter,and dried fruits and nuts.
Know what works well for you
The key here is knowing what foods work for you, if you feel certain things making you sluggish or hyper, adjust your intake or your foods until you find the right balance that fuels your exercise plan and lifestyle. It is also important to drink plenty of water.during your workout.