NW Health, a magazine put out by my local HMO (winter 2011 ghc.org) featured an article by Elizabeth M. Economou about foods to pump you up before, during and after a workout session. I find that eating before a workout makes me quite uncomfortable so I read her article with great interest. You may think that exercising on an empty stomach is the way to go for optimal calorie burn, but your body needs fuel in order to power you through a successful workout.
Whether you are training for a marathon or just going out for a brisk walk you need to eat something, so why not make it the right thing. Carbohydrates provide energy for your workout. Nutritionist recommends combining them with a small amount of lean protein. If it is too much work to make calculations first thing in the morning, just stick with a whole-wheat bagel with peanut butter, or sprinkle you low fat granola on a cup of yogurt. If you exercise in the evening you can have a protein such as chicken, with rice as the carbohydrate along with salad and vegetables. Stay away from fatty foods and carbonated beverages or you will feel like you are exercising with a huge lump in your stomach. Knowing how much or how soon you can exercise is an individual determination so trial and error is going to be the only way for you to figure this one out.
Nancy Clark (American Fitness: Jan/Feb 2011)) reinforces the idea that each person has a different tolerance for pre-exercise foods. You don’t necessarily have to wait around for the pre-exercise food to digest. You might not want to eat very much 5 minutes before a track workout, but you could enjoy a banana on the way out the door for a jog. Research shows that you could eat an energy bar 15 minutes before moderate exercise with good results.
Whether you should eat during your exercise program will depend on how long you are going to workout, and of course the intensity of your workout. If you are in a for a long session of an hour or more, you may need to nibble on something like dried fruits or an energy bar every 60-90 minutes. If you do much hiking or long distance biking you know that your stomach is not going to let you forget. If you plan to exercise for longer than 90 minutes you should consume not only a pre-exercise snack but additional carbs to maintain a normal blood sugar.
Hydration is important. You should be drinking 14-22 ounces of water 2-3 hours before exercising; probably not just your morning coffee. You probably aren’t going to be doing this if you lace your shoes on as soon as you get up. Take a water bottle with you. For modern exercise a sip or two to quench your thirst may be enough but for a more intense outing 6 -12 ounces every 15 minutes is a good plan.
What about after your exercise session? I am usually starving and my stomach doesn’t buy into the theory that exercise decreases the appetite. I was happy to read that it is good to eat something to help your body recover. I like the idea of the recommended chocolate milk, but yogurt, fruit, cheese, lean meat, or an English muffing with peanut butter sounds pretty good too. Your muscles are most receptive to refueling within an hour after a hard workout, so the sooner you refuel the sooner you will be ready to get on with things. You will feel better, have more energy and curb your appetite for less than ideal temptations. Don’t get too carried away though or you will unravel your good intentions. To avoid over-indulging in recovery calories, plan to back your training into a meal. Have a good workout and don’t forget to eat something!
We often got conscious of our looks or features. So, we eat a little to loosen some weight. But what's horrifying is the more we limit our self to eat, the more we crave. So it is still better to have a balance diet. Eat more veggies and fruits to stay fit and healthy. Something like this, it's healthy and nutritious.
Posted by: Image Consulting Calgary | February 03, 2011 at 01:29 AM
Usually i eat some food before workout but that make me very uncomfortable for me..http://www.vivamagonline.com/index.php Think this article gives me a very good information to maintain a healthy exercise..
Posted by: Fitness exercise | February 13, 2011 at 08:23 PM
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