The Best Fitness Foods: What to Eat Before, During and After a Workout
By Brierley Wright, M.S., R.D., EatingWell.com
Getting a great workout goes beyond the number of reps you do or the miles you log on the treadmill (though that does help too). In all the running road races I've trained for—from 5Ks to marathons—I know that what I put into my body before and after a race or a training run can either help or hinder my performance. Regardless of what type of exercise suits your fancy, here are some tips on what to eat before, during and after a workout, as previously reported on in EatingWell Magazine.
Pre-workout:
A low-glycemic-index meal: If you're the type of person who can't work out on an empty stomach, you may want to try this to boost your fat burn: eat a meal made with "slow-release" carbohydrates (think: oatmeal, bran cereal, a whole-wheat bagel or toast) three hours before you work out. In a study published in the Journal of Nutrition, researchers assessed the rate of fat burn among eight healthy women after they ate two breakfasts: muesli with milk, peaches, yogurt and apple juice on one day; cornflakes with skim milk, white bread with margarine and jam and an energy drink on another day. Both meals contained similar amounts of calories, but the first breakfast (muesli) was a low-glycemic-index (GI) meal, meaning it produced smaller spikes in blood sugar than the second breakfast, which was a high-GI meal. Generally, foods that contain protein, fat and/or fiber—and are digested more slowly—fall lower on the GI scale than those that consist mostly of carbohydrate (e.g., white bread). On the days when the women ate the low-GI breakfast, they burned nearly twice as much fat during a 60-minute walk as they did on the days when they ate the high-GI meal. Why? The muesli (low-GI) breakfast was more slowly digested so it didn't spike blood-glucose levels as high as the cornflake (high-GI) breakfast did. In turn, insulin levels didn't spike as high either—which probably explains why the muesli-eating women burned more fat, says Ian MacDonald, Ph.D., director of research at the University of Nottingham Medical School. Insulin plays a role in signaling your body to store fat. So, lower levels of insulin might help you to burn fat.
Related: The Best Breakfast Foods for Weight Loss
Water: Staying hydrated can help you perform better: in one study, people who were just slightly dehydrated were typically only able to run, for example, about 75 percent as hard as usual. Hydrate pre-exercise with 2 to 3 cups of water, 2 to 3 hours before exercising.
Related: Do You Really Need to Drink 8 Glass of Water a Day? Find Out Here.
During your workout:
Honey: To boost your energy during endurance activities, recent research suggests that carbohydrate blends (foods containing fructose and glucose) may be superior to straight glucose. But before you reach for a sports drink, consider honey: like sugar, it naturally has equal parts fructose and glucose, but it also contains a handful of antioxidants and vitamins. (The darker the honey, the more disease-fighting compounds it contains.)
Related: Will Coffee Boost Your Performance? The Real Scoop on 4 Natural Fuel Foods
Flavored water: Drinking flavored water while you're working out might make it easier to stay hydrated. In one study, people given flavored water while exercising drank more than exercisers given plain water. Choose wisely though: some brands can deliver as much added sugars as soft drinks while others use artificial sweeteners to cut the calorie load. What about coconut water and sports drinks? Find out what to drink, when, here.
Post-workout:
Chocolate milk: If your workout lasts an hour or more, have a glass of chocolate (or plain) milk. The carbohydrates in it will help replenish the energy stored in your muscles (called glycogen stores) and aid in muscle recovery—more so than a carb-only drink. Don't like milk? Substitute with a post-workout snack of banana and peanut butter.
Tart cherry juice: Tart cherry juice delivers antioxidants that mop up the harmful free radicals produced when you exercise. And research shows that a daily dose of cherry juice may help ease inflammation that causes sore muscles. A 2010 study in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition found that runners who downed 24 ounces of tart cherry juice (about 480 calories) for seven days before a long-distance race, and again on race day, reported fewer aches afterward than runners who drank a placebo. Skip the juice right before or while you're exercising, though: fructose, the primary sugar in fruit, takes longer to digest than other sugars (like those in sports drinks), so drinking juice before or during exercise may cause stomach cramps.
Related: Breakfast Ideas for After Your Morning Workout
Your thoughts...
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Comments
Yes, I have this problem too. I've tried breakfasting and felt stuffed and heavy. I've tried not breakfasting, and that depletes me too much.
Now I've gone back to what i USED to do in the 'bad old days' ... but now i know how to make sure it's a good thing. I have a cup of coffee with a tablespoon full of non-fat milk powder and a teaspoon of brown sugar. YUM! Just right said goldilocks! And if i'm going to run more than half an hour, i have a banana as well. Then i have a 'proper' breakfast, or brunch when i come back.
Same problem. I do have a low glycemic index meal, but it ends up being 30-45 minutes before I exercise -- can't wake up any earlier than that or I won't get enough sleep, can't exercise any later or I'll be late for class. It hasn't even occurred to me to try and exercise on an empty stomach because the one time I tried it years ago, I got extremely light-headed and nearly passed out.
I run first thing in the morning (at about 5:30 or so) and usually run about 6 miles (so over 50 minutes) and I actually don't have any issues! I stay hydrated while I am running which helps immensely!! I think since I tend to eat later the evening before, it helps in the morning. Some days if I'm feeling exhausted, I will sneak some recovery drink into my water. That tends to help a lot with energy levels!
I am not a morning eater, so I don't eat in the morning if I am working out for only an hour. But I am starting to work out longer (training for a half marathon). I am trying coconut water to see if that helps. *fingers crossed.* I would think anything you could eat on your run you could eat right before your run if you are bonking. I have not tried carb loading the night before. That may be another option (anyone try this?)
Flavored water is simple to make yourself. 1/8 to 1/4 cup unsweetened fruit juice then fill rest of bottle with water. My favs are unsweetened pineapple juice and cranberry juice. If you don't mind fruit fragments, zap 2 strawberries in the microwave for 10-15 seconds. Mush them up and add them to your water bottle, shake vigorously. Want something sweeter? Just add a Tbs of honey to water and shake.
If you have an ice cube tray that makes cubes that fit into water bottles, freeze some fruit juice. Fresh squeezed orange juice is delish done this way.
You totally control what goes into your water.
I run in the morning so was encountering the same problem. I generally eat oatmeal for breakfast but can't run on a full tummy. On the other hand, I've read that it's not wise to run on a totally empty stomach either! Now I have half a "Simply Bar" a few minutes before a run. It's pretty high protein and about 80 calories, which I feel is just enough fuel for my little run!
If I fill my ice cube trays 1/2 way then the cubes fit in my bottle.
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The problem I have is that I don't have very much free time, so I usually run in the mornings just after I get up, and then shower and get ready for the day. So I can't eat or drink something "2-3 hours before exercising" because I'm asleep at that time. Does anyone else run into this issue? And if so how do you handle it?