Pre-workout and post-workout snacks..

I'm starting to go to the gym every morning at 7, it's the only time I have in my day. I go to school from 8:30 - 3:00 and then hang out with friends until 5:30 when I come home for dinner and then I do homework and veg out until about 10:00 when I go to bed.

What do I eat for a pre-workout snack? Carbs? Protein?

What do I eat after my workout? Carbs? Protein?

before your workout you want both, maybe more carbs if you run alot. if it is early in the morning and your not too hungry try a big granny smith apple withnatural peanut butter and/or some non fat or low fat yogurt. oatmeal is a good pre workout as well. remember what you eat before your workout probabley wont get burned off, so try to keep if low versus thinking the more you eat the more energy you have. the closer the time between eating and working out the less you should eat.

post workout should be a protein ruling snack. protein shakes are great with some milk to get some carbs. and some protein powders, like the whey vanilla one i use taste AMAZING! its like vanilla brownie smoothie taste- so good. the protein carb balance should be a ratio of 1:1 to 1:3. i read that in oxygen magazine. a good post workout snack i have is fat free cottage cheese with a whole wheat english muffin. or cottage cheese with a few banana slices and some cinnamon.

Fruit: While the apples, strawberries and bananas you love do supply your body with an energy boost, Magilton warns that this boost comes courtesy of naturally occurring sugars. And as with all variations of the sweet stuff, you will eventually experience a drop in energy when your blood sugar levels stabilize.

Carbs: Well known to boost your energy levels, some find eating carb-heavy meals before a workout can interfere with performance and cause stomach discomfort – mainly because the body is still working to digest the carbs. The solution? Magilton suggests choosing less heavy options (such as half a whole-wheat bagel or one piece of bread) before a workout. She also suggests topping it with natural, sugar-free peanut butter (a very good source of protein) to not only fill you up, but to optimize your energy levels.

Vegetables: Like fruit, vegetables are a healthy source of energy for a workout, but Magilton says that to get sustainable energy to fuel your sweat session, you need to combine it with a carbohydrate. Try eating half of a baked potato topped with light cottage cheese just before a workout to get the best of both worlds.

Protein: When you put your body through an intense exercise session, your muscle fibres stretch and tear, resulting in that post-workout feeling of soreness. Once the fibres heal (usually within 24 to 48 hours), the muscle becomes stronger and in some cases, bigger. And according to Magilton, the time following your workout is when muscles start their rebuilding phase. By fueling your body with sources of protein (chicken, eggs, nuts), which is made up of amino acids, you give your body what it needs to repair and rebuild exerted muscles.

Carbs: Because your body relies on carbs (or muscle glycogen stores) to supply energy during workouts, replenishing lost reserves is a must following your workout. Look for complex carbs like those found in rice, oatmeal, whole wheat bread and bran cereals which, unlike simple carbs containing additional sugars, sustain energy levels, leaving you fuller, longer, without causing a spike in your blood sugar levels.

i make little oat biscuits that are easy to carry around. i put in beans for extra protein.  you could also add an egg to it but i just soak the oats overnight which gives them a 'dough' like consistency, then i add beans mashed (which have been soaked overnight as well) and bake on low in muffin tins.  soaking grains & beans are important in order to be able to absorb the protein as soaking releases the protease inhibitors, as well as making it easier on your digestion.  it kind of needs a little bit of sauce tho. to my fiance's disgust, i put a little sweet chili sauce on it

this is a great thread, I'd wondered the same thing myself. I only found out about good "preworkout" snacks when I started smelling like ammonia after exercising last year! awkward...

So, would a yogurt and a piece of fruit be an alright pre-workout snack?

I might have a cup of black coffee with that too.

Carbs: Because your body relies on carbs (or muscle glycogen stores) to supply energy during workouts, replenishing lost reserves is a must following your workout. Look for complex carbs like those found in rice, oatmeal, whole wheat bread and bran cereals which, unlike simple carbs containing additional sugars, sustain energy levels, leaving you fuller, longer, without causing a spike in your blood sugar levels.

After workout post-workout you shouldn't start eating stuff with complex carbs, as those slow down digestion ergo the name 'good carbs', which is great for every other time during the day. But after a workout if you're like me, you need something fast, so go with simple carbs, but by that i don't mean start shoving bad fats in your body. Add some dextrose, which is not a supplement, its a sugar. Yes I said sugar, and of course not in huge amounts, but just to repelnish your blood sugar that's been depleted after a workout. If you take the complex carbs, because of the time it takes to digest.

i got this from www.intenseworkout.com

yeah i feel your schedule, i kind of have the same deal. i go to the gym at 7, and i have to leave for class from the gym around 8:15, and yeah i was kind of looking for the same type of question.

Here's a quote of an excellent post by Melkor that can be found in the Fitness Forum FAQ:

Original Post by melkor:

Nutrient timing is a whole book in itself, but the advice isn't all that different for weight training and short-duration cardio - if you're going to be doing 2+ hours of biking or running you're going to need to load up on energy gels and sports drinks in addition to the standard advice as you'll be burning through your body's glycogen like nobody's business.

 You'd want some protein pre-workout as well, for optimal results - the current recommendation for Best Pratice is to have a solid meal 90-120 minutes before your workout, no later. The protein in your food mostly digests in 3 hours, and the whole point of pre-workout nutrition is to have protein available in your system while working out. Therefore, eating more than 2 hours before your workout potentially leaves you without available amino acids in your blood stream at the end of your workout - not good.

 Alternatively, you have a liquid meal in the form of a protein shake 0-30 minutes before starting your workout - I personally feel this is the better option based on David Barr's research, but either way will work.

 Post-workout, a protein shake with moderately fast-acting whey protein taken within 30 minutes of your workout and containing carbs in a 4:1 carb:protein ratio is supposedly ideal for recovery.

 You'd then go on to eat your regularily scheduled meal within 90 minutes of having the protein shake, as whey protein mostly digests that fast.

 As for specifics: Alan recommends
Pre-workout
Protein = 0.25g/lb Target Body Weight
Carbs = 0.25g/lb TBW
Post-workout
Protein = 0.25g/lb TBW
Carbs = 0.5g/lb TBW

Calculate your individual needs based on either your lean body mass if you know it, or your target bodyweight if you don't.

 Drink water before your workout, and if you're doing strenuous exercise, also during. Calorie- and carbohydrate-rich sports drinks are mostly a waste of calories unless you're doing endurance workouts lasting longer than 60-90 minutes.

 I used to think that all pre-breakfast workouts was just crazy talk until Dr. Lonnie Lowery convinced me otherwise - if you stick to cardio in the mythical "fat-burning zone". Normally I wouldn't bother with that as you burn more calories at higher intensity, but if you're working out in a fasted state you're going to be burning muscle protein for fuel if you work out at an intensity exceeding your fat metabolism's capacity. (Well, simplified. You'll always use some protein for fuel, your body always uses all three energy sources, but if you overdo the intensity you're going to use more muscle protein for fuel than your body can replace and you'll lose muscle mass instead of fat mass. The effect will be miniscule for any one session, a few grams here and there, but ten grams a day does add up over time, neh?)

 Considering the lack of intensity in pre-breakfast cardio compared to what you can get up to with HIIT later in the day, I'm not convinced that there's any real advantage to it, unless it's the only way you're going to get any cardio in at all.

Also, you might want to check out Solving the Post-Workout Puzzle Part 1 and Part 2.

i have to do cardio for dance training, would toast with pb or a banana iwth pb be okay PRE workout and POST workout like a clif bar? [i need advice]

Original Post by slr101:

i have to do cardio for dance training, would toast with pb or a banana iwth pb be okay PRE workout and POST workout like a clif bar? [i need advice]

 Toast and peanut butter is always my preworkout snack too. It will be interesting to see what the 'experts' will say. I find that I always have energy for exercise and that Im not overly hungry after my workout, so I personally like my choice preworkout food. It seems to be working for me!