In the pursuit of better health and fitness, many people fine tune their nutrition and exercise routine, eventually merging the two. Then comes the question: Should I eat before working out? When? How much?
Nailing these facets of pre-exercise nutrition can help you make the most out of your workout and prepare your body to recover for your next one.
I want to start off by saying that it is recommended to eat before exercise, especially for exercise lasting longer than 45 minutes. The modern myth that exercising without any food in your stomach helps the body burn more fat is just that -- a myth. This isn’t how the body works and is not recommended. One study analyzed changes in fat and muscle in two groups of young women: one group completed a four-week exercise program in a fasted state, the other consumed a meal before each exercise session. Both groups lost weight and lost body fat, and researchers found no significant differences between the two groups’ outcomes. They concluded that not eating before exercise does not improve success with weight loss or fat loss compared to exercising in a fed state.
Many people who want to lose weight look at exercise as a way to help increase the amount of calories expended every day. Studies have shown that the number of calories burned after exercise increases substantially if you have eaten beforehand.
Additionally, focusing on pre-exercise nutrition can enhance your immunity. High-intensity exercise can suppress your immune system and response, especially if you do this type of exercise regularly or for long periods of time. By eating a meal or snack before, you’re setting yourself up to fight this immune suppression, keep your body strong and recover well.
So let’s talk about what to eat and when. The main source of fuel for your brain and body is carbohydrates, which is going to be the key component to pre-exercise nutrition. When we’re moving, our muscles use fatty acids and carbs to produce energy, which fuels muscle contractions. We frequently shift between fat and carbs as our energy source, but it takes more time to break down fats to use for energy. Therefore, the longer and harder we exercise, the more the body will rely on carbs.
We store carbs in three places: the muscle; the liver and our bloodstream. Carbs stored in the muscle and liver are stored as glycogen. Our muscle stores are most significant and can store about 1200-2000 calories worth of glycogen, while the liver can store about 300-400 calories. The carbs in our bloodstream come in at about 60-80 calories and play the role of helping us maintain our blood sugar.
If you’re exercising for more than an hour or several times a day, pre-exercise nutrition becomes more important and can make a huge difference in how you feel and your performance. It’s best not to eat a huge meal right before your workout, so you want to have something more substantial spaced out between one and four hours before. The specific timing varies depending on your schedule and stomach. The emphasis of this meal should be mainly on carbs and protein, which will feed your body the building blocks of muscle. It has also been postulated that pre-exercise protein could contribute to a better muscle-building response after exercise, providing benefits both before and after.
The consequences of skipping this meal can last throughout the day, too. For example, one study demonstrated that forgoing breakfast with a good source of carbs can hinder exercise performance later in the evening, even when the missed calories from breakfast were made up at lunch. Some excellent examples of meals to consume in the recommended pre-exercise window include: Greek yogurt with fruit, 3-4 eggs with several slices of toast or a PB&J sandwich with a glass of milk.
The closer you get to your exercise session, the more you want to minimize eating too much fiber or fat. Normally, we love fiber, which is beneficial to a healthy diet. But fiber does take longer to digest and produces gas while it’s breaking down, which can be uncomfortable and problematic when working out. Similarly, fat also sits in your stomach for a longer period of time.
To adjust your fiber intake, choose less fibrous carbs like white bread over whole wheat, or white rice over brown rice. Fiber gives whole grains/wheat and brown rice its dark color—when it is removed, we have the lighter colored counterparts. Fibrous whole wheat and grain products are the best choices most of the time, as they provide more nutrients. The less fibrous carbs should be chosen as a strategic nutrition decision when you’re nearing exercise. When reading food labels, try to aim for fewer than 5 grams of carbs per serving.
As you approach the hour of exercise, a snack of concentrated, low fiber carbs will provide that extra bit of energy that can help keep your gas tank from running on empty. Since fiber slows digestion, we need fast-digesting snacks that can be used as an immediate energy source. Snacks like applesauce, dried fruit, white toast with jelly, fruit snacks or even 2-3 pieces of fruit are excellent choices. If you’re exercising in the heat and losing a lot of salt through sweat, pretzels are a handy pre-exercise snack. Drinking 8 ounces of a sports drink can also do the job, as the carbs in these beverages are designed to be digested quickly and will promote better hydration. This pre-exercise snack does not have to be anything big or crazy; just a little of the right something can go a long way.
You may have to experiment to figure out what agrees with you best and works well with your routine. Now that you’re equipped to fuel for exercise, stay tuned for the next Fuel Up column on how to eat to recover from exercise!
Emma Willingham is a registered dietitian who practices in an outpatient hospital clinic and through her private practice, Fuel with Emma. You can find her on social media at @fuelwithemma.
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What to eat before working out - Houston Chronicle
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