Best Foods to Eat before and After your workout

Regardless of your motivation – weight loss, increased strength and muscle or overall fitness, exercise is vitally important in reaching your goals. One factor that can help you get the most from your training is choosing the right foods to eat before and after each workout.

What you eat before you exercise provides energy for those heart-pounding cardiovascular workouts or those intense HIIT or cycle sessions. Eating the right foods, or combination of foods will preventing hunger while exercising, provide sustained energy, improve your endurance and muscle strength and even help burn more calories and improve focus and concentration. After your workout, choosing the right foods will replenish depleted glycogen (energy) stores and feed muscle tissues to help them repair.

Here are some tips on choosing healthy foods to nourish yourself before and after exercise to get the most from your workout.

You do not need high priced designer energy bars. If you like them, can afford them and you’re short on time, by all means they are an acceptable choice every now and again, but they are not always the best choice. Many are packed with sugars and syrups and the wrong kind of fats, check the labels and ingredients.

The best choice before a workout (and the most bang for your buck) are simple, single ingredient, whole, fresh foods. Examples of single ingredient foods are a banana, an orange, an apple or a combination of single ingredient foods like an avocado slice with a lean chicken breast. These examples are easily digestible, and provide a combination of fast and medium (complex) carbohydrates to supply both quick and sustained energy.

Additional examples of healthy pre-workout snacks or meals; a simple small salad topped with fresh vegetables and an easily digested dressing, a cup of oats with fresh or dried fruit or fruit or berries, a handful of almonds or walnuts, or a small or medium healthy smoothie made from natural ingredients. Note: avoid milk products before a workout if you are at all intolerant.

If your fitness goal is to gain strength and size, you will want to add additional sources of lean protein or a scoop of your favorite protein to your smoothie. This is a moderate amount, the bulk of your protein should be consumed after your training during recovery.

Avoid candies, processed and fast foods, especially those with added sugars and avoid sugary drinks like sodas, colas and frappucinos before and after exercise. Don’t drink empty calories, get your beneficial calories and macronutrients in the form of fresh natural foods.

Once your workout is complete, eat a light and healthy meal. Your post-workout meal should be a mix of muscle-building proteins and energy re-fueling carbohydrates. Don’t make the mistake of believing that because you’ve worked out, you can eat anything you want. To benefit from your hard training and fat burning, your body needs the right combination of healthy foods to recover. Complex carbohydrates from fresh fruits and vegetables will replace the depleted glycogen in your muscles and a moderate amount of lean proteins will provide the amino acids necessary to repair and build muscle tissue. Good choices would include baked or broiled salmon, chicken breast or eggs served with steamed asparagus, broccoli or sweet potato “fries”.

What do you usually eat before and after a workout?? – Leave a comment and let me know, I love hearing from you!