When and What to Eat During Workouts

There is always a discussion about when to eat during your workouts. We don’t want o feel sick, plus we want the benefit of the exercise too!

Some say eating before a workout is best. Some say waiting until after your workout is best.

As a middle age woman that needs to work out more, here is what works and makes sense to me and my body.

When and What to Eat During Workouts

In addition to the commonly practiced habits of following a low fat diet to lose more weight, combining weightlifting workouts with a protein rich diet to build muscles, and taking in fewer calories than you burn, it is also important that you:

• Avoid eating before workouts
Whether you exercise at the beginning or end of the day, it is essential that you push your breakfast or dinner to after the workout.

This is because exercise increases levels of the fat burning hormone adrenalin thus allowing for better weight loss results. Eating before a workout however, sees the insulin produced to help with digestion blunt out the spike in adrenaline and consequently, you burn less fat.

For me, a thick meal replacement protein shake works best before I workout. I’m not super hungry and my blood sugar stays constant.

• Get some protein into your body after each workout
Whether in the form of a protein bar, protein shake, or a simple protein-rich meal, getting some protein into your system after a workout offers great benefits.

Protein increases muscle building potential, reduces muscle soreness by healing the micro tears that occurr during intense workouts, and significantly cuts recovery time.

All these benefits work towards boosting workout performance and results. And that is the name of the game!