What do I eat pre and post workout?!
Many of you may wonder ‘what’s the best kind of food to eat before and after I workout?’ It’s a very important question. There is a ‘golden hour’ after you workout where the body is starving for food and needing certain foods to build that muscle. It’s important to think about what you eat pre-workout as well. But since Real Body Bootcamp meets mostly at 6am, it’s a tough time to have a meal for most of you. Just try to make sure you’ve got plenty of fluids in your body before the workout and even have a small banana or something with some glucose like juice. If you are someone you feels faint or dizzy within 20 minutes of working out, then you need to get up a little earlier and fuel your body with a small amount of carbs so that you can continue the full hour of the workout with plenty of energy. Even some fruit juice can make a big difference in your energy level for the workout.
Okay, now that we’ve got that covered, let’s discuss post-workout meals. You should know that water is the most important thing but aside from that, there are two things your meal should contain after working out—CARBS AND PROTEIN. Fat should not be a part of this meal. And if it is, it should be a significantly smaller amount than the protein and carbs. The reason you should not have fat after working out is that fat slows digestion and you need this meal to be digested quickly by the body after working out so that the protein and carbs can work efficiently. You need the carbs to restore muscle glycogen lost during a workout. If you don’t have the carbs, your body might start breaking down the muscle that you worked hard to build. Carbs also create an insulin spike, which helps to move nutrients into your muscle tissue quicker. And since the post-workout meal is all about speed, you want the carbs to be simple, not complex. This means less fiber. Sounds crazy, right? Aren’t we supposed to always have lots and lots of fiber. Well, yes. Just not right after a workout.
So think about coming home from bootcamp and having some fruit and toast with low-fat cottage cheese or an egg-white omelet with some potatoes or toast with jam. Just don’t add the butter! You’ll be building that muscle that you worked so hard to get and burn that fat that you worked so hard to lose! And don’t forget the water. Drink up and just as important…eat up! Fuel yourself correctly to create the body you want to have.
-Liz Samuel
Recent Entries
- Brookdale Park 5:45am and 9:30am, contact Bernie 917.613.9121
- Schedule
- Class Description and Locations, Clifton and Montclair, NJ
- Let’s Meet at the Barre….
- REAL BODY BOOTCAMP
- PILOXING!!! The Hottest New Workout First to Hit Montclair, Clifton & Bloomfield
- Hybrid Class
- Five Ways To Avoid Gaining Weight During the Holidays
- What do Angelina Jolie, Jennifer Garner and JLO have in common? Krav Maga!
- Real Body Bootcamp Exclusive Membership for a Limited Time
