Nutrition and Exercise: What to eat before, during and after your workout to maximize your performance

Nutrition and Exercise: What to eat before, during and after your workout to maximize your performance

Nutrition is important for everyone to maintain a healthy lifestyle but it’s especially important for optimizing exercise performance of casual and expert athletes alike. The benefits of exercise range from aiding in weight control to improving your mood, energy, sleep and sex life as well as combating chronic disease. With all these benefits it is important to make the most of your time spent exercising and to maintain your energy so you can sustain an active lifestyle for the rest of your life.Proper nutrition can make a huge difference both in how you feel during exercise and then how well your body recovers after your workout. Making sure to eat well before, during and after your workout will optimize your performance, athletic progress and weight control. Without proper fuel (nutrition), especially before exercise, you can quickly feel fatigued during your workout and your recovery after exercise may be hindered. While casual exercisers (3-4 times a week) mainly need to focus on overall good nutrition, more vigorous exercisers (6-7 times per week, such as those training for endurance events such as triathlons and marathons) need to pay particular attention to replenishing muscle glycogen stores. All exercisers need to drink plenty of fluids before, during and after their workout to stay hydrated and replace important electrolytes. See previous article “Hidratación en el deporte” on Medios Lentos for specific guidelines.Before exerciseJust as you won’t get very far if you try to drive with little to no gas in your car, your body won’t take you very far into your workout without nutritional fuel. Aim to eat about 3 hours before you exercise then supplement with a carbohydrate-rich snack or drink 30-60 minutes right before you begin.Ideas for pre-workout meal ~3 hours before exercise:

• Turkey and cheese sandwich + fruit + sports drink
• Pasta with tomato and lean meat sauce + small salad + fruit + water
• Salad with chicken or tuna + whole wheat crackers or toast + fruit + water

Glucose load 30-60 minutes before exercise:

• Sports drink
• Granola bar (see recipe below)
• Piece of fruit
• Crackers with fruit jam

If you prefer to exercise in the morning, it is still important to fuel up before you exercise. You want to aim to eat something high in carbohydrates, moderate in protein and low in fat to give you sustained energy during your workout. Also remember to drink lots of water when you first wake up to make sure you stay hydrated throughout your workout!Ideas for snacks 30-60 minutes before early morning exercise:

• A banana and small handful of nuts such as almonds
• Low-fat yogurt and a piece of fruit
• Oatmeal made with skim milk and fruit
• Trail mix with dried nuts and fruit
• Smoothie made with fruit and milk or yogurt
• Granola bar

 During exerciseGlucose is your body’s most efficient source of fuel. There are several ways that your body makes glucose available to support physical activity, the most efficient and readily available are:

• Blood glucose

Sugar circulating in your bloodstream after you eat or drink something containing carbohydrates

• Glycogen

Produced in the liver, glycogen is a stored form of glucose that is readily available during exercise. Glycogen is stored in the liver and muscles.Although there is variability person-to-person based on level of physical training, most individuals have enough glycogen stored in their muscles and liver to complete ~90 minutes of moderate-intense activity. To prevent glycogen depletion (i.e. “hitting the wall”) during workouts lasting longer than 60 minutes, athletes should consume 30-60 grams of carbohydrates per hour. For endurance athletes training for an event, increase the amount to 60-90 grams per hour.Examples of foods, drinks and supplements that contain ~30 grams of carbohydrates:

• 16 ounces of Gatorade or similar sports drink
• 1 large banana
• 2 tablespoons of raisins
• 2 tablespoons of honey
• 8 ounces of fruit juice
• 1 granola bar
• Sports foods (gels, gummy chews and bars)

After exerciseDuring exercise your body is in a state of stress as you are challenging your body to increase your endurance and build new muscle mass. The period of time after exercise is crucial for recovery and for giving your body time to repair and build new muscle tissue before your next workout.The goals of nutrition for recovery after exercise are:

• To replace fluids and electrolytes lost through sweat
• To replace carbohydrates used during exercise (glucose and glycogen stores)
• To provide protein to aid muscle repair and new muscle development
• Ideally, recovery nutrition should be consumed within 60 minutes of your workout

If you feel nauseous after an intense workout make sure to drink fluids with calories (sugar) and eat crackers or a salty snack. It is important to train your stomach to tolerate post-exercise refueling.Ideas for post-exercise snacks (within 60 minutes):

• Smoothie with fruit and milk or yogurt
• Sports drink + sports bar (or granola bar containing protein)
• Greek yogurt + fruit (fresh or dried) + water
• Crackers and hummus or low fat cheese
• Banana + peanut butter + water
• Granola bar + piece of fruit + water

Plan to eat a full, balanced meal about 2-3 hours after your workout including whole grains, lean meat or vegetarian protein source and vegetables.Ideas for post-exercise meals:

• Stir fry with lean meat, peppers, broccoli, carrots, onions + brown rice + water
• Grilled fish + grilled vegetables including potatoes or sweet potatoes + fresh fruit + water
• Vegetable tarta + salad + rice or starchy vegetables + water
• Roasted chicken + roasted butternut squash + small salad + fruit + water

Exercise and Nutrition for Weight LossIf you are exercising to lose weight take care not to over-restrict your intake. Over-restriction of calories will backfire: putting your body into starvation mode will slow down your metabolism and leave you with little energy to complete calorie-burning, muscle-increasing work outs. When you under-eat, your body goes into survival mode, holding on to every last calorie you consume. When you are eventually no longer able to maintain the low-calorie, salads-for-every-meal routine and you return to heavier eating patterns you will quickly regain any weight you lost (and then some more). Work with a nutritionist to determine how many calories you need per day on average to support your work out goals. Every person is different and has unique needs based on age, gender, weight and activity level.General guidelines for intake:

• 50-60% of total calories from carbohydrates
• Pick whole grains, fruits, starchy vegetables and beans before products made with white flour
• For low-intensity exercise (<1 hr/day): 3-5g carbohydrate/kg body weight
• Moderate exercise (~1 hr/day): 5-7g carbohydrate/kg body weight
• Endurance exercise (1-3 hrs/day): 6-10g carbohydrate/kg body weight
• Extreme exercise (>4-5 hrs/day): 8-12g carbohydrate/kg body weight
• ~20% of total calories from protein
• Choose fish, lean cuts of meat, poultry, eggs and beans over meats with a lot of fat
• 1.2-1.7 grams/kg body weight/day
• Consume 20 grams of protein after resistance and intense exercise to optimize muscle recovery and synthesis of new muscle
• 20-30% of total calories from fat
• Optimal sources of fat come from nuts, seeds, olives and olive oil, avocado and fish

Recipe: Banana-Oat Granola BarsMakes one 9×9-inch pan. Adapted from Faith Durand’s recipe on TheKitchn.comThese bars are vegan, egg and sugar-free and can easily be made gluten-free if you use gluten-free oats and vanilla.

• 2 large, very ripe bananas
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 ½ cups rolled oats
• ½ cup shredded coconut
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ cup pitted, chopped dried dates
• ¼ cup chopped nuts — such as walnuts, hazelnuts or pecans
• Grated cinnamon

 1. Heat the oven to 350°F and lightly grease a 9×9-inch square baking dish with olive oil or butter.2. Peel the bananas and mash their flesh in a medium mixing bowl. Mash very thoroughly until no large chunks remain; the bananas should be essentially liquid. Stir in the vanilla. Add the oats and coconut and stir them in. Stir in the salt, dates, nuts and cinnamon.3. Pat the thick mixture evenly into the baking pan. Bake for 30 minutes or until the edges just begin to crisp up.4. Place the baking pan on a rack to cool. When the pan is mostly cool, cut into bars and enjoy! 9 servings, each serving contains:200 calories34 grams of carbohydrate5 grams of fat5.5 grams of protein References:

• American College of Sports Medicine. ACSM’s Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription. 6th ed. Baltimore: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2000.
• Institute of Medicine. Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy, Carbohydrate, Fiber, Fat, Fatty Acids, Cholesterol, Protein and Amino Acids. Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press; 2005.
• Journal of the American Dietetic Association; Position of the American Dietetic Association, Dietitians of Canada, and the American College of Sports Medicine: Nutrition and Athletic Performance; Rodriquez, et al.; 2009.International Olympic Committee Consensus Statement on Sports Nutrition: IOC Consensus Statement on Sports Nutrition 2010