TIP TUESDAY:: Pre & Post Workout Nutrition Tips

If you thought this is an easy end all be all type of answer, then you are wrong. Variables that can dramatically change what you eat depend on when you have your workout and when you have the time to fuel up. Also, your body type, personal fitness goal and type of workout you are doing can again change your food options.

We’re going to take a little in-depth look into each macronutrient first to understand their purposes so that you can make better decisions for yourself.

Carbohydrates: Fuel of Choice
If you have educated yourself at all about the misunderstood carb, you will know that it is quite literally the high-octane fuel for exercise and this should take up the highest portion of nutrients out of your daily food intake. How much? How about at least 55% of your total calories? For my more technical subscribers, you should consume approx. 3.0 – 4.5 grams of carbs per pound of body weight. If your sport is low key-not a lot of non-stop running around-stick to the lower range. If your part of the higher endurance category, you’d choose the higher range. Obviously these are the 2 extremes; most athletes (yes, we are all athletes!) would fall in the middle ranges. In fact, play around with the ranges and see where your body feels most vigorous.

Lets take a short trip back to basic math class. I’ll even make it easy for you, go grab a calculator! You are going to multiply your weight in pounds by 3.0 grams (for moderate sports) and 4.5 grams (strenuous endurance sports). Because 1 gram of carbs = 4 calories, you will need to multiply the first two answers you have by 4 to find your ranges.
Here’s an example for a 150 lb elite runner training for several hours each day:
150 lbs x 4.5 grams = 675 grams of carbs
675 grams of carbs x 4 calories = 2700 carb calories
Now for a typical 150 lb health club member working out moderately for 45 mins, 4-5x/week:
150 lbs x 3.0 grams = 450 grams of carbs
450 grams of carbs x 4 calories = 1800 carb calories

Carb-rich foods are the food of choice for athletes. Carbs provide the muscles ongoing energy in the form of glucose and help maintain prolonged endurance and optimal performance.

Common High-Carb Foods:
Medium bagel (45 grms) 2 slices whole wheat bread (23 grms) 1 cup of oatmeal (25 grms) 1 cup cereal-ready to eat (16 grms) 10 crackers (21 grms) 1 cup pasta-cooked (40 grms) 1 cup rice (35 grms) granola bar (16 grms) 1 oz. Pretzels (21 grms) 2 fig bars (23 grms) power bars (42 grms) banana (27 grms) 8 oz O.J. (26 grms) med. baked potato (51 grms) ½ cup peas (11 grms) ½ cup corn (17 grms) 1 cup skim milk (12 grms) 1 cup low-fat plain yogurt (18 grms) 1 cup low-fat yogurt (43 grms) 1 cup beans (41 grms)

And Introducing: Muscle Glycogen
Muscle glycogen is the stored carbs in your muscles. Imagine this: After you eat and have digested, the amount of carbs you need immediately will be used up as fuel, but the rest (up to a point) will hangout in your muscles as “energy stores” for future fuel during prolonged exercises (athletes in ultra-endurance sports such as soccer, basketball, hockey and marathon runners rely on high-octane muscle fuel for energy).

So what happens if you don’t replenish your muscle glycogen stores? Simple: You run out of glycogen, you run out of energy. Always tired or run down? A vigorous training program alone can obviously cause you to feel that way but you may also want to look into your carb consumption. Keeping a food log and do the math; you may find an easy solution to your problem.

CAUTION* Active people might continuously burn loads of carb calories, but your muscles can only store a certain amount of carbs. If you’re not using what is already there, you’ll just end up putting on weight!

Heard Of Carbo-Loading?
It is exactly what it sounds like-loading your body with ginormous amounts of carbs before an event. Marathoners and triathletes can actually manipulate their exercise and eating schedule to help heighten their amount of stored muscle glycogen. Picture your car running on the last drop of gas…putt putt…putt…psssssshhh..dead. That’s basically what happens to your muscle glycogen stores during intense prolonged aerobic activity. By super saturating muscles with carbs beforehand, an athlete can ensure that their stores are maximally loaded.

Start this program 6 days before your event:
Exercise Schedule Time
Day 1 90 minutes => 50% of carbs in daily diet
Day 2 40 minutes => 50% of carbs in daily diet
Day 3 40 minutes => 50% of carbs in daily diet
Day 4 20 minutes => 70% of carbs in daily diet
Day 5 20 minutes => 70% of carbs in daily diet
Day 6 REST => 70% of carbs in daily diet
Day 7 GET OUT THERE AND MASTER YOUR RACE! =)

Personal Protein Requirements
Protein is essential for building and maintaining muscle tissue as well as repairing the muscle damage from the workout it has endured. You must remember, eating protein enriched foods does not automatically build bigger muscles…YOU build bigger muscles through your training workouts. The dietary protein simply allows all your hard work to pay off. So go ahead and take the credit! It had nothing to do with all the protein powder you shovelled in each day.

Athletes have a much higher recommendation than for the general population. Just keep in mind that your total proportion should still be high in carbs, moderate in protein and low in fat.
Find your exercise category in the list below, and then multiply your weight (pounds) by the number of recommended daily protein (grams per pound) to the right. That would be your personal daily requirement.

Exercise Category
Sedentary folks => 0.36 grms
Moderate exercisers => 0.36 – 0.5 grms
Endurance athletes => 0.5 – 0.8 grms
Strength athletes => 0.6 – 0.8 grms
Growing teenage athletes => 0.6 – 0.9 grms

Pre-Exercise Meals
-Large meals (approx 600-800 cals) should be consumed at least 3-4 hours prior
-Stick with carb-rich foods and moderate amounts of lean protein. The carbs are both loaded with energy and easy to digest. Avoid eating a lot of high-fat stuff; it takes longer to leave your stomach, and you don’t want food bouncing along for the ride.
-Avoid super high-fiber foods that can cause annoying stomach gurgles, or send you running to the bathroom right before kickoff!
-Limit gaseous foods such as beans, Brussels sprouts, grapes, broccoli, and anything else you think might give you a gassy tummy.
-Liquid meals are also fine. Some prefer liquid supplements because they don’t leave you feeling as full as a large meal of equal calories does. In fact, they leave your tummy quicker than solid food.
-Lay off salt. Some people tend to retain a lot of fluid, which can lead to puffiness and discomfort.
-Reduce the size of your food intake as you approach the time of your workout. For example: 3-4 hours before, have a large meal (approx. 600-800 cals); 2-3 hours before, have a smaller meal (approx. 400-500 cals); less than 2 hours before, grab some lighter snacks (cereal bars, fruit, flavoured rice cakes, fruit juice, yogurts, and so on).

What time is your training session? Check out the sample menus and get an idea of the foods you should choose.
Ready-Made Menu:
Breakfast (for late morning or early afternoon workout)
Bowl of cereal with skim milk
Sliced bananas
Bagel with jam
Glass of orange juice

Lunch (for late afternoon or evening workout)
Turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread
Salad with light dressing
Frozen yogurt with sliced strawberries
Glass of low-fat milk or juice

Dinner (for an early next morning workout or “anytime the next day” workout)
Grilled chicken
Pasta with marinara sauce
Broccoli and carrots
Fruit salad
2 fig bars
glass of skim milk

Recovery Foods
Finally, we made it here! It is very important to know that carb and fluid repletion should begin immediately, within an hour after exercise, to promote a quick recovery. (Just grab a quick fruit juice or sports drink if you don’t have any snacks on hand) When you can focus on a real meal, enjoy whatever you fancy; just make sure to include the following essentials:
-Plenty of fluids: water, real fruit juice, sports drinks, soups, and watery fruits and veggies (watermelon, grapes, oranges, tomatoes, lettuce, and cucumbers).
-A lot of carb-rich foods: whole wheat pasta, potatoes, brown rice, whole grain breads, fruits, yogurts, and so on.
-Moderate amounts of lean protein (turkey, chicken breast, wild salmon, tofu..so on)
-Potassium-rich foods such as potatoes, bananas, oranges, orange juice, and raisins.
-Do not attempt to replenish lost sodium by smothering your food in salt or by popping dangerous salt tablets. A typical meal, moderately salted, supplies more than enough sodium to replace the amount lost through sweat.

As you can see, food can make all the different between a good workout to a great workout. You’d want to reach your full potential, so pay attention to what you put into your body!

Until next time Team, focusing on the right mix of carbs, proteins and fats will leave you feeling great, and you’ll have more energy and strength for a winning performance!

Health respect & happiness,
Beki