Fitness is composed of a lot of different aspects and when it comes to losing the weight. what you eat before a workout matters a lot and what you eat afterwards also matters a lot, if you want to get most out of your workouts, lose weight faster, burn calories faster, feel powered during training and all the other bonuses, that come along with doing your workouts perfectly. The best solution to this is to eat and eat the right things at the right time. You might be eating the right food but at the wrong time and that may not allow you to have powerful workouts.
1. The importance of eating before your workout
The first thing to note about eating before a workout is that, exercising on an empty stomach will not necessarily help you toperform as well as you ought to as you need fuel to help you work out better and the food you eat provides this fuel. Without food, your exercises would be of low impact. Another reason is that working out on an empty stomach encourages muscle loss, because when you’re hungry, your body goes into survival mode and draws out protein from your muscles instead of other areas like your kidneys or liver where your body derives protein from. This can slow down your metabolism and make it harder to lose weight.
2. What to eat before your workout
Pre-workout foods are complex carbohydrates and proteins that can sustain you throughout your exercising period as well as supply you with the energy your body needs. They are also foods that you could eat during workouts as they will help keep you energized during this period.
- Brown rice (1/2 cup) with black beans (1/2 cup)
- Small sweet potato with steamed or lightly salted broccoli in olive oil (1 cup)
- Banana with almond butter (2 tablespoons)
- Multi-grain crackers (10) with hummus (3 tablespoons)
- Oatmeal (1/2 cup) with berries (1 cup), sweetened with stevia or agave
- Apple and walnuts (1/4 cup)
3. The importance of eating after your workout
When you have finished exercising, your glycogen level drops as you have exhausted it, you need to restore it back and only certain foods will help bring back dispensed energy. Foods with carbohydrates and protein will do the job just fine and helps keeps your metabolism strong.
4. What to eat after your workout
It is important to eat carbs and protein right after a workout to give restore back energy to your body.
- Protein shake made with banana, a scoop of protein powder, almond milk or flax or hemp seeds combination
- Tasty Salad with and some shredded chicken (1/2 cup), light olive oil and vinegar
- Sautéed or steamed vegetables (1 cup) with non-GMO tofu (1/2 cup)
- Quinoa bowl (1 cup) with black berries (1 cup) and pecans (1/4 cup)
- Multi-grain bread (2 slices) with raw peanut butter (2 tablespoons) and agave nectar
- Burrito with beans (1/2 cup), brown rice (1/2 cup), guacamole (2 tablespoons), and salsa
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