Eating before and after meals

There is a very old saying that if you eat an hour before you swim you will get cramps. Now is the time to listen to what your mother tells you, because it is true!

The reason the body cramps after thrown into intense workouts is because the body is transferring the energy and blood needed for digesting the food in the stomach to the muscles that are lifting that dumbbell. The dumbbell takes priority over the food so that taco just sits there, bouncing and swishing. Does not sound too pleasant does it?

NEVER FEAR! There is a solution. Now pay close attention; do not eat before you exercise. Not all that complicating is it? Exercise Physiologist have found that by being relatively hungry before you workout, you burn more fat than if you ate before you worked out.

Now if you are starving and just HAVE to have that meal before you pound those weights do something small that will get your carbs up. I like bananas or a handful of almonds before I workout in the morning, just to settle that edge.

What about after workouts? It has been shown that the best time to eat is within two hours of working out. It seems counter productive but your body is not just taking those calories and putting them back in your storage, it is utilizing the calories much more efficiently then those calories you just burned. It is like going into your food storage and taking out that canned chicken as compared to the fresh cooked chicken. (I am NOT a fan of canned, stored, or frozen food by the way.) The stored stuff has nothing on that freshness of just out of the garden goodness. You just want to eat that chicken while it is hot rather then have to zap it in the microwave a day later.

After you workout it is best to have some carbs and protein. Carbohydrates is the energy source of your body. Yes, it can get it from other resources but your body is a big fan of carbs and can break it down much faster and more efficiently.

Have question?
PLEASE COMMENT! or e-mail me at brianne.ballard.fitness@gmail.com

Cheng, M. (2010, June 3). To get rid of fat, don't eat before workout. MSNBC Fitness .

Mike Roussell, P. (n.d.). Ask the Diet Doctor: The Best Post-Workout Snack. SHAPE .

Miriam E. Nelson, P. (1999, June 11). Eating before exercise The Facts. CNN Health .