Eating and exercise: 5 tips to maximize your workouts

Knowing when and what to eat tin can make a difference in your workouts. Understand the connection betwixt eating and exercise.

Past Mayo Clinic Staff

Eating and exercise go mitt in manus. When and what yous eat can be important to how you feel when you do, whether it's a casual workout or training for a contest. Consider these eating and exercise tips.

1. Eat a healthy breakfast

If you practice in the morning, get up early on plenty to end breakfast at to the lowest degree one hour before your conditioning. Be well fueled going into a conditioning. Studies suggest that eating or drinking carbohydrates before exercise can improve workout performance and may allow y'all to work out for a longer fourth dimension or at a higher intensity. If you don't eat, y'all might feel sluggish or lightheaded when you exercise.

If yous plan to exercise inside an hour after breakfast, eat a light breakfast or drink something such as a sports drink. Focus on carbohydrates for maximum energy.

Good breakfast options include:

  • Whole-grain cereals or bread
  • Low-fatty milk
  • Juice
  • A banana
  • Yogurt

And retrieve, if yous usually have coffee in the mornings, a cup earlier your workout is probably OK. Besides know that anytime yous try a food or drink for the first fourth dimension before a conditioning, you risk an upset breadbasket.

2. Scout the portion size

Be careful not to overdo it when it comes to how much you swallow earlier exercise. The general guidelines advise:

  • Large meals. Eat these at least 3 to 4 hours earlier exercising.
  • Pocket-sized meals or snacks. Swallow these about 1 to iii hours earlier exercising.

Eating also much before you practise tin can go out you feeling sluggish. Eating too little might not give y'all the energy you need to keep feeling strong throughout your workout.

3. Snack well

Well-nigh people can eat small snacks correct earlier and during exercise. The cardinal is how you lot feel. Do what works best for you. Snacks eaten soon before exercise probably won't give you added energy if your workout lasts less than 60 minutes, but they may forbid distracting hunger pangs. If your workout is longer than hour, you lot may benefit by including a saccharide-rich food or potable during the workout. Good snack options include:

  • An energy bar
  • A banana, an apple or other fresh fruit
  • Yogurt
  • A fruit smoothie
  • A whole-grain bagel or crackers
  • A low-fat granola bar
  • A peanut butter sandwich
  • Sports drink or diluted juice

A healthy snack is especially of import if yous plan a workout several hours after a repast.

4. Eat later on you exercise

Fuel your body for everyday functioning

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To help your muscles recover and to replace their glycogen stores, eat a meal that contains both carbohydrates and protein within two hours of your exercise session if possible. Consider a snack if your repast is more than ii hours abroad. Expert post-conditioning food choices include:

  • Yogurt and fruit
  • Peanut butter sandwich
  • Low-fat chocolate milk and pretzels
  • Post-workout recovery smoothie
  • Turkey on whole-grain staff of life with vegetables

v. Drink up

Don't forget to drink fluids. You need adequate fluids before, during and after exercise to help prevent dehydration.

To stay well hydrated for exercise, the American College of Sports Medicine recommends that you:

  • Beverage roughly 2 to 3 cups (473 to 710 milliliters) of water during the ii to iii hours before your workout.
  • Potable about 1/2 to 1 cup (118 to 237 milliliters) of water every fifteen to 20 minutes during your conditioning. Accommodate amounts related to your body size and the conditions.
  • Drink roughly 2 to three cups (473 to 710 milliliters) of water afterwards your conditioning for every pound (0.5 kilogram) of weight you lose during the workout.

Water is generally the best way to replace lost fluids. But if you lot're exercising for more than sixty minutes, use a sports drink. Sports drinks can aid maintain your body's electrolyte balance and give you a flake more energy because they contain carbohydrates.

Let experience exist your guide

Continue in listen that the length and intensity of your activity will determine how often and what you should eat and potable. For case, y'all'll demand more energy from nutrient to run a marathon than to run or walk a few miles. And try not to include any new products in your nutrition before a long-duration sports effect. It's best to have previous experience to run into how your organization handles the food.

When it comes to eating and exercise, everyone is different. So pay attention to how yous feel during your conditioning and to your overall operation. Let your experience guide y'all on which pre- and post-practise eating habits work all-time for you. Consider keeping a journal to monitor how your body reacts to meals and snacks so that you can adjust your diet for optimal performance.

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December. 18, 2021

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