If you are anything like me, knowing what to eat before and after a workout can be confusing! I called on Figure Competitor & fellow Health Coach Virginia Horsey to help answer some of these questions!
What are you eating before your workouts? How about after? Do you eat the same things for every workout, or do you fuel your body differently based on the mode of exercise? Is it all so confusing that you just eat SOMETHING and hope for the best? If you want to know how to fuel your body to maximize the results from your workout, keep reading!
First off, let’s figure out your body type. This will provide a general framework for choosing foods that your body will respond to well, and will help you correlate that to your workout nutrition. Dr. John Berardi of Precision Nutrition has found that people generally fit into one of three body types: Ectomorph, Endomorph, or Mesomorph.
(Source: https://www.precisionnutrition.com/all-about-body-type-eating)
Ectomorphs tend to have a slender frame and typically tolerate carbohydrates well. Generally speaking, they do best with a high carb/lowfat/moderate protein diet.
Endomorphs tend to have a bigger bone structure and a predisposition to storing fat. Typically they don’t do well with carbohydrates, so a low-carb diet with higher levels of fat and protein will serve them better.
Mesomorphs have more of an athletic build. A fairly even balance of protein, fat and carbohydrates will usually work best for this body type.
Keeping your specific body type in mind, let’s move on to your exercise of choice.
The way you exert your body is actually very important to determine what to eat and when. I’m going to break it down between lifting (strength training) and cardio. Since lifting is my favorite type of workout, we’ll dig into that first and cover cardio in Part 2.
When you lift weights, you are actually creating little tears in the muscle fibers. Over the next 24-72 hours, your body is working to repair these tears which results in bigger, stronger muscle fibers. This is also part of the reason you feel so sore in the day or two following a workout. Depending on whether you are lifting for strength, size or endurance, you will recruit different types of muscle fibers (slow twitch or fast twitch). However, the basic process is the same: Lift weights –> Create muscle tears –> Rebuild the damage –> Get bigger and stronger muscles. With this in mind, you will need to eat for energy to sustain your workout. You will also need to eat to support recovery and muscle growth.
For your pre-workout nutrition you want a moderate amount of protein (about 20g) and carbohydrates that digest more slowly, or alternately a moderate amount of fat. (This is where body type factors in)
What this looks like in the real world:
1. A protein shake with chia seeds and coconut oil.
2. Oatmeal and scrambled eggs. (or this healthy oatmeal muffin)
3. Turkey sandwich on whole grain bread with avocado.
These options or something similar would provide sustained energy to last throughout your workout.
It’s also highly recommended to have an intra-workout feed if your lifting workout will be more than about an hour. This should be high-carbohydrate and moderate protein. So orange juice and a protein bar or a high-carbohydrate protein shake would fit the bill.
Once you finish lifting, your body needs nutrients ASAP in order to get to work repairing your muscles. If you ate protein and carbohydrates immediately before your workout you can buy yourself a little time, but generally speaking you want to eat as soon after your workout as possible, preferably no more than 30-45 minutes.
As you workout, your muscles use up the glycogen stored in the muscle tissues. Glycogen is basically how your body stores carbohydrates. It converts carbohydrates into glucose chains called glycogen, which are made and stored mainly within the muscles, but also the liver. This is what your body uses as energy to power your muscles during a workout. The longer and harder the workout, the more glycogen is used. This is why intra- and post-workout nutrition is so crucial. Consuming a carbohydrate or carbohydrate/protein drink during your workout can help replenish the glycogen being used during the workout. Post-workout, your muscles need to replenish the glycogen and will therefore be very receptive to fast-digesting carbohydrates (including simple sugars). This is where eating immediately after your workout comes in to play.
As I mentioned before, it takes about 24-72 hours post-workout for the body to rebuild the muscle. Replacing depleted glycogen stores is part of it, but more importantly your body needs to pull from your amino acid pool to form muscle proteins to rebuild that muscle. In layman’s terms, you need to eat protein. Your body digests protein into individual amino acids, than takes these amino acids as needed to build and repair muscle tissue.
Put it all together and this means the ideal post-workout meal for strength training consists of about 30g of protein, fast-digesting carbohydrates and little to not fat. (Fat and carbs are actually competing energy sources. Dietary fat can actually slow digestion and will ultimately slow down delivery of glycogen and protein to your muscles).
What this looks like in practice:
1. Protein shake with fruit. (or this yummy fruit & yogurt bowl)
2. Turkey sandwich on white or sourdough bread with no fatty condiments.
3. Chicken breast and cookie. (please read labels and avoid cookies with high fructose corn syrup, artificial colors, sweeteners or flavors). Check out these healthy and delicious cookie recipes: Chewy Peanut Butter, Dark Chocolate Brownies, Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip)
From start to finish, this is what it can look like in real life:
1. Eat scrambled eggs and oatmeal for breakfast. Go to the gym and lift. For a long workout, have a carbohydrate/protein intra-workout drink. Immediately afterwards have a protein shake and a health coach-approved cookie.
2. Have a chicken breast, veggies and sweet potato for lunch. Lift. For a long workout, have a carbohydrate/protein intra-workout drink. Immediately afterward eat an orange and turkey sandwich on white bread with no cheese or fatty condiments.
Does this differ from what you usually eat around your workouts? if not — great! Keep it up! If you’ve never tried this approach before, give it a shot for a few weeks. See if you notice any changes or improvements. When making changes, I highly recommend keeping a food and exercise journal for a couple of weeks to track your intake vs. results. This will help to see exactly which foods benefit you most and when.
If cardio is your workout of choice, stay tuned for Part 2. Cardio workouts require a slightly different nutritional approach to maximize output and recovery.
Virginia Horsey is a railroad engineer, wife, mother, and figure competitor. She is also a dual-certified Health Coach who specializes in helping busy people with irregular schedules find ways to seamlessly integrate healthy diet and fitness habits into their busy lifestyles in order to achieve their health, physique, and energy goals. You can learn more about Virginia and her approach to Health Coaching on her website, www.essentialedgewellness.wordpress.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/EssentialEdgeWellness, or follow her on Instagram @healthcoachvirginia
