The world of pre- and post-workout nutrition is confusing, and there’s no one-size-fits-all answer. One thing you should know, however, is that the food you put in your body before, during, and after your sweat session can definitely affect how you feel and whether or not you meet your workout goals. (1) Food also influences how quickly you recover from a workout, and what you eat after a training session factors into how quickly you can exercise again (which is important to serious athletes). The specific recommendations on what, when, and how much to eat will vary significantly depending on the time of day, type and length of workout, and your personal goals, explains Jennifer McDaniel, RDN, CCSD, who is board certified in sports dietetics and owns the private nutrition practice McDaniel Nutrition Therapy based in Clayton, Missouri. Here, experts break down exactly what you should eat before, during, and after a workout. But what you should eat before a 30-minute power walk is going to look different from what you eat before a 20-mile training run. Here’s what you need to know. If you’re exercising for less than an hour first thing in the morning, McDaniel and Patton agree that you don’t necessarily have to eat anything. “If you have an early workout that’s easy or light and you’re trying to lose weight, it might be best to have a glass of water but skip the food,” says McDaniel, noting that this encourages your body to burn a greater percentage of body fat to fuel your workout. In addition, previous research found that people may burn more fat over the course of 24 hours if they work out before eating breakfast compared with exercising later in the day. (2) If your workout is moderate intensity or more, a small snack may be helpful. Recent research recommends endurance athletes not fast before high-intensity workouts. When you do a tough workout on an empty stomach, you may not have enough energy (fuel) to complete it. You may actually burn more calories overall and get in a harder workout if you consume a small snack before exercising. If you’re ravenous when you wake up, you may need some food in your stomach before activity. Signs that you’re too hungry to run on empty include intolerable hunger pains, headache, light-headedness or dizziness, irritability, or inability to concentrate, says Patton. In these cases, even if you have just 10 to 15 minutes before your workout, eat a small amount of quickly digestible carbohydrates, such as 4 ounces of fruit juice, a small banana, a handful of grapes, or a handful of dry cereal, to ensure you have the physical and mental energy to get moving. With a small, carb-rich snack before your workout, you may actually be surprised at how much more energy you have. Another benefit of this type of snack (or even a somewhat larger 200-calorie snack) prior to exercising? It may enhance feelings of relaxation afterward. (3) If you’re exercising for more than an hour first thing in the morning, you should always eat a small amount of easy-to-digest carbs — like the options mentioned above — so you have the necessary energy to sustain your workout, Patton says. If you’re waking up at least 30 minutes before your workout, you’ll have enough time to digest an even more substantial snack of around 200 calories. (Think a light breakfast, such as half an English muffin with a tablespoon of peanut butter and a few banana slices, an apple with a tablespoon of almond butter, or a half-cup of plain yogurt with a small handful of granola.) For those with weak stomachs who feel like they can’t eat before a workout, consider an easy-to-digest option like a sports drink or a smoothie or applesauce. Sometimes liquid calories are easier to tolerate, and over time you can train your stomach to tolerate more food before exercise. Waking up with enough time to eat a small breakfast before intense workouts may be ideal, McDaniel adds. The extra calories in your system help prevent fatigue, so you have enough energy to complete your workout at a time of day when you might otherwise feel pretty exhausted. A study found even drinking coffee before a workout can help improve athletic performance. You’ll be able to push it harder when you have some fuel in you! If you’re exercising later in the day and you’ve eaten a meal within the last two to three hours, you should be fine to do your workout without any additional source of pre-workout fuel, says McDaniel. But if you haven’t eaten recently, you should have a 100- to 200-calorie snack within 30 minutes to an hour before your workout so you’re mentally and physically prepared. How long should you wait to exercise after eating? If you’ve just eaten a meal, you should wait two to three hours before you work out; and if you’ve just eaten a snack, wait about a half hour, McDaniel says. If you’re going to do a cardio workout, this snack should be higher-carbohydrate, moderate in protein, and low-fat (but you don’t need to go fat-free). Specific examples include: a whole-wheat tortilla with a smear of peanut butter and a banana, half a turkey sandwich, or oatmeal with fruit and nuts. If you’re going to do strength training, this snack should be higher in protein, moderate in carbohydrates, and low-fat. (4) Specific examples include: eggs and a slice of whole wheat toast, cottage cheese with fruit, or Greek yogurt with fruit and nuts. People who participate in longer endurance exercise, such as running or cycling for 60 to 90 minutes or more, however, do benefit greatly from mid-workout fuel, which can delay the onset of fatigue and improve performance, according to decades of exercise science research. (5) After the first 60 minutes, you should aim to eat 30 to 60 grams (g) of carbohydrates every hour, according to recommendations from the International Society of Sports Nutrition. (6) “Sports performance drinks, gels, and chews work great and are made from the type of carbs that won’t cause gastrointestinal distress,” says Patton. “But some people prefer things like bananas, pretzels, or crackers.” “Recovery nutrition” tends to be most important after intense endurance or strength-training workouts (say, a 90-minute bike ride or weight-lifting session), or when an athlete trains multiple times in a single day. In these cases — or for anyone feeling very hungry or fatigued after a workout — eating protein and carbohydrates within an hour or so after exercise is ideal. This time period immediately after your workout is when your body is most efficient at using the protein you eat to build new muscle, as well as prevent the breakdown of your existing muscles, in a process called muscle protein synthesis. Post-workout, your body also needs carbohydrates to restore depleted levels of glycogen (a form of carbohydrate stored in the muscles), which helps fuel future exercise. What would a healthy post-workout snack look like? Most recovery snacks can be within the 100- to 300-calorie range (more if you haven’t eaten much earlier in the day, and on the lower-calorie end if you’ve eaten more already). Do keep in mind though, if you’re trying to lose weight and you’re not an athlete, your post-workout snack will likely need to be on the small side, says McDaniel. A good general rule is to aim for a snack with at least 10 g of protein and double or triple that in carbs (that’s why a serving of chocolate milk, with 24 g of carbohydrate and 8 g of protein, is such a great post-workout recovery drink). Go a little higher on the carbs after intense cardio or endurance workouts, and go a little higher on the protein after a strength-training session, Patton adds. Some post-workout snack ideas include:
Raisin bread with cottage cheese and sliced bananasA whole-wheat tortilla with hummusPlain Greek yogurt with walnuts and honeyFlavored kefirWhole-wheat crackers with cheese and dried figsA couple of eggs with toast and fruit
In addition to this immediate post-workout snack, it’s also important to eat a balanced meal within two hours after exercising.
