Workout Nutrition

“A man too busy to take care of his health is like a mechanic too busy to take care of his tools.” 

~ Spanish Proverb

Nutrition is easily 80%+ of the battle when it comes to weight loss or weight management. No matter how hard you work, if you're not eating the right portions of the right foods at the right times you will not reach your maximum results potential. 

Before I really dove into the fitness industry to study and learn the craft and become a personal trainer I was always a bit unsure about what to eat before and after my workout. I'm sure you fall into the same boat. You can read one thing one place, and then another thing another place. 

The American Council on Exercise recently published a great blog post on pre/post workout nutrition based on the different times of the day you may work-out. Check out the article HERE. 

Everybody's preferences and how their body reacts to foods will be different, but the general idea of the protein vs carbohydrate mix and timing are the same. 

For me, I workout early morning and I've found that my body best responds pre-workout to a simple container of yogurt. Now that I'm going wheat free (previous post here) and found out my precious fat-free yogurt has modified food starch I've had to switch it up and I go with a scoop of whey protein powder and a piece of fruit about 45 minutes before I workout. 

My post-workout 99% of the time is within 15 minutes of working out and is 1-2 scoops of whey protein powder mixed with either water or milk and two pieces of fruit (typically banana or apple).

Since I've been eliminating 90% of my carbs due to the wheat free aspect I haven't noticed much of a drop off in my exercise energy production (or hunger). If you time your carbohydrates right (pre and post workout), restrict them the rest of the day, and get healthy fats and proteins it's very doable to still perform at your peak and achieve fantastic results. 

If you're fighting the weight loss battle, before you go out and buy a better pair of shoes or decide to exercise for twice as long, take a step back and look at your diet. What are you eating? When are you eating it? I highly recommend meeting with a nutritionist to plan out your diet before you start planning your workout. 

What kind of pre/post workout meals do you find help you preform at your best? Your sharing is welcome! :)