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Fueling up before and after your workout

You work hard to stay healthy – you eat right, you work out, but still you wonder, “is it enough?” Well, if you’re not fueling your fabulous machine (your body!) with the correct nutrients before and after your sweat session, you might be short-changing yourself.

    by Kerri Link Heckert, MS, RD
    Published 

You work hard to stay healthy – you eat right, you work out, but still you wonder, "is it enough?" Well, if you're not fueling your fabulous machine (your body!) with the correct nutrients before and after your sweat session, you might be short-changing yourself.

What should I eat?

Carbohydrates are your body's main source of fuel during exercise. Carbs are stored as glycogen in your muscles, and then released as glucose to keep your blood sugar steady as you start moving. Protein aids in the growth and repair of muscles. Carbs are considered to be "protein-sparing." If your diet is too low in carbs, your body will break down precious muscle for its protein in a desperate attempt to get energy. Fat is important for a number of reasons (did you know you burn the most fat while you're sleeping?), but doesn't play a huge role immediately before and after your workouts.

By the numbers.

When designing your diet, you should aim to get adequate carbs (2.7-4.5 gram per pound of body weight) and protein (0.5-0.8 gram per pound body weight) with about 20-35 percent of your total energy coming from healthy fat sources.

Pre-Workout

Before you hit the gym, (field, court, etc.), supercharge your muscles with easily digestible, carb-rich foods. Compliment your carbs with some protein to ensure speedy muscle repair and better muscle growth without the side of soreness (or at least less of it!). You don't want to feel hungry, but you also don't want to leave a bunch of food bouncing around in your stomach while you workout. The amount of calories you need will depend on what exercise you've got on tap that day. Your pre-workout intake will need to be larger on days when you're doing a 15-mile training run and smaller on days when you're doing a 45-minute Pilates class. Fat and fiber should be minimal in your pre-workout meals/snacks as they can slow the speed of digestion and cause stomach discomfort. The amount of time you leave between eating and starting your workout is a personal choice, so test it out.

Some pre-workout snack and meal ideas:

  1. Mini bagel and 2 Tbsp peanut butter (26 g carbs, 7 g protein)

  2. 1 cup low fat cottage cheese, 1 cup sliced peaches (42 g carbs, 16 g protein)

  3. Turkey (2 oz) and cheese (1 oz) sandwich, apple, 12 oz sports drink (85 g carbs, 41 g protein)

Post-Workout

The timing and contents of your post-workout meal will depend on the intensity and duration of your workout (shocker!). Research shows that eating carbs within 30 minutes after exercise results in better glycogen repletion (replacement of energy stores). Including protein will stimulate anabolism (muscle building) and aid in the repair work that needs to be done on those sore, damaged, exhausted muscles. Your muscles are like sponges right after they're done working, so this is the best time to nourish them!

Some ideas for refueling after exercise:

  1. 8 oz low-fat chocolate milk, banana (49 g carbs, 12 g protein)

  2. 6 oz Greek yogurt, ½ cup granola, 1 cup strawberries (56 g carbs, 16 g protein)

  3. 12 oz sports drink, Cliff Bar, cheese stick (69 g carbs, 14 g protein)

Hydration

Start your workout already hydrated - drink fluids throughout the day and within the hour before you start your workout. Water is fine for exercise that lasts an hour or less and is low to moderate intensity. Sports drinks are good options for moderate to high intensity activities and those that last longer than an hour as you'll need to focus on replacing carbs and electrolytes in addition to fluid. Salty foods, soups, fruits and veggies can help replace sodium and potassium lost in sweat after you're done.

Beware!

Just busted your butt? Resist the urge to eat anything that's not nailed down! A dangerous pitfall that comes with the well-intentioned goal of refueling is eating more calories than were burned. You worked hard and feel like you've burned hundreds, if not thousands, of calories dripping sweat all over that spin bike. Rewarding yourself with large portions of calorie-dense foods that negate the calories you burned can be just as damaging as skipping your post-workout meal (gasp!).

Kerri Link Heckert, a registered dietitian at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, has been in the fitness and nutrition industry for the past 7 years. She is a yoga instructor (RYT-200), ACSM certified Health Fitness Specialist and certified personal trainer. She earned her Masters at Drexel University and currently lives in the Philadelphia suburbs.

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