Many people assume eating before a workout just defeats the purpose-as in, the body will just work off the calories ingested, leaving you at the very beginning from where you started. Actually, this is highly inaccurate, and if you are to be following this simple logic, then if you burn 500 calories just to eat 1,000 because you’re ravenous from all your exercise, then you’ve defeated the purpose that way, as well. However, there ARE ways to balance out your eating habits with your workout habits without harming your body or adding on unwanted calories that are difficult to remove. So, SHOULD you eat before a workout or not?
Well, it really depends on how hungry you are BEFORE your workout as to whether you should eat before or after you get active. People who work out while ravenous tend to have slower, less productive activity with their bodies because they are poorly fueled. This is like driving a car while it’s sputtering on empty-the vehicle is still in motion, but barely, and with less performance than one would like. A break down can happen at any moment, and you’re not really getting far. Eating before a workout can increase your body’s mobility, ability to be active longer, and allow you to enjoy your workout without feeling shaky, woozy, dizzy or nauseous after wards.
However eating BEFORE a workout has its drawbacks. If you eat a giant meal before a workout, then your body is not properly digesting the food you’ve eaten while you are being highly active. The body needs blood circulating to digest food properly, and with active muscles taking all the blood circulation and energy straight to them, the food in the stomach just, well, sits there. The end result is MAJOR stomach cramping, that is not only incredibly painful and uncomfortable, but a pain in your workout process.
So the choices are you either suffer with excruciatingly irritating stomach cramps and have a crappy workout, or you suffer dizziness, weakness, and have a crappy workout huh? Actually, no. There are things you can do to make your body a properly fueled exercising machine without adding on a gazillion calories you’ll just have to worry about burning off.
Eat LIGHTLY before a workout-something that is high in protein, low in fat, such as a handful of raw almonds. Protein helps the muscles in your body work more effectively in an active workout, and in small doses does not lead to excessive calorie consumption or stomach cramping. Also, protein makes the body feel fuller longer, so after your workout you won’t be rushing towards the fridge for a quick food fix before you pass out.
Eating lightly after your workout allows your body to not feel immediately deprived and weak from exercise. Smaller meals in general help your body metabolize the calories taken in better as they are brought in in smaller increments. This allows the body to catch up with the calories taken in so they will burn up faster.
Never indulge yourself too much food-wise before or after a workout. This just makes you feel nauseous, and can affect your calorie burning strategy when you work out. Ingesting 600 calories at once has more ill-effects on the body than ingesting200 calories at a time in 3 separate doses. You feel fuller longer, and have more time to burn off what you’ve taken in.
Above all else, listen to your body, and don’t under indulge yourself either. If you aren’t eating anything, your body just simply stores all the calories you finally DO ingest as fat, defeating the purpose of not eating in the first place. It isn’t worth it to deprive yourself, as much as it isn’t worth it to overdo it.
As always, have water on hand and drink it often. Nothing helps out a good workout or effects the body more positively than pure hydration.
