Here's What You Should Eat Before, During And After An Intense Workout

While we all know that an intense workout can help you lose the right amount of weight, what you eat before, during and after you exercise plays a huge role in your fitness regime.
The right kind of food can make or break a workout routine and possibly affect the desired results. So what to munch on? According to experts, quality carbohydrates are important pre-workout and lean proteins post-workout.
Before you start with your exercise, eat carbohydrates, but not too much, said Nancy Cohen, a professor specialising in nutrition, reported CNN.
Cohen recommended consuming 1 to 4 grams of carbohydrates per every 2.2 pounds of body weight if you are planning to exercise for longer than an hour. Eating about an hour to four hours before working out is perfect for your fitness regime.
A review paper by researchers at the University of Sydney in Australia suggested that carbohydrate ingestion can improve endurance exercise performance. The paper was published in the 'Journal of Nutrition'.
The researchers assessed 50 randomised studies on carbohydrate ingestion and endurance exercise. The researchers found that the data in the studies provide evidence that consuming carbohydrates can enhance endurance exercise performance in adults.
"By eating carbohydrate-rich foods that are low in fat and low or moderate in protein, you can make sure you have enough muscle glycogen as fuel for your physical activity. This might include low-fat granola bars, fig bars, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, banana, yoghurt, pasta or other high-carbohydrate foods," Cohen said.
Staying hydrated is equally essential, consuming lots and lots of water can do the trick.
"Sufficient fluids are also important. In general, you can consume 5 to 10 millilitres of water per kilogram of body weight in the two to four hours before a workout," she said.
If you prefer to exercise in the morning, experts are divided on whether you should eat ahead of time.
It should be your own decision on whether to eat breakfast before or after exercise, said Stuart Phillips, a professor.
"I work out before breakfast every day because that's when I like to work out. I don't take in anything other than perhaps a cup of coffee most times or perhaps a slice of toast. My big breakfast comes after. But that's not to say that's good or bad. That's just what I do," Phillips said.
However, Cohen said that it's important to not make a habit of exercising on an empty stomach.
"If you haven't eaten in a long time, your body is in a fasted state. Normally, your body will use glucose for fuel and begin to break down muscle glycogen to deliver the glucose your body needs for exercise. In a fasted state, the muscle glycogen will be depleted sooner. Your body will then turn to breaking down fats for the energy it needs," Cohen said.
"This can lead to ketosis, or keto-acid buildup in the blood, which can be harmful to the kidneys over the long term and cause fatigue and dizziness," she said.

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