What to eat before a workout: a flexible food menu

The problem of what to eat before and after a workout is a much debated one. Everyone has his own theory: some say you shouldn’t eat nothing to burn more fat, other say that you should eat after you workout, others say you should eat only before a workout. Well here is the truth that is best for your health:

It is stupid not to eat something before working out. You need energy during a workout and your body needs fuel, food, to give you energy. It is true that you get more calories but it is also true that you will last longer and you will be able to do more exercises. That way you will burn more calories during your workout.

But what to eat? Well you first have to understand that carbohydrates are the energetic resources of your body. There are good carbohydrates and bad carbohydrates for your body and health. The good carbohydrates are the complex carbohydrates that the body has to work hard to digest. That way the energy resulted from them is freed gradually during a couple of hours. The meal before a workout session should be light and there should be at least a 30 minutes gap between the meal and the start of your workout. But if you eat good complex carbohydrates that give you energy gradually you should have a bigger time gap between eating and working out. For example if you eat cereals 30 minutes prior to working out your body will use up the energy resulted from then only after a couple of hours. So they are a bad choice. In that situation you should some simple carbohydrates that give you a fast energy boost combines with complex carbohydrates to make sure you won’t go on a binging spree when the sugar rush ends.

Here is a flexible daily menu you can use and adapt for the days you choose to workout. A small guide of what to eat before a workout:

– For breakfast eat a portion of cereals that will give you a good state of being and constant energy all day long.

– For lunch you can choose whatever you want as long as it is healthy. Be careful of the size of the portion you will eat. Studies show that we get fat not because of what we eat but because of eating too much.

– A pre workout snack: eat something 30 minutes before starting to workout. You need carbohydrates and you can eat a mix of simple and complex carbohydrates. The simple carbohydrates pass quickly into the blood stream and energize you. Eat an energy bar or a fruit. Don’t exaggerate with the fruits because they can make you bloated which in turn will reduce your motivation and desire to work out. If you get bloated find out how to get rid of bloating.