What to eat before and after your workout
Updated: Oct 20, 2021
Proper nutrition is essential to maximize the effects of your workouts. Eat too close to your workout and you will feel bloated and not energized. Eat too far from your workout and you may feel too drained to give it your all. We all have different nutrition habits according to our lifestyle and nutrition strategies will vary for each of us.
Pre workout
The goal of your pre workout meal is to ensure one thing only: that you feel freaking amazing during the workout. Pre workout nutrition will vary greatly between individuals, if you are unsure about it, here’s a good place to start.
1. Drink water. Half a litre will do the trick. You don’t need to chug it down right as you step in the gym, just have it throughout the hour preceding your workout.
2. Eat a MINIMUM of 1 hour before your workouts. You want to feel fresh and energized! You don’t want to be digesting food as you workout so don’t eat too close to your
workouts. If you have no other option, eat a piece of fruit before your workout, although this should be in in emergency scenario only.
3. Eat easily digestible foods. Fruits and veggies are the best. Small amounts of protein, fats and grains are ok as well. Avoid junk foods at all cost because they will cause an energy drop during your workout.
4. Leafy greens are good but not mandatory. It's always best practice to have some greens on your plate before a work, but I know that sometimes life gets in the way. Try to incorporate them if possible but it's no big deal if they aren't in your pre workout meal.
5. Never eat to the point of feeling full when you eat before a workout. If you feel full, odds are you will still be digesting most of your food during the workout and that will take energy away from the actual working out.
6. My go to if I'm squeezed for time is dark chocolate (90% cacao). I've written another article dedicated to chocolate here so you see my reasoning.
These protein balls below are fantastic to have if you are short on time before a workout. Check out the recipe here.