Thaddeus Jeckell - Your Fitness Advocate
BLOG ENTRY
1/17/2012
“Feed Your Workout”
Hi everyone, how are you doing on your new fit and lean lifestyle? If boredom is starting to set in, it’s time to schedule an upcoming event that you can use as a motivator. My wife and I put a team together to compete in the famous Camp Pendleton Mud Run this summer. It will be fun and we are looking forward to training for that together. The 10K run is filled with hills, obstacles, river crossings, walls, and mud pits. Sounds like an excuse to get out and play in the mud without mom yelling at you to not get your clothes dirty, and yes there will be a mud fight at the conclusion.
You just got done with an hour long workout. The calorie burn is rewarding and you feel great. As you walk by a trainer, you over hear him telling his client to go get some food. You think to yourself “should I be eating something right now? I just burnt 500 calories; I don’t want to undermine the hard work I just put in.” Pre and post workout meals are very important. Your body needs fuel to perform and recover. Fueling your body before, during, and after exercise will maximize your success. You want results, so don’t waste your workouts.
Here are some simple “to do’s” on what to eat and when, to benefit from your workouts. Your body uses food to fuel itself through a workout session. Timing is everything, as a preworkout rule try to get a meal 2 to 3 hours before you exercise. This meal should consist of 30-40 grams of a slow digesting carbohydrate like whole wheat bread, oatmeal, or fruit. You should also include a lean protein such as chicken, fish, or eggs. A fibrous carbohydrate like veggies is also another great choice. In general a meal with more carbohydrates then protein and fat is good practice before you workout because carbohydrates put glycogen (muscle sugar) into your muscles. Your body uses this as energy for your workout. Do not eat a large meal right before you exercise. This will leave you with less energy for you workout because it is trying to digest the meal you ate. This sometimes can actually cause nausea. Don’t let hunger get in the way of your workout; you can snack on something light and healthy to fuel your workout with in an hour of exercise. Yogurt or fruits are a nice choice in this situation. Fruits generally stay no longer than 30 minutes in the digestive tract. Yes, food choice is important. If you choose to eat a meal that’s filled with fried fatty foods, your workout will suffer because of it. The intensity of your workout is another choice you may need to consider when figuring out what to eat. An intense workout is fueled best with light foods.
During exercise electrolytes such as potassium, magnesium, calcium, and sodium are best replenished in a sports drink. These electrolytes will allow your body to fight fatigue and perform properly during exercise. Most sports drinks contain high sugars in different forms such as high fructose corn syrup. These sugars will spike energy levels but will create a sugar crash. During your workouts it is best to keep your sugars level.
After a hard workout, it’s important to refuel. Don’t skip this meal even if you think your calorie burning efforts are wasted. The body is most receptive to foods within the first 15-30 minutes following a strenuous workout, when blood flow to the muscles is high. The key is to quickly restore the body of these vital nutrients lost during exercise. The body is craving nutrients and once replenished it can start the recovery and muscle building process. One of the best post workout foods are carbohydrates, such as a banana. The body cannot efficiently replenish muscle glycogen without carbohydrates. Keep that banana in your bag so it’s readily available. Bananas are high on the glycemic index which indicates its ability to raise blood glucose. These types of foods immediately post exercise may enhance the replenishment of muscle glycogen stores. Your post workout recovery doesn’t end there. In the fitness industry there is a window of opportunity to feed your starving muscles, this is known as the “golden hour”. This is the time your muscles are most hungry for nutrients. The 60-90 minutes post workout meal should consist of a combination of protein and complex carbohydrates. Avoid having any fats with this meal because this will delay the digestion of proteins and carbohydrates that the body is craving. Your post meal could consist of the following: cottage cheese, chicken, fish, eggs, peanut butter, whey protein shake, turkey sandwich, oatmeal, and/or beans. The best time to get protein is following a workout because your muscles need the healing properties that it provides, but don’t make the mistake of overloading on protein. Too much protein can be bad for you. High protein levels can cause the kidneys and liver to be overworked. Our body can only use about 20 grams of protein at a time. Good practice would be to consume about that much in your recovery meal.
Remember to always rehydrate and this means throughout the day as well as before, during, and after exercise.
Diet restrictions may alter your workout food choices and that’s okay. Be sure to get your body nutrients in some way to replenish and benefit the most from each and every workout. Treat it as a reward for a job well done.
Diet Success Challenge: If you are reading my blog for the first time, it’s important to review the past Diet Success Challenges to catch up. Each challenge adds a new aspect towards a healthy eating lifestyle. This week let’s concentrate on portion size. Let’s use our open palm as a measure to decide if the serving can qualify as a small portion. It should be the size and thickness of your palm. For men, closer to 2 palms will be your measurement. Let this be a reminder on what a typical portion size should look like. If you go to a restaurant these days, they serve the meal on giant plates that could be considered platters. The portion sizing is out of control. A little trick that my wife and I will do when we know that the portion size is huge is order one dinner and an extra salad and then share it. We save a little bit of money, and sharing a plate can be fun and romantic.
Thank you
Your “Fitness Advocate”
Thaddeus
No Comments