How to choose foods fit for your workout

So, you’re clocking kilometres on your treadmill and sweating it out on the weights with unfailing regularity, but you’re just not getting the results you want. What you’re eating before and after your workout could be blame. In her book, Top 100 Fitness Foods: 100 Ways to Turbocharge Your Life, health journalist Sarah Owen says that eating right when following a fitness regime will give you  the best results. “Eating the right foods can have a  huge impact on your stamina and performance and  post-workout recovery,” she says. Choosing the right foods not only helps replenish energy and fluids lost during training, but it also aids in your recovery and helps your body to maximise the results of your workout – because when you’re well-nourished you tend to exercise longer and burn more fat.

We turned to some local experts to share some advice on what to eat, when to eat it, and to suggest some of the best power foods that will help boost you and your workout to new heights:

Pre-workout prep

According to Lily Mueller, nutritionist at Dubai Herbal & Treatment Centre, exercising on an empty stomach is a definite no-no. “Skipping meals before exercising can cause low blood-sugar levels, which can make you weak and light-headed,” she says. “This means you won’t have the strength to exercise and burn fat.”

Exercising on an empty stomach may make you feel dizzy and you won’t be able to exercise as much as you would if you had a light snack to boost your energy levels. Also people who exercise without fuelling up first, tend to overeat after the workout session.
If you exercise in the mornings, it’s best to get up early enough to fit in a pre-workout snack first.

Fitness professional Bernadette Abraham recommends charging up on something that’s delicious and easy to digest – like a fruit smoothie – about 20 to 30 minutes before the session. The foods you eat before you work out, and the timing of your meals and snacks matter a lot.

“If you eat a large meal just before you exercise, you may experience nausea, feel sluggish or even end  up with muscle cramps,” says Lily.

During digestion blood is pumped to your stomach, and during exercise blood is pumped to your muscles – but the two processes should not happen at the same time. So, it’s important to give your body enough time to digest the food and absorb
its nutrients

Refuel with a post-workout smoothie made from a banana, an avocado,  a raw organic free-range egg, 2 tbsp flax seeds, some skimmed milk and ice.

Post-workout refuel
Post-exercise meals are just as important as what you eat before training, as they replenish your body’s stores after a workout. What and when you should eat after exercise depends on the type of exercise you’ve undertaken and at what time of day.
After a cardio workout, you don’t want food to be absorbed too quickly as that leads to carbs being stored as fat. So, wait 30 minutes, but eat something within an hour.
Waiting a short while actually helps your body recover and start pumping blood into the stomach to aid digestion. But be careful not to wait more than one hour because by then your metabolism will have started to slow down and your body will go into starvation mode.

After a resistance training session, you need a meal that can be absorbed quickly so the body can absorb nutrients and repair muscles, so eat something within 30-45 minutes of your workout.

During resistance training your body uses stored sugar called glycogen, which can be replenished with simple carbohydrates, such as milk, dairy products, fruits and vegetables.

To replenish your stores of glycogen, Bernadette recommends having a big fruit smoothie (see Try this on the opposite page!). It’s essential to rehydrate whether you have been doing aerobic or anaerobic exercise.  “For each pound (450g) of water weight lost take a pint of fluid,” Bernadette says. “A good way to know if you’re well-hydrated or not, is to check the colour of your urine throughout the day. It should be light pale yellow, if it’s dark, increase amount of fluid intake,” she adds.

What you should eat

Grilled chicken
Chicken is one of the leanest, healthiest sources of protein out there. Eating it before a workout helps release amino acids into your blood stream, which promotes the process of building proteins (protein synthesis). Chicken also ensures improved energy repair and post-workout recovery. Opt for chicken breasts and make sure they are skinless.

Spinach
This fibre-rich vegetable contains glycogen-replenishing carbs, plus it’s high in vitamin K, which is essential for bone health. Spinach is also an excellent source of vitamin C, calcium, vitamin A, manganese, folic acid, magnesium, iron, and antioxidants like quercetin that work to make oxygen more available to the lungs, thereby boosting endurance.

Eggs
They are a great source of protein, which is essential for muscle and tissue repair, and also help boost energy levels. Plus, they offer other health benefits like improving eye health and decreasing your risk of heart disease. Bernadette recommends organic, free-range eggs for maximum nutrition, and – as unappetising as it may sound – eating them raw!

Avocado
Although they are high in fat, avocados contain essential (good!) fats that help improve the immune system and metabolism, reduce inflammation and maintain water balance. They are also a good source of potassium and vitamin E – a great post-workout fuel.

Flax seeds
Flax seeds help boost immunity and rehydrate the body after a workout. They’re also a great source of essential Omega-3 fatty acids. It’s best to grind them up first to get the most benefits from them.

Skimmed milk
Instead of reaching for an energy drink, opt for a glass of skimmed milk instead. It not only provides carbohydrates, protein and is low in calories, but it’s also refreshing when ice-cold!

Banana
The simple sugars from the banana help the body replenish its depleted glycogen stores, plus the potassium helps replenish the electrolytes you lose when you sweat.