Hitting the gym alone won’t bring you the desired results. You need to take the nutrition factor seriously with your daily workout. The food that you eat has a direct effect on your health and body. To live a perfectly fit life, taking care of your nutrition and workout is important to create a perfect balance.
About the diet, you must have wondered, ‘What to eat before a workout?’ This is a very common question. And following this trail, we then have the next confusion. ‘What to eat after a workout?’ We know that you need a balanced diet, so here you will get all your answers. Let’s break down the pre and post-workout nutrition for you.
What To Eat Before A Workout
Before a gym workout, your body needs enough energy to exercise muscles and burn calories. To have optimal stamina to complete your whole workout, you must have a proper pre workout meal to ensure fitness. Your diet needs a mix of carbohydrates, fats, proteins, and lots of water. So, below are the foods that you need to take to build your energy:
Best Foods To Eat
| Carbohydrates | Protein | Fats |
| Oatmeal | Eggs | Nuts |
| Whole Grains | Chicken Breast | Avocados |
| Brown Rice | Greek Yoghurt | Fish |
| Sweet Potatoes | Protein Shakes | Seeds |
When To Eat Before A Workout
It’s not just about the food. It is important to plan your meal time before the workout or gym classes. Here is a fitness nutrition guide you can follow:
30 to 60 Minutes Before The Workout
In a short interval, you need a little healthy snack. Try eating a banana with peanut butter or making a protein shake. You can also eat Greek yoghurt with some fruits.
2 to 3 Hours Before Workout
You must make a good plate of food for a proper meal before a workout. You can try grilled fish with vegetables on the side. Eating grilled chicken with brown rice is also a good option.
What To Eat After A Workout
Now comes the post workout nutrition. Just as it is important to plan your pre-workout meal, you must invest in making very healthy and balanced food for yourself after a workout. After exercising, your body needs to restore energy and repair the muscles’ health. Therefore, include a good balance of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats to keep your energy level optimum.
| Carbohydrates | Protein | Fats |
| Quinoa | Chicken | Full fat yoghurt |
| Fruits | Tofu | Nuts |
| Whole Grains | Fish | Seeds |
When To Eat After A Workout
Like you have had a good meal before the workout. Just do the same for your post-workout nutrition:
After 30 to 60 Minutes Of Workout
You can eat bananas with a bowl of oatmeal, or you can easily take a protein shake.
2 to 3 hours After The Workout
A full meal contains a combination of carbs, fats, and protein. Try eating grilled chicken with rice and vegetables. You can also try fish with quinoa.
Hydration Level For A Healthy Workout
Do you know that the human body comprises around 60% water? Also, a study by NCBI revealed that losing only 2% of body water could cause impairment in physical activity and can increase fatigue.
This shows the need and the importance of optimal hydration in our bodies. As we talk about hydration and workouts, it is necessary to realise that consistent water intake is crucial. During workouts, you lose water from your body. For optimal functioning, taking the right amount of water and proper meals is necessary to ensure fitness. So, here is a breakdown of hydration:
- Before exercise: Take almost 2 to 3 cups of water.
- During a workout: You can take about 1 or 1.5 cups of water.
- After exercise: You should take 2 cups of water for every pound you have lost in the workout.
Some Examples Of Healthy Meals
We have told you what foods you need to add to your meals. Now, you just need some ideas on how to combine the necessary items to make a perfect meal for yourself:
- Egg omelette with whole grain bread. Add avocado and some other fruits, or have a banana protein shake.
- A whole bread sandwich with sliced chicken breast. Make a side salad with it.
- A piece of salmon with grilled vegetables and one sweet potato.
- Brown rice with a chicken breast and some grilled vegetables on the side.
- A bowl of Greek yoghurt with fruits and nuts. Always add chia seeds to make it tastier and healthier.
- A bowl of oatmeal, fruits, protein powder, nuts and chia seeds.
Snacks That You Can Eat
If you are on a strict diet due to your personal training classes, it still doesn’t mean you should not eat snacks. You can always enjoy the following snacks, which are both healthy and won’t harm your fitness level:
- Cereals.
- Protein shake and a banana.
- Tuna and crackers.
- Fruit yoghurt with granola.
- Rice crackers and peanut butter.
- A bowl of fruits or a smoothie.
Why Proper And Healthy Nutrition Matters
Our body needs the proper nutrients to sustain energy and carry out complex tasks. Just having a gym membership won’t bring any results; you should also comply with the proper nutritional needs of your body.Our diet should include a healthy and optimal amount of carbohydrates, proteins and fats to deliver the necessary nutrients and energy to the body. If you are on a diet and think you should completely cut down fats from your daily intake, then you are thinking wrong. Below is a detailed breakdown of essential nutrients and why they are necessary for our body: Â
Carbohydrates
You must have heard from the elders that carbohydrates are essential because they provide energy to the body. That’s true. Carbs have glucose that our muscles use to gain energy. They provide immediate and long term need for sustained energy, which prevents muscle fatigue. You must have adequate amounts of carbs for workouts to produce sufficient energy levels to complete exercises.
Fats
Carbohydrates provide immediate energy, while fats work at the back end and save a steady amount of energy to utilise at the right time. During exercise, when our body is under stress, and all the glucose gets consumed, the rest of the energy is provided by the fats stored in our bodies. Fats also contribute to enhancing joint health, and they are necessary for hormone production.
Proteins
You must have seen gymgoers going crazy over taking protein shakes almost every other day. It’s not a health trend, but it is an essential need. Proteins play a critical role in enhancing muscle growth and recovery. Taking proteins before or after a workout helps the body repair the damaged muscle fibres. It further builds more muscles to improve the strength and endurance of the body.
Wrapping Up
Getting perfect fitness results is a long process that takes both time and consistent effort. Proper nutrition is also necessary as your customised gym workout plan. Furthermore, making a detailed plan of pre and post workout nutrition makes your workout diet perfect to support your fitness goals. So, take help with the above nutrition plan and boost your workout routine to achieve ideal fitness results.
