Nutrition and sports: what do you eat before and after exercise?
- Reading time: 10 min.
We’ve probably all made the following mistake at some point: it’s Saturday afternoon, and with high hopes, you put on your sports outfit – today, we’re going to crush it! When you open the fridge to quickly finish the leftovers from last night, you soon find yourself in for a rude awakening: a horde of mold means your once-delicious meal is heading straight for the trash. Oh well, you’ll eat after your workout. Upon arriving at the gym, you quickly regret your decision… your training could easily feature in a YouTube video titled: 25 Funniest Fails In Sport History. The moral of the story: it’s essential to get the right nutrition before and after a workout. In this blog, we’ll give you tips on what to eat around your training sessions, the best timing for this, and we’ve lined up our favorite recipes for you.
What do you eat before exercising?
A phrase we often come across is: "fuel your body." Your body needs fuel, just like a car, to function. Have you ever tried to drive your car when it was out of gas? No? So why would you go exercising without any form of fuel in your body? The nutrition you consume before a workout is very important, as it plays a key role in how you feel and how you perform.
Carbohydrates are the body's main source of energy, and they are essential during exercise (especially during prolonged and/or intense efforts). Do you have a heavy workout planned? Always make sure that what you eat is high enough in carbohydrates to successfully get through your training.
The amount of carbohydrates you need per day depends on your intensity; with a moderate training schedule of about 1 hour per day, you should aim for about 5-7 grams of carbohydrates per kilogram of body weight. When you train for about 1 to 3 hours per day, you can expect to need 6-10 grams. It's, of course, best to distribute your required macros throughout the day. Using the guidelines above, you can also calculate how many carbohydrates you need to consume before your training. In our blog "Determining Energy Needs and Calculating Macros: Here's How!" we delve deeper into this topic.
The most important thing is that you consume a nutritious meal before training; so don’t just focus on carbohydrates. Later in this blog, we have compiled the tastiest recipes for pre-workout meals for you.
How long before exercising should you eat?
We briefly mentioned it already, but having a large meal just before your workout is a bad idea. Your body needs a constant blood supply to digest your food. When you exercise, your muscles demand oxygen-rich blood. Your muscles will always take priority, causing your food to digest more slowly—resulting in a full stomach while exercising. To avoid these kinds of issues, it’s best to adhere to the following timeframes between eating and exercising:
2-3 Hours Before Exercise
When you have an intensive training session planned, it’s always important to consume a sufficient amount of food well in advance of your workout. Aim to have a good meal about 2 to 3 hours before exercising, and drink about half a liter of water (500 ml). This gives your body ample time to process the meal, resulting in enough energy and hydration during your workout.
It is especially important for endurance athletes (those who train for longer than 1.5 hours) to consume enough carbohydrates 2 to 3 hours before exercising. We recommend that endurance athletes incorporate at least 70 grams of carbohydrates into their meals to ensure sufficient energy during their efforts.
Focus on slow carbohydrates (foods that your body takes longer to convert into energy) in the 2-3 hours leading up to your training.
Here are some examples of slow carbohydrates:
- Brown rice
- Fiber
- Oatmeal
- Whole grain bread
- Whole grain pasta
- Vegetables
- Fruits
- Yogurt
30-60 Minutes Before Working Out
No matter how tight your schedule is, sometimes you suddenly find yourself overwhelmed by hunger just before your workout, as if you haven't eaten in days. Going into your workout with a growling stomach is a bad idea, but fortunately, this can easily be solved with quick carbohydrates (carbohydrates that are rapidly absorbed into your bloodstream, causing spikes in your blood sugar).
These products are best consumed right before your workout session:
- Banana
- Protein bar
- Breakfast cake
- A slice of white bread with sweet toppings (such as syrup or sprinkles)
- Croissant
- Yogurt drink
- Fruit juice
Recipes to eat before exercise
So working yourself into a sweat without something in your stomach is a definite no-go. We've listed the tastiest recipes for you to eat before your workout: