4 Eating Tips to Get the Most Out of Your Workouts
The old adage goes: you can’t out-train a bad diet. Eating and exercise are in concert with each other, as if you’re looking to lose weight to start the new year, you will have to have a handle on both in order to be successful.
Center’s Health Care has four tips to eat well in order to get the most out of your workouts.
- Fueling Yourself With a Healthy Breakfast
If you are someone who enjoys working out in the morning, you’ll want to have a healthy breakfast about an hour before you exercise in order to fuel up your body. Protein and carbohydrates are great choices, including whole-grain cereals or bread, juice, a banana, yogurt, or low-fat milk.
- Portion Size
Overeating isn’t a good habit to get into, but if you’re going to indulge, be sure not to do it too close before exercising. Small meals or snacks an hour or two before working out is fine, but avoid large meals and then working out unless at least three hours have gone by, otherwise you can feel sluggish while exercising.
- Watch What You Snack On
If you need a little snack to get something in your stomach before working out, stick to the same philosophy that you do as eating breakfast before working out. Nothing too heavy or fatty. Energy bars, sports drinks, a fruit smoothie, a granola bar, whole-grain crackers, or a peanut butter sandwich are all great options. You can also choose any of these foods to give you a post-workout boost.
- Stay Hydrated
Not only will drinking water cut down on your hunger and need for unnecessary snacks during the day, you’ll need to stay well-hydrated for your exercise and to make sure that you don’t get dehydrated after, especially if you’re sweating a lot during the workout. Experts suggest drinking two to three cups of water during the two to three hours before your workout, anywhere from a half cup to one cup every 15 to 20 minutes of actively working out, and two to three cups afterwards. If you’re working out for more than an hour, a sports drink is great to use to regain electrolytes, but otherwise, water is fine.
