Exercising Your Mealtime Options
Ask Harley Pasternak
Exercising Your Mealtime Options
Q: I like to work out in the morning, and if I eat breakfast before I exercise,
I feel way too full and tend to get stomach cramps. When is the best time to
eat meals — before or after I exercise? It's
understandable that eating breakfast before working out is causing you
problems. Having too much food in your stomach can make you feel uncomfortable
and can lead to cramping, which will get in the way of a good workout. But it
is important to eat something in the morning, especially if you are going to
use so much energy right away. You probably wake up at least six to seven hours
after you go to sleep, and assuming you haven't eaten anything for a couple of
hours before you go to bed, you will have been fasting for about eight to ten
hours. When you wake up, your blood sugar is very low, and in order for you to
get the most out of your workout, you need some energy to get you started. The
key is to choose the food that will provide you with energy without causing you
to feel bloated and crampy.
In
general, if you are exercising within an hour or two of eating, you want to
avoid eating anything that is high in protein
and fat ,
the types of foods that take longer to digest. Since blood is being redirected
to your stomach to supply energy to aid in digestion, there is less blood
directed to the muscles you're working. Therefore, your muscles aren't getting
the energy supply they need to get the most out of your workout, and you will
be more fatigued than if you eat a low-fat, low-protein meal or snack before
exercising.
Don't
forget that it's also important to eat something after you work out, to
replenish the stores of glycogen in your muscles (this is the fuel you've burned
during your workout). By eating something that has both carbs and protein
within two hours of exercising, you can refuel and help repair your muscles
without the risk of gaining
weight .
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