What To Eat Before Training

What To Eat Before Training 
What a great question and an important one to ask before we head off to the gym. Important because it helps us to prepare for the work we are about to put our bodies through, and we need to be disciplined in our eating in the same way we need to have a disciplined approach to our workouts.
So, by now you’ve decided why your training, i.e your wanting to gain mass, or your looking for more definition or you have a sports event coming up and your training to be in top condition, either way, whatever your training for, will determine your food intake choice, prior to training. 


In the next column we have listed a few ideas, that will get you started, or, if you’ve already started, will add to your book of pre work out foods
Food for energy
Carbohydrate or a form of starchy foods are needed to generate energy for our bodies to function during training.
As we increase the amount of weight we lift and the number of repetitions, our bodies calculate the amount of carbohydrates our system needs to function well. And, as we increase our activity levels our bodies will demand more, this  requires a balancing act, too much carbohydrates will add surplus weight to our frame as the body looks for ways to store the excess.

However, if we don’t consume enough carbohydrates prior’s to training our body will fatigue quickly, and we become demoralised with our performance and slowly the drive and aims we entered the gym with, will begin to fade.



Here are a list of carbohydrates that we can consume prior to a workout, these are beneficial to our training:
Beneficial carbohydrate include:
wholegrain bread
wholegrain breakfast cereals (avoid breakfast bars with high sugar content)
brown rice
wholewheat pasta
potatoes (with skins on)
fruit, including dried and tinned fruit
When To Eat
It is a good practice to consume a large carbohydrate rich food, such as a main meal  3 hours before we train. If we are going to have a snack instead of a meal before we train, it is advisable to consume a protien rich snack rather than heavy carbohydrate  foods, 1 hour before. This snack, because it is consumed so close to training, must be easy to digest and aid recovery after training.


Below we have listed foods that can aid training and recovery and are easy for the body to digest and convert to energy.
Meals
1. Scrambled eggs, avocado on wholemeal toast  
Contains: protien – fibre – carbohydrates – fat 
2. Chicken , rice and steamed vegetables
Contains: protein – complex carbohydrates – vegetable fibre 
3. Oatmeal, protein powder and berries
Contains: protein – antioxidants – carbohydrates – fibre – fruit
4. Protein smoothie – Contains: carbohydrates – healthy fats – protein


Remember that this is a journey, a journey that we should be enjoying, work out what works for you, if you don’t like some foods change them for others, do some research.
Also, there are many app’s that will help you calculate your macro intake (nutrients: carbohydrates – fats – proteins) plug into one and  mix and match foods.
Enjoy finding out more about what you eat, which foods are useful to your workouts which ones may hamper your progress.
Enjoy developing healthier eating habits.