Eat Before Or After Workout To Lose Weight
Some people affirm that to
train they have to eat some food before. On the contrary, others indicate
that they cannot exercise with a full stomach.
There are also people who say that they must allow at least 2
hours to pass from the intake before going to the gym or doing another sport.
Some athletes eat during exercise. Perhaps you have seen, for
example, tennis players consuming a fruit between each set. Other athletes
ingest energy gels. In any case, it is
recommended that they be carbohydrates, as they are an efficient source of
energy for aerobic exercise.
In this article, we will try
to answer these questions. Which is better, train before or after eating?
Train
on an empty stomach: yes or no?
Actually, eating
before, during or after exercising is a personal decision based on various
parameters:
- What and how much we eat.
- What is the type of training we do?
- What other activities we do.
- To what goal we aim.
For example, for a person with normal muscle mass and adipose
tissue percentages who want to stay fit, the ideal would be to eat before to have a good performance.
If you are
overweight, then you will have to eat lightly to burn more calories than
ingested during exercise.
We must bear in mind that although fasting training burns fatter, it is not beneficial in the long
the term since the body always acts as a “saver” of its reserves
If we spend energy without having provided the necessary fuel,
then it will accumulate fat when we eat during the day. The balance will be
unfavorable because what you spend will always be less than what you save.
In matters of the organism, not everything is as perfect as in
theory. Because it is also important to make sure how we feel, what time we
train, how much we perspire, if we have high or low pressure, etc.
For the
body, exercise is synonymous with stress. Therefore, it must adapt
physiologically and achieve optimal performance as well as recover after the
effort. The important thing is to have enough energy for the activity we want
to carry out.
When
to eat according to the training
schedule?
Another aspect that we must take into account is the training
schedule. For example, if the practice takes place during the morning it is
better to have breakfast 2 or 3 hours
before the sport. It is not necessary that the intake be copious or
caloric. For its part, the ideal is to avoid sugary and processed foods
(stimulate the action of insulin and increase the risk of early depletion of
reserves) and choose to skim milk and whole grains.
When you finish training, it is advisable to consume carbohydrates
of the high glycemic index (easy to absorb and that provide fast energy) such as,
for example, fruit juices and cereals.
The meal 3 hours after
exercise needs to be abundant to also provide carbohydrates and prevent the
loss of muscle mass.
Other
tips
If dinner has been light without carbohydrates, it is advisable to
have a good breakfast before exercising
to perform properly. If, on the other hand, it has been copious with hydrates,
fats or sugars, you can train on an empty stomach or with a light intake such
as fruit or juice. Other tips are:
- If you train at night or at sunset, it is advisable to have a snack between 2 and 3 hours before exercise to maintain energy levels and yield 100%
- At the end of the practice, we must try to consume dishes that are rich in carbohydrates and proteins to counteract what was lost in the exercise.
Under the excuse of "I have already
fulfilled my daily dose of exercise I can now eat whatever I want" many
times we give the body extra calories
that it does not need. Therefore, even training, we must follow a balanced
diet because, despite exercising, we can also gain weight.
It is essential to make a balance between
exercise and diet to keep us healthy
Keep in mind that spending too much energy on
the gym and not eating enough calories is not good because it weakens us.
However, neither is eating in quantity after having gone to train.
Finally, pay
attention to the signals that the body gives you. If you feel too tired to
do the exercises, it may be because you lack enough energy or your stomach is
too full.
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