What should you eat before a workout?

You may have had that feeling that when as you workout you can feel what you just ate an hour ago in your throat. You just hope it doesn’t end up on the gym floor! Or you get so hungry half way through your workout that you cannot focus and you just want to get home to eat.

“I’m not sure what I should eat before my workout?” A common question we get from many people. What is the perfect thing to eat before a workout? And when should you eat it? Well the answer is it’s personal. It’s individualized just like your exercise plan.

I will give you some guidelines to follow but it comes down to trial and error and seeing what works best for you and your digestive system.

Pre-workout meal (recommended 2 hours or more before a workout, for some people it will have to be three hours) This is how long you should give your body to digest a full meal before working out.

Pre workout snack can be anywhere from thirty minutes prior to a workout to ninety minutes.

This can include fruit, fruit and nut butter, sprouted grain toast with nut butter or a banana. My favourite pre-race meal is sprouted toast with nut butter and two kiwis. This is about ninety minutes prior. Where when I do a six am workout I eat just a banana thirty minutes prior to class.

The closer you get to your workout the less fat and protein you want to eat as it will sit in your stomach. If eating thirty minutes prior to a workout you may just want a banana. If eating one hour prior to a workout you may be able to get away with a bit of peanut butter and fruit.

This is where you will have to see what works best for your digestion. If you eat too much to close to a workout you will feel sluggish and maybe like you want to barf during a workout. This is not good. If you eat to little you may feel light headed or hungry half way through your workout, then your workout suffers because you are not fuelled properly and your mind is not focused.

It is a fine line that you need to play with to see what works best for you! But use the guidelines above to practice.

Don’t forget water! Try drinking 1-2 cups one hour before a workout and then 1 cup thirty minutes prior to a workout. And sip throughout your workout!

How you fuel your body prior to a workout will determine how your workout goes! It is not just about what you eat but when you eat as well!

CHECK OUT OUR NUTRITION CHALLENGE HERE