Fuelling workouts

[Vegan_sweetgal]

Hey I was wondering what you guys eat to fuel workouts, or if you feel you need to fuel them at all. My dad used to be a bodybuilder (meateater) and used to lecture us about fuelling workout sessions.

 

Personally I don't think 30min cardio is worth fuelling - though I am probably wrong - what do you guys think.

I do find however that I am very drowsy when I do 30-45 mins of strength training.

 

Opinions please x

[Jason]

bananas work for me

[Mik]

I like a flapjack or a health fruit bar beforehand.

[Fallen_Horse]

I throw a Clif and a piece of fruit at myself about 45mins beforehand, and it seems to do the trick...

[Vegan_sweetgal]

I throw a Clif and a piece of fruit at myself about 45mins beforehand, and it seems to do the trick...

 

What's a clif? Is that a joke - I'm afraid I am a bit slow - I'm that person who laughs her head off at something and then has to nudge a friend and say "I don't get it", I then laugh hours later at something inappropriate because I have finally gotten it.

[xjohanx]

Clif means Clif bar http://www.clifbar.com and I'm guessing he is talking about the builder bar.

 

I usually train on a almost empty stomach (wait about 2-3 hours after a meal) but I might take a banana or some dates about 20 minutes before and then right before I start lifting I take 7 grams of essential amino acids.

In general carbs are great and branched chain amino acids (BCAA) gives good energy. Sometimes I also drink coffee an hour before.

[Vegan_sweetgal]

Clif means Clif bar http://www.clifbar.com and I'm guessing he is talking about the builder bar.

 

Ah, now it becomes clear, lol

[veggieprincess]

I eat every 3 hours and my meals are balanced with protein/complex carb and healthy fats. If you are doing that, you don't have to concern yourself with pre/post workout meals. Although if I'm doing weights and cardio, I try to make sure I've consumed one of my meals 45 minutes to an hour prior, that way I have enough energy to give it my all

[Vegan_sweetgal]

I eat every 3 hours and my meals are balanced with protein/complex carb and healthy fats. If you are doing that, you don't have to concern yourself with pre/post workout meals. Although if I'm doing weights and cardio, I try to make sure I've consumed one of my meals 45 minutes to an hour prior, that way I have enough energy to give it my all

 

Thanks veggieprincess, I do try to eat every 3 hours, the problem is that I am a bit of an awkward one and feel really self-conscious eating in front of other people, so it can be awkward in work. I am starting to get around it though.

 

Thanks for all the advice people xx

[awaken375]

Dates are the best source of Glucose. The liver metabolizes glucose into glycogen, which fuels muscles for explosive contractions. Dates are the best thing to eat pre-workout (vega bars have dates as their main ingredient) unless the workout lasts longer than 1 hour. Then you would have to eat more dates in the middle of the workout. Complex carbohydrates burn longer and slower for aerobic activity rather than anaerobic. Something more like a treadmill and less like a dumbbell.

source: the thrive diet

 

So basically you eat starches for longer workouts and sugars for shorter more muscular-intense ones. And yeah, you don't really need pre-workout food if you've got a good meal plan like veggieprincess said.

[veggieprincess]

I eat every 3 hours and my meals are balanced with protein/complex carb and healthy fats. If you are doing that, you don't have to concern yourself with pre/post workout meals. Although if I'm doing weights and cardio, I try to make sure I've consumed one of my meals 45 minutes to an hour prior, that way I have enough energy to give it my all

 

Thanks veggieprincess, I do try to eat every 3 hours, the problem is that I am a bit of an awkward one and feel really self-conscious eating in front of other people, so it can be awkward in work. I am starting to get around it though.

 

Thanks for all the advice people xx

 

When you are in front of others, a Cliff Builder Bar is very easy to eat and has a good macronutrient breakdown. Of course, there are better choices, but this could serve your purpose of eating without feeling self-conscious. Then you could do what I do...and just ask the person in the room that you feel most comfortable with, if you have anything between your teeth

[Lena01]

Yesterday I hadn't had time to eat anything but a little melon in the morning and was working out in the afternoon. I put two scoops of Vega on my water bottle and worked out. It was an awesome workout, I had energy all the way through and didn't feel tired afterwards.

 

Perhaps somebody is going to tell me that what I did is very wrong, but it seems like it worked for me.

[DaN]

I like pickles before a workout sometimes. All of the sodium stops me from getting cramps

 

Jaleel that has got to be the oddest thing to eat before a workout hehe! - but if it works for you

 

Sweetgal, I eat 100 grams of nuts & raisins about an hour before my workout after work at 6:30.The fat in the nuts keeps you fuelled all the way through, which really helps when doing weights, like you say, not so much the cardio.

 

The most important thing after doing weights is to consume some really quick calories, fruit smoothie or fruit juice is best, I usually drink a pint of that with some protein powder added.Used to use Soya but now use pea, which you can buy from http://www.myprotein.co.uk