Should I eat before or after a workout?

Question

Should I eat before or after a workout and what kinds of food will help me feel good through the workout...i.e. fuel.

In the morning I never eat anything before, I've always been told you arent supposed to. I run at lunchtime and run and liftweights after work...so what about those two times? My question is really like 'should I have fruit or protein or what?'

Answer 1

AFTER.
If you eat before, you have to wait a half hor or so for the food to digest a little, so avoid exess cramping- which will cramp your workout.
Carbohydrates are very good for energy, but be careful in using them because they are addictive and only offer empty calories (they have fiber too, though which is good) but they can be converted into either USED energy or unused energy (energy is calories) so if you eat too much pasta, bread etc, you can get fat from it. I would say, eat a big bowl of pasta the night before you are going to run a few miles or a marathon or something, as it will give you an extra fuel boost. This is IF you are not already overweight, if you are already overweight then dont eat too much extra pasta, just maybe a medium bowl.
Ginseng supplements can also help with energy too, but use these in moderation also.

Answer 2

What kind of workout are you going to do?
If you do eat before make sure it is at least 1-2 hrs before so it had a chance to digest as you will be using what you ate as fuel for your muscles. After working out eat within 3-4 hrs to gain anything and again use what you ate as fuel to aid in muscle recovery and repair.

Answer 3

Actually you want to do both...

Within reason of course. If you are going to be doing hard core cardiovascular exercise, you'd probably want to keep the food intake to a minimum. But for weight training, you'll want to take in some carbs as well as protein. Each person is different (I believe) in how much food / nutrients they can tolerate before exercise, so you'll want to experiment on what works for you.

Within an hour of finishing any exercise routine, however, you do want to replenish energy stores. This means you want to have protein as well as high glycemic carbohydrates (http://www.glycemicindex.com). The reason for this is that after working out your muscles need to be repaired and your energy stores need to be replenished. Also, your body is generally in a catabolic state (meaning it is feeding on itself to repair the damage). To stop that process you'll want to eat as soon as possible.

I've generally read that your post workout food intake should be a few hundred calories.

Good luck.

Answer 4

Both eat a little before to give you some fuel and then eat a meal after wards because at that time you will be burning calories and fats faster.

Answer 5

I do my best to never eat before a workout. I usually let myself get to active and feel the urge to let my food have another daylight appearance, if you know what I mean. Do drink plenty of fluids, like water and Gatorade, but not so much that you get that water gut feeling.

Answer 6

*Weight Training Workouts:
(30-60 minutes before workout)
3-5 grams of Arginine
5 grams of Glutamine
(0-30 minutes before workout)
20 grams of Whey Protein
40 grams of slow-burning Carbs
3-5 grams of Creatine
(0 minutes after workout)
5-10 grams of Leucine
5 grams of Glutamine
(30-60 minutes after workout)
40 grams of Whey Protein
40-80 grams of fast-digesting Carbs
3-5 grams of Creatine

*Cardio Workouts:
(30-60 minutes before workout)
200-300 mg of Caffeine
1-2 grams of Acetyl-L-Carnitine
(0-30 minutes before workout)
6-10 grams of Mixed Amino Acids
(0-60 minutes after workout)
20-40 grams of Whey Protein
40-80 grams of fast-digesting Carbs
5 grams of Creatine

*The answers presented to your health questions are not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health providers with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.

Answer 7

After, because after you work out your body will be in a certain mode that will burn more calories faster for the next 24 hours.

Answer 8

mabye you should have started out with your goals - not everyone is trying to do the same thing.... It depends. But optimally, both - as long as you know what you're doing and eat the right amounts of the right things.