Nutrient Timing – Get the most out of your workout!

If you are one of the many individuals slaving away at the gym to loose weight, but not seeing results, the answer could be your diet! Planning when, what, and how much you eat could be the difference between loosing a pound a month and loosing 10!

Let’s look into Pre-Workout nutrient intake first. Before your workout it is important to take in some calories so that our body has fuel for your workout. You want to take in simple carbohydrates and leave the high fat, fiber, and low glycemic foods for another meal.

Examples:

1 cup low fiber cereal with ½ cup skim milk
1 medium banana with 6 oz low fat yogurt
Homemade smoothie of 1 cup milk and fruit
2 pieces bread with small amount of meat

This Pre-Exercise meal should happen 1-2 hours before workout to ensure proper gastric emptying and uptake of nutrients. 16 ounces of water should also be consumed in this time period.

Now you’re at the gym! During the Workout there is several important nutrients to intake.

Water: 6-8 ounces every 15 minutes

*Carbohydrates: 0.7g/kg per hour

*Protein: 0.04g/kg per hour
*Carbohydrates and Protein during workout not recommended for everyone. If your workouts are high intensity or lasting longer than an hour, you just ended a fast, or have a suboptimal eating pattern this may be a good option for you.

Examples:

4 oz skim milk washed down with 4 oz water
Handful of pretzels or crackers with 6-8 oz water

Post-Workout intake is the most important period. Post-Workout intake will stop protein breakdown and initiate protein resynthesis. It is also very important to replenish glycogen stores that have been depleted during workout. It is important to replace these stores immediately after, and up to two hours post workout.

Examples:

15 min post-workout: 12 oz chocolate milk
45 min post-workout: Ham and cheese sandwich with a glass of OJ

15 min post-workout: 3 chocolate chip cookies and 1 cup milk
45 min post-workout: spaghetti and meat sauce with grapes for dessert

Tips for Success:

Keep a food log. Write down what you ate, when, how much. Track fluid intake as well.
Remember to keep the fat and fiber out around your workouts, work it back in during other meals.
Eat every 2-3 hours. Meals consisting of whole foods, vegetables, fruits, adequate protein, and healthy fats are best.