Right Types Of Foods To Fuel Your Exercise Performance

Lynne Huysamen 16 October 2018 Health, Fitness, Beauty & Fashion Leave a comment 244 Views

Nutrition is important for overall fitness.

Eating a balanced diet can help you in getting the nutrients and calories you need in order to fuel your day to day activities, including regular exercise.

In terms of eating foods in order to fuel your exercise performance, it is not as simple as choosing fruits and vegetables over bagels and doughnuts. You will need to have the right types of foods at the right time of the day.

There are variety of opinions as to what you should eat after, during and before exercising. In general, however, these are the most basic principles to fuel up your exercising performance:

Before Exercising: Hydrate With Water and Eat Healthy Carbs

Not filling your stomach before working out is like driving a car without fuel. You will not have enough energy in order to maximize your workout and you also limit your body’s ability to burn calories.

Preferably, you need to fuel up 2 hours before your exercise. You need to:

Eat healthy carbs like vegetables, fruits, brown rice, whole-grain pasta, fat free or low-fat yogurt, whole wheat without a fatty cream cheese, and whole grain cereals with skim or low-fat milk.
Hydrate with water
Avoid a lot of healthy protein and saturated fats since these types of fuels digest slower in the stomach and takes away energy-delivering blood and oxygen from your muscles.

In case you only have around 5 to 10 minutes before you exercise, then you can eat a piece of fruits like banana or apple.

The point here is to consume cars which can be easily digested so you do not feel sluggish when you work out.

During Exercise: Hydrate With Water

Whether you have a low to moderate workout routine or you are a professional athlete who needs to train for hours, you need to keep your body hydrated with frequent, small sips of water.

You do not need to eat during your exercise that is an hour or less. However, if you have high-intensity, longer and vigorous training, then you can eat 50 to 100 calories of carbs such as banana, energy bar, or raisins every half hour.

After Exercising: Eat Healthy Protein and Carbs and Drink Fluids

After exercising, you will need to refuel with lost energy. You can have:

PROTEIN: To aid in repairing and growing lean muscle mass. Protein rich food includes peanut butter sandwich, baked potato, and whole grain bagel.
CARBS: During your workout, you have expended a lot of carbs since it is the main fuel for your muscles. So, make sure to replace lost carbs in order to regain energy and aid in recovery.
FLUIDS: You need to drink lots of water, of course. You can blend water with 100% fruit juices such as orange juice in order to provide you with extra nutrients.

Balance is The Key

As you begin to settle into an active lifestyle, you will get to discover which type of foods provide you with the most energy and those that only gives negative impacts. The key is for you to understand your body and balancing your food intake with what you feels right or good for you. Follow these tips in order to further maximize your workout performance:

Go with Complex Carbs found in beans, vegetables, fruits and whole grains. If you’re stepping into the world of a low carb keto diet and looking for ways to identify whether your body is finally producing ketones or not, use KetoaHolics’ Review ketosis strips.
Pack proteins into your meals and snacks since they are essential for repairing and building muscles.

Go with protein from:

Eggs
Legumes such as lentils and beans
Dairy such as yogurt and milk
Fish such as tuna and salmon
Red meat such as lamb and beef
Poultry such as turkey and chicken

Choose healthy fats such as unsaturated fats that can help reduce inflammation and provide calories in order to keep you moving. Healthy fat options include: