This question is not limited to people starting off a new fitness journey, but even for the most advanced lifters out there. The truth is that there isn’t a simple answer because based on what your fitness goals are, where you’re at in a program, and how you’re feeling on that day, all play vital roles. Furthermore, depending on who’s answering that question, will give you a massive range of answers. I’m willing to be my life savings someone on the carnivore diet will give you a vastly different response to someone who is a vegan. So how we do we break this down? Being a personal trainer for over a decade, I’ve seen almost every body type and fitness level come through the doors. So ill start off by saying for the purpose of keeping this blog short, ill only be giving an answer to the vast majority of people who are asking this question – the average person who is aiming to drop 10-30lbs, and exercises 1-3 days a week.
If you fall into this bracket, chances are your life doesn’t revolve around the gym. Its something you try to fit in during your day to day life and some weeks are better than others. This is going to put you in a position very different position from someone who bails on plans because they have to fit their workout in and brings meal prep containers to backyard barbeques. When one of my clients in this situation asks me what to eat before they come in, I try to keep it very simple for them.
- Something that is very easily digestible
- Foods that provide quality nutrients / energy
- Can be easily transported
- Doesn’t require long prep time to make / dispose of
Now most of the time my advice is 6oz. of berries (whichever ones are on sale), any type of nut bars (that contain actual nuts, not glorified candy bars), handheld fruits such as apples/ pears/ oranges e.t.c. A good general window is to eat 1.5 hours – 45 mins before a workout if your following the guidelines I set out. These all fit the criteria listed above, which as you can see are based on not just physical needs, but lifestyle accommodations as well.
Having a large meal regardless of how healthy it is isn’t the best option before a workout. Especially if you consume large amounts of protein, which takes the longest to digest out of all macronutrients (sometimes up to 8 hours). I can’t count how many times I’ve had a client throw up because they simply have food still digesting in their stomach. Your body doesn’t know your simply “just working out”. Once your fatigued from intense exercise, your body will direct all available energy (glucose) away from your digestive tract to supply your working muscles. With no energy left in your digestive system, your body has no choice but to evacuate its stomach contents. So to sum all that up simply, eat something that will be fully digested before your workout.
Getting the right blend between taking in some energy to fuel you for a workout vs. overdoing it on the carbs can be tricky at times. The main energy source most people are going to use for a workout is glucose/glycogen. I’ve had clients consume protein shakes before a workout and excluding the digestive issues I listed above, it isn’t actually providing you with carbs. On the flip side however, I don’t advise you chug a can of coke and praise the fact you just took in 32g of sugar to help boost your workout. There has to be a balance of carbs coming in, along with vital macronutrients as well. Micronutrients are found in all fruits and nuts and really help everything in your body run like a finely tuned machine. Carbs may take all the headlines, but micronutrients are just as important.
Now on to the lifestyle aspect of this. Being a trainer for a long time I’ve made some observations that shed light on to why we eat the way we do. Lifestyle factors contribute to the majority of our eating habits, not knowledge of nutrition. Although not all of us, but I would say the majority of us workout after work / school. This means that what may be the best meal pre workout, isn’t a practical option to eat while your driving to the gym from work, or hauling it around with you all day at school. That’s why having a meal that can easily fit in any bag and can be transported will prevent you from stopping in at drive throughs, and avoid stacking up dirty dishes.
With all the energy both physically and mentally that goes in to having a workout routine, being able to save time and mental stress day in day out really does help over the long run. One of the most common issues a lot of my clients face is the cooking / meal prep aspect. Making separate meals from the rest of the family, or having to shop at different groceries stores based on what’s on sale can be a pesky chore to deal with. That’s why I always advise if you can cut out any mental stress, do it. Adding an extra set of pots and pans for pre workout meals is an addition no one welcomes, and if my clients are pressed for time, that’s the first meal that gets cut out and replaced by a coffee run or a drive through. Planning hand fruits or a nut bar as your pre workout meal instead pretty much guarantees at least that part of the nutrition plan becomes a constant and you never have to worry about straying away from that aspect of the plan.
The answer to this question will always be debated, and to be truthful, there are way too many variables for their to be one correct answer. As you can see, a lot of thought goes in to this beyond a generic “just have a shake”, or “workout fasted”. We didn’t even touch on caffeine or pre workout drinks, as that would probably be worthy of its own blog. Hopefully you, the reader, has taken away some main points from all of my suggestions. I’m sure as people advance in their fitness journey their eating habits will change from geared towards weight loss to athletic performance, but that is a conversation for another day. Until then, Enjoy your workouts.
