Personal trainers always emphasize the importance of nutrition before and after exercise because an excellent workout program and hard training individually cannot be your success key. Carbohydrates are the body’s primary source of energy during exercise. A diet high in healthy carbohydrates, such as whole grains, vegetables, fruits, and legumes, can help with the intense and fast workout. That’s why the personal trainer plans a nutrition program along with a training program, and you should pay enough attention to both at the same time.
The food you eat before, during, and after training matters is a key factor for getting in shape by training.
Many people go through a rigid exercise plan, and despite their personal trainers’ advice, they can’t get the desired result because no training will work best without a proper nutrition plan.
Nutrition Before Exercise
There are misconceptions about athlete nutrition, some of which are related to pre-exercise food. Some people think that eating before exercising causes nausea and abdominal cramps, and if they do sports on an empty stomach, they will burn more fat!
Personal trainers say that in case you ate high-fat food before exercise, you will probably get an upset stomach, nausea, and abdominal cramps. Because all the body’s energy is spent on food digestion and blood flow is high. The more blood goes to the digestive system, the less it goes to the muscles. On the other hand, exercising on an empty stomach is not recommended because it can reduce blood sugar, which results in weakness and energy loss.
Thus, you should eat some low-fat food before exercise to increase the needed energy and burn fat. If you eat foods high in protein, fiber, and fat, you should stop exercising for three to four hours until the food digestion. It is best to eat a light meal one to two hours before exercise. In such cases, the body prefers to use carbohydrates as the needed energy, and foods such as fruits and vegetables are the best before the workout. But if you feel hungry while exercising, you can eat or drink a small meal, including fruit or juice.
As you get closer to training time, you should try to avoid eating food at all or eat some food with a quicker digestion process. Because glucose is the most significant energy source for training, you should eat more carbohydrates before exercise, more comfortable to digest.
Caffeine consumption (like coffee) in the body acts as a stimulant of the central nervous system, increasing a person’s resistance, and maintaining glycogen in the muscles. However, some people are allergic to it, and after caffeine consumption, they experience nausea, muscle tremors, and headaches. Excessive caffeine consumption is diuretic and leads to dehydration and improper performance.
Try to avoid fatty and sugary foods because they are difficult to digest and stay in the stomach for a long time, causing stomach problems. Meat, sweets, and fries are among these ingredients.