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A gym workout can be quite strenuous and you have to monitor the energy levels of your body so that they do not fall too much after a workout. Maintaining optimum levels of body hydration is more important before your workout than food, so that the workout does not leave you dangerously dehydrated.
If you are going for strenuous gym exercises you will need to pep up your energy in between your exercises and you can achieve this with small and healthy snacking. After a workout, your body needs fluids to replenish it with the lost salts and also proteins to build and repair muscles.
Diet Tips For A Gym Workout
Workout Diet Timings
Pre-workout meals should be consumed at least a couple of hours before commencement of the workout, as time is required for digesting the food that you have eaten.
The meal taken during the workout should be very moderate, as otherwise you may get nauseated due to the food remaining in your belly during the workout. The post workout meal should be eaten at least half-an hour after the workout to allow time to the body to return to its normal condition after exercising.
Before-Workout Diet
Working out at the gym is an energy driven affair, and you need to gear up your body to meet the energy demands with healthy carbohydrates, oil-free, lean protein, and low-fat foods. Breads or porridge made of oat flour, quiona porridge, whole grain pasta, and whole grain bread, are some foods that are rich in healthy carbohydrates.
Oil-free foods such as baked vegetables and fruits can be tried. Low-fat, lean proteins include legumes and beans such as lentils, black beans, kidney beans, and chickpeas. You could include them in your pre-workout meal menu. Black beans and rice make a wholesome low-fat food resource. Pizzas and breads made of whole wheat flour are also low-fat hunger satiators.
During-Workout Diet
Water is the most important item of your diet during workout, as it will cool your body and keep it hydrated after a rigorous exercising session. The body will be losing a lot of fluid and electrolytes, and this life saver liquid will restore these vital body elements rapidly.
The persons who do heavy exercising for more than an hour are advised to have sports drinks as a substitute for water, as they provide carbohydrates, sodium and potassium that are required for energizing and maintaining the electrolyte balance of the body. Apart from water, one can bite into high-protein and moderate-carbs energy bars during breaks. But one should be careful to not overeat these bars, as that may add undesired calories.
Post-Workout Diet
After a workout, one can have a healthy meal comprising carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins and minerals. However, the diet should specifically consist of more proteins, as they are required for tissue repair and muscle building. Milk and dairy products such as cheese and yogurt are excellent sources of protein. Beans and soy are also very good sources of protein and should be included in one’s post-workout meal regularly.
Protein should also be supplemented with healthy carbohydrates which can be obtained by consuming breads, biscuits, or cakes made of whole grain or oat. Care should be taken to have the diet from 30-60 minutes after the workout, as that is the time period during which the muscles benefit the most from the nutrition that they receive.
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