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Workout Nutrition to Fuel a Lean Strong Body

Pre-exercise nutrition needs.

What and when you eat before exercise can make a big difference to your performance and recovery. You not only want to fuel your workout but you need to have enough of the right types of food in your body to preserve muscle mass and speed recovery.

Strategy #1 - Protein before exercise.

Eating some lean protein, (dairy, meat, fish, chicken, protein powder) in the few hours before exercise:

Can help you maintain or even increase your muscle size. That’s important for anyone who wants to improve health, body composition, or performance.
Can reduce markers of muscle damage (myoglobin, creatine kinase, and myofibrillar protein degradation). Or at least prevent them from getting worse. (Carbohydrates or a placebo eaten before exercise don’t seem to do the same thing.) The less damage to your muscles, the faster you recover, and the better you adapt to your exercise over the long term.
Floods your bloodstream with amino acids just when your body needs them most. This boosts your muscle-building capabilities. So not only are you preventing damage, you’re increasing muscle size.

Strategy #2 – Carbs (fruits, veggies and healthy starches) before exercise.

Eating carbs before exercise:

Fuels your training and helps with recovery. It’s a popular misconception that you only need carbs if you’re engaging in a long (more than two hour) bout of endurance exercise. In reality, carbs can also enhance shorter term (one hour) high-intensity training. So unless you’re just going for a quiet stroll, ensuring that you have some carbs in your system will improve high intensity performance.
Preserves muscle and liver glycogen. This tells your brain that you are well fed, and helps increase muscle retention and growth.
Stimulates the release of insulin. When combined with protein, this improves protein synthesis and prevents protein breakdown. Another reason why a mixed meal is a great idea. No sugary carb drinks required.

Strategy #3 – Healthy Fats (olive oil, fish oil, avocado, nuts) before exercise:

Don’t appear to improve nor diminish sport performance. And they don’t seem to fuel performance — that’s what carbs are for.
Do help to slow digestion, which maintains blood glucose and insulin levels and keeps you on an even keel.
Provide some vitamins and minerals, and they’re important in everyone’s diet.

Pre-exercise nutrition in practice

If you work out late enough just eat a well-balanced meal 2-3 hours before exercise. If, however you are working out upon waking try these options that digest quickly:

A protein shake made with protein powder with some veggies and fruit and juts thrown and a low calorie milk or almond milk
Greek yogurt with fruit and nuts

During Exercise Nutrition Needs:

If you are only working out 30 – 120 minutes there is no need to fuel with anything but water and maybe an electrolyte drink, however if you are training for longer you will need to eat some protein and carbs during the workout to enhance performance. During-exercise nutrition needs.

For training that is longer than two hours, sports drinks can be a huge help. Every hour you’ll want to consume:

15 grams protein
30-45 grams carbs

This can come in the form of liquids, gels, or even some solid food.

Post-exercise Nutrition Needs.

Post-workout nutrition can help you recover, rehydrate, refuel, build muscle, and improve future performance.

Strategy #1 - Protein after exercise:

Eating protein after exercise prevents protein breakdown and stimulates synthesis, leading to increased or maintained muscle tissue. So it’s a great strategy for better recovery, adaptation, and performance.

Want fast and convenient? Make an awesome post-workout protein shake.
Want real food? Then make an awesome high-protein meal. Any high quality complete protein should do the job, as long as you eat enough. That means about 40-60 grams for men, and 20-30 grams for women.

Strategy #2 - Carbs after exercise:

Eating healthy carbs, (fruits, veggies and fiber rich starches) will restore our energy after a workout so while eating your protein throw some fruits and veggies into that shake OR add ½ cup brown rice and a veggie to that post workout meal.

Strategy #3 – Fats after Exercise:

Emerging research suggests that healthy fats eaten post exercise can actually increase the amount of available protein that we are eating. So use 2% milk in that protein shake and reduce the amount of milk OR drizzle some olive oil or add ¼ of an avocado to your meal.

Eating properly will keep you energized and create a lean fit body in no time!

How to Eat Out and NOT Over Eat

Jan 1, 2015
3 min read

Skinny Restaurant Eating

Eating out a lot lately? Having trouble buckling that belt? These are two questions that go hand in

hand. Why? The obvious answer is that restaurants are serving up huge portions and consumers

are selecting fattening choices. But what about all of us health conscious folks who are taking

home the extra and making what we believe to be the “healthy” choices. What about those of us

who never drink alcohol with a meal, bypass the appetizer, bread and dessert? Why are our belts

also getting tighter? The answer is more complicated and quite shocking.

According to the Center for Science in Public Interest the typical appetizer, entrée and dessert at a

restaurant has a whopping 1000 calories, that’s each, not a total for the entire meal! So how can a

person eat out and still slim down? Check out these 7 saboteurs and tactics to help you trim the

fat and calories from the “healthy choices” on the menu.

Saboteur #1 - Veggies

Most restaurants add duck fat or butter to the sauté pan to the tune of 45 grams of fat and

400 calories.

Grilled veggies are marinated in oil, and then re-brushed on the plate to make them look

better.

Steamed veggies don’t fare much better. Once steamed, they are tossed in olive oil and

butter.

Tactic:

Order your veggies steamed or grilled and make clear to the server that you want

no oil or butter added at any stage of the preparation.

Saboteur #2 – Breakfast

•

Most restaurants ladle in 2 tablespoons of butter or animal fat when cooking eggs...even

egg white omelets adding 22 grams of fat and 200 calories.

Tactic:

Order your eggs prepared without butter or any other kind of fat. Let your server

know that you’re aware the dish may not look as attractive as one that’s practically been fried.

Saboteur #3 – The Bread

•

Sandwich buns are slathered in either butter or (yiks) mayonnaise before being grilled to the tune

of 5.5 grams of fat and 50 calories.

Tactic:

Ask that your bun or bread be toasted dry.

Saboteur #4 – Marinara Sauce

•

A gratuitous amount of oil is often used to build this sauce, starting with the sautéing of onions

adding as much at 25 grams of fat and 250 calories. And it doesn’t stop there. Many restaurants

cook marinara with the rinds of Parmesan, the end piece of a prosciutto or even butter to give it a

richer flavor. A plat of pasta and marinara may contain 1300 calories and 81 grams of fat and

that is before you say “cheese”.

Tactic:

At Italian restaurants order fish grilled dry, a side of plain steamed veggies and a lemon for

seasoning. If you are craving pasta order an appetizer portion to share.

Saboteur #5 – Salad

•

Often ¼ cup of salad dressing is used to toss one portion of salad. That much dressing can

have as much as 38 grams of fat and 360 calories (about the same as a cheeseburger).

•

All salad dressings are made with a 3:1 ratio, three parts oil to one part acid so even balsamic

vinaigrette has a high fat content.

•

Pasta salads are also made with a generous amount of oil, plus restaurants often add extra

coats every few hours until they are served to preserve that freshly made look. That can add as

many as 28 grams of fat and 250 calories.

Tactic:

Ask for a low fat or fat free dressing on the side. Avoid pasta salads.

Saboteur #6 – The Meat

•

Culinary schools drill into their students that any meat, fish or chicken MUST be rubbed in oil

prior to cooking. Right off the bat this adds up to 10 grams of fat and 90 calories. Also in many

restaurants while steaks are waiting to be cooked they are commonly immersed in butter to keep

them from over cooking. Then, just before serving, it often gets topped with butter or a sauce

made from butter or cream.

Tactic:

Explain to your server that you want your meat, fish or chicken grilled or broiled with

absolutely no butter or oil.

Saboteur #7 – Sushi

•

Careful with California, spicy tuna and specialty rolls they is hidden mayonnaise inside that can

add as many as 17 grams of fat and 150 calories in just four pieces.

Tactic:

Don’t be afraid to ask your sushi chef what’s in your sushi, a good chef will be happy to tell

you the details. Your best choice is always going to be sashimi. Also skip any rolls with the word crispy in

their description, a sign that probably deep-fried.

336-282-4200

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How to Eat Out and NOT Over Eat

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