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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!

NOW is the time to get your butt in GEAR to reach your fitness goals in 2020!

j01818
Dec 26, 2019
2 min read

January 2020

Now is the time to set in gear for 2020. Here are some of my tried and true tips to get you on the road to your best YOU in 2020.

👌Write your goals on a 3x5 card – put it by your bed and read it aloud every morning and every night until you know it by heart – now make it your mantra!

👌Create a picture in your mind of the end result – for example how you will look, feel act when you are there – think of this picture as often as possible – when driving your car & especially when you are having negative thoughts of reaching your goal

👌Plan – did you know that only about 3% of the people in the world actually plan – and these people are also among the most successful people in the world!! Take time out each Sunday to plan your meals, and your exercise for the week – then stick to the plan!!

👌Journal – each evening take a few minutes to jot down thoughts about your goals keeping a journal like this will help you see what works, what doesn’t work and what your patterns are for behavior throughout the year

👌Start paying attention to the process of getting fit – how is your breathing, do like that sensation? Feel you muscles contract and release – do you like that? Focus on technique – whether you are running or performing abdominal exercises – pay attention to the action – what do you like about that? Successful goal attainment means liking the process!

👌Log your thoughts – when you think of something that will help you reach your goals write it down –that means having something handy all the time to write on or telling your phone. Channel your thoughts away from scattered thinking to focused thinking to keep you gaining on the goal.

👌Delegate – make sure you leave enough time to complete tasks that lead to your goal – have family members take over some roles – have friends help you once or twice a month with other obligations. And anything that you can completely drop – drop. You can not start something new unless you are willing to drop something old.

👌Just do it!! I know this is old news but sometimes you just have to do it – just pick up one foot then the other and do it – you will have a great feeling of accomplishment when it is through!

👌This year are you trying to lose some weight? How much should you lose each week? Well it takes 3500 calories to lose one pound of ugly fat – when you consider it takes about 1 hour to burn off 300 calories (about the amount of calories in one bagel) we are looking at slow weight loss. Plus the slower you lose it the better chance you have of losing fat – not lean tissue. So look to lose 1 lousy pound per week - believe it or not this will be challenging enough. Burning and/or reducing food intake by 500 calories a day will create that 1 pound weight loss each week.

Now pick one of the ideas above and get going on 2020!!