Maintaining a healthy lifestyle means that you are always active. Moreover, when you are engaged in fitness and bodybuilding, you decide to dwell deeper in HLS, and thus, you understand that your workouts, relaxation periods, and meals are toughly bound. When you know that today you have harsh training, you need more energy to do it tip-top. However, after your workout is over, you need to replenish your energy store and get some meals.

Let’s consider which products and meals are the best for athletes in their pre- and post-workout eating.

Pre-Workout Meals: What Can Help You Boost Your Energy

What is essential for preparing for training? You need to get energy to do all these exhausting exercises, and this energy should be enough to fuel you. At once, you need your body to be lightweight and your mood acute. When you overeat or get meals which are oversaturated with fats and carbs, especially sugars, you feel calm and sleepy, so it is also worth considering.

If you know that in recent hours a good sweating workout awaits you, it is better to start your day with a good energy-rich meal. Even if you plan your training in the morning, it is better to have breakfast. The secret is, that you have to eat your breakfast at least 1-2 hours before starting to train to wait until your body digests the meal and gets energy from it instead of spending it on digestion.

In terms of calories and energy values, you have to consume 1/3 of your daily calories with your breakfast. Its PFC balance should be moved towards slow carbs and proteins. At once, you need to consider whether your goal is to lose weight, to gain muscle mass, or simply to get enough energy to train. All these three scenarios have different ideas to use in meal prep.

  • For weight loss, you need to get enough proteins without additional carbs. Boiled or steamed chicken breast, omelet, or a cup of cottage cheese will suit that tip-top. Besides, consider water balance and get enough fresh water before training.
  • When you are gaining muscle mass, you can use the previous menu as well as add to it slow carbs to get more energy and use these carbs for energizing while proteins will build your muscles.
  • If you are not engaged in weight loss or muscle mass gaining goals, you can simply start your day with some slow carbs combined with dairy products i.e., oatmeal, yogurt, bananas with some porridge, or any kind of cereals. You can add to it also some protein in the form of cheese, cottage cheese, etc.

At the same time, when you go to train right from your work, you need to think thoroughly about your meals. It would be great if you have time to get a full-fledged meal before training including baked or steamed fish or meat, vegetables, and a portion of carbs. Yet, if you have no time for it, save some dried jerks, protein bars, and whole-grain loaves, add a few dairy products, and a smoothie or a glass of green or herbal tea.

Do not forget that 1.5-2 hours before a workout is the best time to eat something. A small portion of protein food is digested in the stomach in 40-50 minutes, simple carbohydrates in less than 20 minutes, and complex carbohydrates in about 1.5 hours. Thus the body has a good supply of energy. You will not feel hungry, and there will be no temptation to eat heavily after intense exercise.

What Meals Are Better to Avoid Before Training

To decide consciously what to eat in your pre-workout period, it is better to consider what meals are better to avoid due to their high levels of carbs, extra sugars, or too complex digestion. Better refuse to eat the following meals and products:

  • Fast food which is too fatty and heavy for digestion.
  • Milk and dairy products except yogurt. They are hardly digested and need time to be consumed.
  • Alcohol drinks. When you use heavy weights or TRX exercises, alcohol can play a joke on you and lead to hypertension, heart stroke, or injuries due to loss of control.
  • Lemonade or any soda. Carbohydrates in these drinks and lots of sugar require more energy to digest and transform into fat deposits and extra insulin levels in the blood.
  • Spicy meals are also banned. Spicy foods, especially in large quantities, can cause heartburn and muscle cramps.

Post-Workout Meals: Which Suit the Best for Replenishing Your Strength and Stamina

When your workout is over, you often feel that you are tired if not exhausted. Your energy levels are low, and you need something to top them up. Yet, eating right after the finish of your workout is an additional load on the body, and that meal won’t do any good to you.

The best ideas are as follows:

  • The best time to eat after your workout is within 30-60 minutes after it.
  • Your post-workout meal should be mostly proteins and carbs.
  • You need something lightweight so as not to spend your energy on digestion.

Thus, the best meals to choose for post-workout eating are eggs (i.e., poached or boiled, or omelet), protein cocktail or pudding, some seafish, cottage cheese, bananas, or just a portion of oatmeal with berries. In case you are gaining muscle mass, you can add to that meal a good portion of proteins in the form of chicken or steak. Just consider your feelings to select a proper portion and products.

What Is Not a Good Idea to Eat After You Trained Hard

The first thing you shouldn’t do after your training is to remain hungry. You can drink some water right after training yet in 30-60 minutes, it is better to take some food. Not all meals are good for post-workout eating, and the following ones you should ban from your menu:

  • Fatty and roasted food.
  • Sweet sugar energy bars.
  • Cocktails which contain sugar.
  • Alcohol.
  • Caffeine.

Getting Your Pre- and Post-Workout Meals in a Minute – 95 Nutrition

When you want to get pre and post-workout meals with no hassle and plan your daily training menu with no mistakes, the best option is to opt for our services. In 95 Nutrition, we do know how to maintain balance, rich in necessary elements, and tasty meals for athletes. So, you are welcome to apply for pre- and post-workout meals any time you need them and we will gladly deliver them to you.