Fit Fare

Finding time to squeeze your workout in can be difficult enough. How do you handle making sure that you are nourished and full of energy when you get there? How do you make sure you don’t get cramps while you are running from that smoothie you just had? It can be tricky to get the balance right, and as I’ve said before with many approaches to healthy eating – it is all in the planning.

What you should eat before you workout varies for each person. Are you planning on going for a 3 to 5 mile jog? Are you lifting weights? Will your workout last an hour, or two? Will you exercise in the morning before work, or after work? The answers to these questions can be your guide.

When I first started working, trying to get on a regular exercise schedule was difficult. At that time, I found that evening workouts worked best for me. Breakfast and lunch were my most substantial meals, and I supplemented those meals with a mid-morning snack, and a mid-afternoon snack that I usually ate around 4. For me, the snack was either some animal crackers or a banana. My workouts were made up of 30 minutes of lifting, 3 times a week, and 30-45 minutes of cardiovascular work, usually elliptical trainer or stair master.

(Photo courtesy of the California Department of Health)

As I got a little older, running became the focus of my workouts. Running is one of the most efficient exercises you can do. It gives you great calorie burn for your time. I still supplemented with lifting, but running became the focus. This brought about my dilemma. How do I eat something so I don’t feel like fainting on my run, but then I don’t feel like I have a brick in my stomach? Finding the answer was harder than I thought.

First, I decided when I was going to schedule my workout into my life. For years it was between 5:30 and 7. At that time, my way of handling my stomach problems were to eat a large breakfast and lunch, have fruit at about 10 in the morning, and then have either a granola bar or some other carbohydrate based snack like a Clif bar. The latest that I could have this snack was at 4 p.m.; if I chose to have it any later, I paid for it. Sometimes I alleviated that issue by doing some weightlifting first, to spurn digestion, but I really tried to watch to make sure I didn’t miss my 4 p.m. cutoff. The snack gave me enough satiety to make it through not just my workout, but also the 30 minutes after my workout when I was trying to come up with a healthy meal for dinner. For some people, this might not be enough, or they may have different goals than I do. I was not looking to add muscle mass, I was simply looking for a way to not get stomach cramps. Let your workout’s focus be your guide, but watch to make sure you are eating your snack at least 60 and preferably 90 minutes before your workout.

Things have changed for me recently, and with a demanding work schedule I’ve found that the only way I can guarantee to get my workout in is to do it in the morning. This has changed my eating approach quite a bit. I am completely unable to get up 60-90 minutes before my workout; that would have me waking up at 5 a.m. just to eat! It’s just not practical. My current schedule has me at the gym from about 6:45 until 8 a.m, and I am out of bed at about 6:25. I need to insure that I have enough energy to get through to 8 a.m., when I can get home and eat a proper breakfast. My pre-workout snack on these days is usually VERY small. You would be surprised that something as small as half of a banana, sliced, or a small 4 oz. glass of orange juice can get you through that time. Most times when I get up, I am not famished. I simply have half the banana, and I am out the door. I eat the other half when I get home in a smoothie with some yogurt, berries and juice, and then have a bowl of cereal. Yet sometimes, just the banana is not enough. Sometimes I need something such as a protein bar, or a slice of bread with peanut butter. I do some lifting in order to give myself some time to digest the food, and then I am on my way.

Pre-workout foods can be tricky to find, and you have to let your body and your workout be your guide. The best options are usually the most digestible, something without spice or too much water content. Fruits such as bananas or apples, bland crackers or breads, a small spread of a nut butter; these are good places to start experimenting. The closer you are to your workout time, the more in danger you are of having a sour stomach, but if you plan well and resist the urge to eat too much, you can reward yourself with a great workout, and a great post-workout meal.