Today’s blog post comes from guest blogger Kaitlyn Weiss, a CSCS-certified trainer and all around badass. Diet is a big deal when it comes to your weight loss – it can be more than half the battle! People often make the mistake of not eating before they jump in a personal training session (“I don’t eat breakfast!”) or not eating after they complete a group training class. What you eat changes based on your goals, so make sure you’re fueling your body effectively! – Madeleine

——- 

   shake resized 600  The main objective with both pre and post-workout nutrition is to support the duration and intensity of the activity, individual physique and performance goals (taking body type in to account), and personal tolerance for certain types and amounts of foods in conjunction with the activity.  With every workout, regardless of the type of activity, it is very important to prevent blood sugar from dropping, which can lead to nausea, fatigue, loss of energy and strength, etc.  Two methods for handling this are as follows:

  1. The High-carbohydrate Diet- eating a mod-high carbohydrate diet to maintain glycogen stores (carbohydrate stores) so that during activity, the body is able to maintain energy at the muscular level and maintain blood sugar levels (carbohydrates in the form of sugar in the blood stream that provide energy to many different vital organs).

  2. Carbohydrates when needed- taking in carbohydrates right before and during exercise to maintain blood glucose (blood sugar) levels.  Instead of having this blood glucose level maintained by the body using its glycogen stores (stored carbohydrates), a shake or drink containing carbohydrates is taken in during the workout. 

Most coaches and individuals prefer the second method as the first can more easily lead to excess fat gain and a decreased ability by the body to handle carbohydrates in the future.  Though the second option is preferred, the following guide can help in making the decision as to what will work best for different individuals:

 

Pre-/Post-workout Nutrition and Timing by Body Type and Goal

Body Type

Gen. Goal

Pre-Workout

During Workout

Post-Workout

Ectomorph

Muscle gain or endurance sport

1 carb/prot shake immediately before

1 carb/prot shake during

1 carb/prot drink immediately after

Mesomorph

Optimal physique or support for sport

Eat normally 1-2 hours before

1 carb/prot shake during

1 carb/prot shake immediately after

Endomorph

Fat loss or strength, support for sport

Eat normally 1-2 hours before

1 carb/prot shake during or right at the end

Eat normally 1-2 hours after