The Marriage between Eating and Working Out?

[Davylp25]

What are the best times to eat while starting a fitness plan? By time I mean, Before a workout, before the warm up, before the lifting, what are great things to eat, especially if your workout routines are done early morning upon waking?

Then after you finish, and have done some lifting with weights, Is it ideal to eat something right after, wait an hour, or 2? Whats the science going on internally after you worked out, what is the body craving to recover, etc? Whats goin on inside?

Smart people??? lol

[Draginvry]

There is no marriage. At least, not for me. In fact, exercise and eating are completely divorced. I eat when I'm hungry, and I freerun when I want to move. It's really that simple.

The only stipulation is that I don't eat too much if I am about to work out.

[isopach]

I've never been too technical with the when and the how of eating, before raw or now.

I just make sure I get my 12 oz of wheatgrass juice a day, 3 tsp of cayenne powder, and a whole lot of sunflower sprouts. In the morning, I have a fruit smoothie instead of sprouts.

Of course, if you're planning to do a very intense workout (as you should), it wouldn't hurt to take in something high energy about 30 minutes before starting. Try eating a sugary fruit (oranges) and a fat (nuts) at the same time. The fat will slow down the speed that the sugar absorbs into your blood stream, for a more gradual energy increase. A small amount of cacao can give you a bit of pep too. Don't over do it. Also, keeping hydrated all the time always helps the workout go smoothly.

After the workout, there shouldn't be a problem eating right away. Of course, the ideal thing to do immediately after working out is get a nap, but that isn't always an option. This is all based on my experiences. Keep in mind that I've never been a calorie counting, or got too deep into exactly where every molecule goes during cellular respiration, etc. I eat the right food and train hard.

[Salad Girl]

Research suggests it's best to eat carbs (like fruit) within 30 minutes after exercise for optimal replenishment of glycogen in the muscles. (Glycogen is your muscles' handy supply of sugar, like your car's gas tank. They can also get fuel from breaking down fat, but that takes a lot longer to get at.) However, if you only exercise once a day, it doesn't make any difference, because by the time you exercise again 24 hours (or more) later, your muscles will be fully recharged no matter what or when you eat.

If you exercise first thing in the morning you should probably eat something before bed so you won't be hungry. I prefer to eat after I exercise -- because your body doesn't have enough blood to be everywhere at once, and if it's busy helping you digest, then your leg and arm muscles have less energy. However some people get low blood sugar if they don't eat a little something right before they start exercising.

[Fruitarianone]

MARRIAGE?....as far as I'm concerned they got divorced a long time ago!!! ;)

[girlnamedjane]

MARRIAGE?....as far as I'm concerned they got divorced a long time ago!!! ;)

Fruitarian, what did you mean by this? I'm new to the raw diet, and I love to workout.. I've always worked out on an empty stomach because I've learned that it will utilize your body fat rather than calories that you've just eaten.

[Sharon in Colorado]

Dr. Graham who is a raw sports coach always suggests working out on an empty stomach.

If that works for you, great. My DH has to have something in him or he gets nauseasated, so he either eats a banana or makes carrot/apple juice before his workout.

[Fruitarianone]

Fruitarian, what did you mean by this? I'm new to the raw diet, and I love to workout.. I've always worked out on an empty stomach because I've learned that it will utilize your body fat rather than calories that you've just eaten.

I've found that for me eating and working out have nothing to do with each other...infact eating takes away my energy and I also eat the same amount of food no matter how hard I workout...

[Davylp25]

I should have put The Marriage between Eating and Gaining Muscle...

Duh on me!