Eating the right pre-work out carbs to fuel your work out can be simple. It all depends on your type of work out and body type as well as health goals. If you are doing a cardio exercises like running, cycling or swimming to burn fat, it’s best to work out on an empty stomach. If you have almost zero sugar in your blood, your body turns to fat stores for fuel and melts it right off.
That is reason why morning workouts after a night’s fast work so well. If burning the most fat is your goal for cardio, don’t eat carbs.
For bodybuilding, if you are trying to stay lean, consume 20-40g of protein along with 70-90 g of carbs. The carbs should be a mixture of fast and slow carborhydrates like almond butter jam rye sandwiches, wholegrain pancakes with honey, raisins in big leaf oatmeal. Eating a mix of carbs will play out your body’s leaning towards storing fat. Fast carbs will kick in fast to give you a boost of energy and slow carbs will maintain that anabolic state till the end of your session. Eating lesser carbs but mixing in a bit of slow carbs will help you stay anabolic throughout your workout while trimming off the fat.
Hard-gainers with high metabolism and low body fat should eat a lot of fast carbs to prevent your body going into overhaul during an intensive workout. While hitting the iron, instead of slipping into a catabolic state, hard-gainer types tend to crash. To prevent your body from crashing, you will need to eat simple, fast carbs like white rice and bread, baked/mashed potatoes or protein shakes with maltodextin and dextrose. 45 minutes prior to workout, consume 100-150 g of carbs along with 20-40 g of protein.
Here are some healthy carbs to eat before a workout: fresh fruits like bananas, kiwis and berries are fast releasing carbs full of vitamins and sugar to fuel your workout. Have them with high protein, low fat cottage cheese or mix them into your protein shakes. Just make sure that your carb to protein ratio of 2:1 and you’re set.
Protein bars make convenient pre-workout snacks to munch on the way to the gym. Make your own healthy protein bars. There are many no bake protein bar recipes with oatmeal, shredded coconut, dried fruits and nuts or even 85% dark chocolate.
Have a mocha protein shake by adding a shot of esspresso to your chocolate protein shakes. One of the esteemed excellent pre-work foods, caffeine will help you burn more calories and give you a burst of energy throughout your workout.
